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      aleno Pay No-Show Feature: Frequently Asked Questions

      This article answers the most frequently asked questions around the aleno Pay feature. Clicking on listed questions will lead to the desired answer:

       


      What can I use the aleno Pay No Show feature for?

      Our aleno Pay No Show feature is a tool that allows you to easily and securely request credit card information for no-show prevention. If the guest doesn't show up, you can use it to charge a no show fee.

      Can I use aleno Pay No Show for online reservations via the widget as well as backend reservations?

      The credit card query works both, for online reservations via the widget as well as for manual reservations in the backend. So you can securely and privacy compliant have an automatic email requesting the credit card data of your guests for reservations by phone, too.

      What does the online booking process look like for the guest?

      By adding a confirmation text to the reservation process the guest is informed during the online reservation that a no show fee in the amount of [AMOUNT defined] will be charged if he does not show up or does not cancel by [time] before the reservation. Only when the customer accepts this condition, the booking process will continue.

      In order for the No Show fee to be charged, if applicable, the guest must enter their credit card information. After that, booking is completed and the reservation is confirmed.  

      If the credit card details have not been entered, the reservation is not confirmed, only provisional, and the guest will receive an email stating that the reservation will be cancelled if the credit card details are not entered by [HOURS defined] using the link in the email.

      If the credit card details have been entered, the reservation will be confirmed. If not, the provisional reservation will be automatically deleted and the customer will be informed about it with another automatic email.

       

      What does the booking process look like for the guest for reservations in the backend (telephone, on site)?

      When a new reservation is manually entered, the guest will receive an automatic email with all information about the reservation and the notice that a no-show fee will be charged in case of no-show or late cancellation. For this and so that the reservation is definite, the guest must still provide the credit card details via link in the respective mail. Only then will the guest receive their confirmation. Also here a process can be activated that reservations are automatically rejected, should the guest not provide their credit card details within a set time.

       

      What does the booking flow look like in the aleno backend?

      For online reservations:

      1. As soon as the guest enter his personal details in the last step of the widget, the reservation gets created in the aleno backend with status "CC Requested". Only in the next step the guest gets forwarded to the payment screen where he can enter his credit card details. You can see the red CC icon on the reservation.

      2a. As soon as the guest successfully added his credit card details, the reservation status is changed to "confirmed" and a confirmation email is being sent. Also the CC icon changes to the green one.

      2b. If no credit card details are added, depending on the settings, the reservation changes automatically to "CC Auto-Dismissed". 

      For manually added reservations:

      1. A reservation gets added by the restaurant staff with status "CC requested". The entry of an email address for the guest is mandatory in this process.

      2. The guest will receive an email containing a link through which they can securely provide their credit card information. Depending on the configuration, they will be given a specific timeframe to complete this, such as 24 hours.

      3a. Once the guest successfully enters their credit card details, the status of the reservation will automatically change to "Confirmed," and a confirmation email will be sent to them.

      3b. If the guest does not provide their credit card details in the configured timeframe, the status of the reservation will automatically change to "CC Auto-Dismissed." The according email template will be sent to the guest, notifying them of the cancellation, and the table will be released for other reservations.

      Please note: The reservation status will only automatically change to "Confirmed" after the guest has entered their credit card information if the reservation previously had the status "CC Requested." If the restaurant staff manually changes the status to for example "Provisional" after requesting the credit card, the status will not update automatically to "Confirmed," even if the credit card information is successfully entered.

      However, the guest can still successfully provide their credit card details, and the green credit card icon will indicate this status.

       

      How do I know in the backend if credit card details were added sucessfully? 

      Various reservation statuses and icons provide clear indications on each reservation regarding the successful entry of credit card details by the guest or if a credit card is not required for that guest.

      Red Credit Card Icon: No credit card has been entered (yet).

      Gray Credit Card Icon: This guest does not require a credit card (based on their guest profile).

      Green Credit Card Icon: A credit card has been successfully entered.

      .  

      Can I activate the credit card query only for certain events, days of the week, shifts, group sizes, etc.?

      The configuration options of aleno Pay are diverse. You can set up the credit card query specifically for individual events or days of the week (by creating a day shift e.g.).
      You can link the query from a certain group size on, for example, to have security only for reservations of 5 or more people. Or you can even link the credit card request only being shown related to specific queries (shift questions).

      Will the guest's credit card be charged in advance of the visit in the restaurant?

      No. When the credit card is deposited, it is tokenized and not charged. This means that only the authenticity of the data is checked and the credit card is stored in encrypted form in the form of a token for a possible later charge.

      Which methods of payment are available to the guest?

      Credit and debit card providers are particularly suitable for tokenization. This classically includes VISA, Mastercard & AMEX. Direct payment methods such as TWINT (for Switzerland) do not usually offer tokenization.

      What does this feature cost me as a restaurant?

      The following conditions apply for aleno Pay:

      Tokenization of credit cards: 0.12 CHF/EUR

      Payment transactions: 0.30 CHF/EUR + % commission acquirer

      One-time SetUp fee: 299 CHF, whereby this varies depending on the number of outlets.

      Your advantage: You use your existing acquirer - with your conditions. These conditions are usually much more attractive than the current eCom solutions. Nothing changes in your process - you don't need another bank account in your accounting and with low fees you can protect yourself against no-shows.

      If the guest does not comply with the no-show conditions, will the no-show fee be automatically charged?

      No. The no-show fee is not debited automatically. You must actively charge the no-show fee.

      How do I charge a no-show fee?

      In order for charge a fee, you must set the status of the reservation to No Show, e.g. in seatIn.

      After that, the No Show will appear in the aleno dashboard in the section "Payments".

      Click on the arrow to the right of the heading "Payments" to get to the list of No Shows and to decide on the No Show fee. 

      Now click on "Charge" to charge the No Show fee in full or in part, e.g. if only half of the guests of a group came or if you were able to resell a part of the freed-up seats.

      A pop-up will open. You can now enter any amount up to the announced no-show fee and charge it by clicking "OK".

      How are the now-show fees paid out to us?

      The payment is made directly to the restaurant via your acquirer eCom account.

       

      We wanted to charge a No-Show fee to a guest, but the transaction was not successful. What could be the reason for this?

      The PSP checks the credit card when the reservation is made. There is the possibility that the credit card looses its validity, is blocked or reached its limit in the time until the reserved date in the restaurant. Then it is no longer possible to make a charge. 

      In addition, there may be temporary technical problems with one of the providers, e.g. the credit card company, acquirer or payment service provider.

       

      What is an acquirer and which acquirers does aleno Pay support?

      The acquirer is your contractual partner for (electronic) means of payment. These acquirers support aleno Pay among others:
      Adyen, BS PAYONE, card complete, Chase Paymentech Europe, Concardis, Elavon Merchant Service, European Merchant Services, EVO Payments International, Lloyds Bank Cardnet, LogPay, Nets Holding, Worldline (formerly SIX Payment Service), Société Générale, Worldpay.

      What is a PSP and which PSPs does aleno work with?

      A PSP is a payment service provider. We currently work with the Payment Service Providers Datatrans and Wallee and can thus interface with countless acquirers and other payment services.

      What is the SetUp process for this feature?

      The requirement for using aleno Pay is that you have an acquirer, e.g. Worldine, and an e-commerce interface (this can be requested from the acquirer).

      For the credit card tokenization to work a Payment Service Provider (PSP) such as Wallee is required. As soon as you applied and received your eCommerce contract for the interface to one of the PSPs we support on our Marketplace, we will set up the interface for you. To do this, we need information about your contract from your acquirer. 

      Once all interfaces are active, the feature can be configured in aleno, activated and used for pre-payment or debiting of No Show fees.

      Our acquirer asks for a test URL or test access. Is there such a thing?

      A test URL, e.g. for a webshop, cannot be provided for the reservation widget. In most cases the reservation widget is already in productive use, therefore a change of the configuration would be directly visible for the guests. However, the procedure is always the same and as follows.

      First, the aleno reservation widget is integrated as a link into the page of the restaurant/hotel and linked with a "Reserve" button.

      Second, after the guest has selected the reservation time, he must accept these conditions to complete the reservation:

       
      Third, if the e-com interface is enabled and Datatrans is set up as the PSP, the credit card information is subsequently entered via the Datatrans widget (It is only tokenized, not authorized). Here using our demo system as an example:



       

      Finally, if the guest does not show in the restaurant, the credit card can be charged by the restaurant for the maximum agreed amount as accepted by the guest in the terms of conditions. Nothing further happens.

      Are there any recommendations from aleno for the design of Terms and Conditions?

      On the website where the widget with credit card function is integrated, a correct imprint and corresponding general Terms and Conditions are required. You can find wording suggestions from aleno here.

      What is the SetUp process for this feature?

      The requirement for using aleno Pay is that you have an acquirer, e.g. Worldine, and an e-commerce interface (this can be requested from the acquirer).

      For the credit card tokenization to work a Payment Service Provider (PSP) such as Wallee is required. As soon as you applied and received your eCommerce contract for the interface to one of the PSPs we support on our Marketplace, we will set up the interface for you. To do this, we need information about your contract from your acquirer. 

      Once all interfaces are active, the feature can be configured in aleno, activated and used for pre-payment or debiting of No Show fees.

      Can I exclude certain guests, for example our regular guests, from the credit card query?

      Yes, this is possible. On the guest profile you can uncheck the box "Credit card required" on the top right and click on the button "Update profile" next to the box (see below). When making a reservation, the guest will then not be asked to enter credit card information. So the reservation is possible without entering the credit card data and prepayment.

      Can I exclude certain reservations from the credit card query and decide individually for which reservations I want to query credit card data?

      When manually entering reservations in the backend, you can set the status of the reservation to "Confirmed" right away. The reservation is then valid even without entering the credit card data.