---
title: "Security deposit: why you see several holds and when they are released"
description: Why your guest sees several security deposit holds, how often they renew, when they are released and how to charge the deposit for damage in Chekin.
---

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# Security deposit: why you see several holds and when they are released

## How the hold on the guest's card works, why it is renewed, when it is released automatically and how to charge the deposit if there is damage.

## What the security deposit is

The **deposit** (in the dashboard, **Security deposit**) is a hold on the guest's card, not a charge. It is released automatically if there is no damage, and you only charge it if there is.

How the hold is kept depends on the payment gateway you use to collect payments. You can see it in **Settings \> Payments**, in the **Payment gateway** section: the one you use shows as **Active**.

![Settings, Payments, Payment gateway: Chekin Gateway and Stripe Gateways cards with what happens to deposits in each one](https://support.chekin.com/hubfs/help-center/articulos-nov-2026/hc25-en-17-1.jpg)

| Gateway | What happens to the deposit | Where the money you charge goes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1**Chekin Gateway** | “Deposit holds of up to 30 days without repeated reauthorisations from the guest”: a single hold, with no renewals | To your Chekin Wallet |
| 2**Stripe Gateways** (your own Stripe account) | “Deposits reauthorised every 7 days”: the hold is renewed every 7 days and the guest's bank has to approve each renewal | To your Stripe balance |

The security deposit does not appear in your Wallet **Earnings**, because it is not your money: it is blocked on the guest's card until it is released or until you charge it for damage. More information in [Chekin Wallet: how it works, earnings and withdrawals](https://support.chekin.com/en/transfer-payments-balance-to-bank-account-chekin-help-center?hsLang=en).

### The two types of security deposit

When you set it up, you choose one of these two types. What this article explains about holds and renewals only applies to **Retention**.

| Type in the dashboard | What happens on the guest's card | If there is damage |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Retention** | The bank blocks the amount. How it is kept depends on your gateway (see the previous table) | The money is blocked, so the charge is guaranteed while the hold is still active |
| **Pre-authorization** | The guest saves their card and authorises a future charge. No money is blocked | You can try to charge it, but it may fail if the card does not have enough funds |

## How to set it up

First you need to have payments turned on: [Payments Activation and Setup](https://support.chekin.com/en/payments-activation-and-setup-chekin-help-center?hsLang=en). The security deposit is set up for each property.

1. Go to **Properties** and open the property ([open in the dashboard](https://dashboard.chekin.com/properties?hsLang=en)).
2. Go to the **Property Protection** section and click **Activate**.
3. Choose the programme: **Security Deposit** (deposit only), **Damage Protection Program** or both, so that the guest can choose.
4. In the **Plans** tab, complete the security deposit settings: 
     - 1**Deposit amount**: the amount you want to hold.
     - 2**Select type of deposit**: **Pre-authorization** or **Retention** (see the previous table).
     - 3**Days to release after check-out**: how many days after check-out the deposit is released automatically. During those days you can charge it if there is damage. The default is 7 days. This field only appears if you choose **Retention**, together with the notice “Keep in mind that retentions can be hold up to a maximum of 30 days after the deposit payment.”
     - 4Who pays the fee: **Discount fees from my balance** or **Charge fees to guest** (this is the default option).
5. Click **Save changes**, at the bottom. If you change the settings later, the dashboard asks whether you want to apply the changes to the existing bookings of that property.

![Plans tab of Property Protection: deposit amount, type of deposit with Retention selected, 30-day notice with the days to release after check-out, and fees](https://support.chekin.com/hubfs/help-center/articulos-nov-2026/hc25-es-17-3.jpg)

Dashboard shown in Spanish. The numbers match the fields in step 4.

1. In the same section, open the **Settings** tab. It only appears after you save the security deposit. 
     - 5**Optional** or **Required**: if it is optional, the guest can skip this step of the online check-in. When you save the security deposit, it is set to **Optional**.
     - 6**Exempted booking sources**: the channels where you don't want to ask for a security deposit, for example Airbnb. This only works if the channel comes with the booking.

![Settings tab of Property Protection: Optional or Required, and Exempted booking sources](https://support.chekin.com/hubfs/help-center/articulos-nov-2026/hc25-es-17-4.jpg)

Dashboard shown in Spanish. The numbers match step 6.

You can see the fees of each gateway in **Settings \> Payments**, in the **Payment gateway** section. If you have questions about what is charged for a security deposit, write to us. If you prefer the guest to pay for protection instead of a security deposit, see [How to activate Damage Protection](https://support.chekin.com/en/how-to-activate-damage-protection-chekin-help-center?hsLang=en): it is a one-off payment that the guest does not get back.

## Why the guest sees several holds

The hold starts when the guest completes the online check-in, not on the day they arrive.

- **With Chekin Gateway** there is a single hold, of up to 30 days, with no renewals. The guest sees a single transaction.
- **With Stripe Gateways** (your own Stripe account), every 7 days Chekin releases the previous hold and creates a new one for the same amount, and the guest's bank has to approve it. Chekin never keeps two amounts blocked at the same time.

With Stripe, the guest's bank may take a few days to remove the previous hold from their statement. During those days the guest sees two transactions for the same amount, and sometimes more. Many banks also send a notification for each renewal.

### Example with your own Stripe account: €250 security deposit, arrival on the 19th and departure on the 25th

| Date | What Chekin does | What the guest sees in their bank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **15th** (online check-in) | Creates the first hold | One pending transaction of €250 |
| **22nd** (during the stay) | Releases the previous hold and creates a new one | Two transactions of €250 until their bank removes the first one |
| **29th** (after departure) | Renews it again to cover the release days after check-out | They may see a third transaction |
| **End of the period** | Releases the hold | The transactions disappear when their bank processes it |

With Stripe, for each renewal the guest needs available funds for the deposit amount, even if their bank still shows the previous hold. If they don't have them, the renewal fails and Chekin cannot block the amount again.

With both gateways, holds can be kept for a maximum of 30 days after the deposit payment. When that maximum is reached, the hold is released and you can no longer charge the deposit. If the guest does the online check-in many days before arrival, or the stay is long, the hold may not last until the end.

## When and how it is released

- **Automatically:** Chekin releases it when the number of days you set in **Days to release after check-out** has passed (7 days by default). From that moment you can no longer charge it.
- **Manually:** if everything is fine and you want to release it earlier, do it from the booking: next to **Deposit amount**, click **(Release)**.
- **What the guest sees:** they don't receive a credit. The pending transaction disappears from their statement when their bank processes the release, and that can take a few days depending on the bank.

A security deposit that has already been released cannot be held again.

## Charge the security deposit if there is damage

You can charge the security deposit while it is still on hold, that is, until the release period ends.

1. Open the booking.
2. Check that the security deposit is On Hold.
3. Click **(Charge)**, next to **Deposit amount**.
4. Enter the amount you want to charge (it can be just part of it) and the reason, and confirm. The security deposit changes to Charged.

The money you charge goes to your Chekin Wallet if you use **Chekin Gateway**, or to your Stripe balance if you use **Stripe Gateways**. With **Pre-authorization**, the charge is made on the saved card and may fail if it does not have enough funds.

## Security deposit statuses

You can see them in the booking itself. To see all the transactions for a month or a property, go to **Settings \> Payments** and scroll down to **Transactions**.

![Settings, Payments, Transactions: month and property filters and the Download excel button](https://support.chekin.com/hubfs/help-center/articulos-nov-2026/hc25-en-17-2.jpg)

- 1**This month** (the calendar changes the month) and **By property**: the filters.
- 2**Download excel**: the details of the transactions.

Above it you will see **Your Balance**: it adds up everything your guests have paid through the gateway, including security deposits on hold. It is for information only; it is not what you can withdraw.

| Status | What it means | What you need to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| On Hold | The security deposit is blocked on the guest's card | Nothing. If there is damage, you can charge it |
| Released | Chekin has released the hold | Nothing. If the guest still sees it, it is their bank's processing time |
| Charged | You have charged the security deposit, in full or in part | Nothing |
| Payment on arrival | The guest did not leave the security deposit during the online check-in | Ask for it on arrival. If you did not expect this status, write to us |
| Deposit omitted | Someone clicked **Omit deposit** in the booking: the security deposit is treated as paid and is no longer requested from the guest. The button changes to **Deposit omitted** and is disabled | Nothing. If it was clicked by mistake, write to us |
| Charge error | The guest's bank declined the charge, for example because of insufficient funds | Talk to the guest. If you think it is a fault, write to us |
| Release error | It could not be released. This usually happens when the hold had already been released before | Write to us with the lead guest's name and the property |

## Turn off the security deposit

1. In the property, go to **Property Protection** and open the **⋮** menu, at the top right of the section.
2. Click **Deactivate feature in this property**.
3. In the **Deactivate feature?** window, click **Deactivate feature**.
4. In the **Deactivate property protection?** window, click **Confirm**.
5. Click **Save changes**, at the bottom. If you don't click it, the deactivation is not saved.

Bookings that already have the security deposit paid keep it. The dashboard warns you like this: “Existing reservations with the damage protection purchased or security deposit paid will remain with property protection active.” Those security deposits are still released at the end of the period.

To turn it off in all your properties, choose **Deactivate feature in all properties** in the same **⋮** menu.

## Common errors and questions

| What happens | Why | Solution |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **The guest says you have charged the security deposit two or three times** | With your own Stripe account, these are renewals of the same hold and their bank still shows the previous ones | Check in the booking that it is **On Hold** and not **Charged**. Send them the text at the end of this article |
| **A renewal has failed** (with your own Stripe account) | The card had no funds, had expired or the bank declined it | Chekin cannot block the amount again. Talk to the guest and write to us if you need help |
| **I use Chekin Gateway and a guest sees renewals every 7 days** | The guest left the security deposit before you switched to Chekin Gateway. Those security deposits stay in your Stripe account, with renewals every 7 days, until they are released | This is normal and only affects those security deposits. If you need help, write to us with the lead guest's name and the property |
| **I want to hold a security deposit again after it was released** | A released hold cannot be reactivated | If you need to charge something, agree on it directly with the guest |
| **A guest skipped the security deposit** | The security deposit is optional in that property (this is the default when you save it) | In **Property Protection**, **Settings** tab, choose **Required** |
| **I don't want to ask for a security deposit on Airbnb or Booking.com bookings** | By default it is requested for all bookings | Add those channels in **Exempted booking sources** (**Settings** tab of **Property Protection**). This only works if the channel comes with the booking |
| **The security deposit does not appear in my earnings** | It is a hold, not a charge | You only collect the security deposit if there is damage, and you charge it from the booking |
| **I turned off the protection and a security deposit is still on hold** | Bookings that had already left the security deposit keep the protection active | Nothing: it is still released at the end of the period |
| **The guest asks Chekin to release the security deposit** | The security deposit is managed by the accommodation, not by Chekin | Reply to them yourself: explain the status you see in the booking and when it will be released |

## Text for your guests

You can copy it into the check-in link message, or send it if a guest asks:

When you complete your registration, we will place a temporary hold of \[amount\] on your card as a security deposit. It is not a charge. After you check out, the security deposit is released automatically: the transaction disappears from your statement when your bank processes it, and you will not see a credit.

*If you collect payments with your own Stripe account, add:* The hold is renewed every 7 days, and your bank may ask you to approve it and show more than one transaction for a few days. They are not separate charges: only one amount is on hold at a time.

Still have questions? Write to us from the dashboard chat or at [support@chekin.com](mailto:support@chekin.com) with the lead guest's name, the property and the dates of the booking.

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