Is there a way to automatically mark reservations as paid through SiteMinder and Airbnb on Mews? The reservations are paid through Airbnb and we need the guest balance in Mews to be $0 in order for our Lynx integration to send the guest their door lock code!
Solved
Airbnb throuh SiteMinder Payments
Best answer by paul.boulom
Hi
Thank you for your question regarding automatically marking Airbnb via SiteMinder reservations as paid.
With this setup:
- Airbnb does not pass usable payment details or a VCC to Mews, and
- Even when SiteMinder includes “prepaid” info, Mews does not turn that into an automatic payment or mark the reservation as paid.
So Mews cannot automatically set the reservation balance to 0 based on Airbnb’s payout. You have to solve the Lynx “balance must be $0” requirement with one of these approaches:
Option 1 – Use billing automation to zero the guest side
If Lynx only cares about the guest bill, you can leave the real balance on an Airbnb company bill:
- Create / use an Airbnb company + travel agency profile and ensure it’s mapped correctly in the SiteMinder integration.
- Create a Billing automation:
- Condition: link the Airbnb travel agency and enable “Reservations prepaid in online travel agency (OTA)”.
- Items: route nights (and any Airbnb‑paid products).
- Target bill: Company bill (Airbnb), grouped per reservation.
- Result: new Airbnb reservations come in with all stay charges on the Airbnb bill, and the guest’s bill shows 0 (or only extras / city tax if you leave those on the guest).
If Lynx evaluates only the guest’s own bill, this will give it a balance of 0 without posting any fake payments.
Option 2 – Record an external payment (manual or via custom automation)
If Lynx (or your internal process) needs the entire reservation truly balanced to 0:
- When you receive the Airbnb bank transfer, post an External payment (e.g. “Airbnb payout / bank transfer”) for the correct amount on the Airbnb (company) bill and close it.
- To automate this, you would need a custom integration (Connector API, Zapier, or another middleware) that:
- Detects new Airbnb‑via‑SiteMinder reservations,
- Calculates the amount to be “paid”,
- Posts an external payment in Mews against the right bill.
So: there is no built‑in way for Mews + SiteMinder + Airbnb to automatically mark those reservations as paid. The practical options are:
- Route the stay to an Airbnb company bill so the guest bill is 0, and/or
- Automate external payments via a custom integration if you need the whole reservation balance truly at 0 for Lynx.
I hope this helped to clarify.
Wishing you a great day!
Best regards,
Paul
+2I am not sure if this still works, but you could connect Airbnb through HotelTonight and you will receive a VCC for the payment, which could be charged automatically in Mews.
At least some time ago, this was working.
+2Yes, it’s would be the same as with every other OTA that provides a VCC. 🫤
+1- Community Ambassador
- Answer
Hi
Thank you for your question regarding automatically marking Airbnb via SiteMinder reservations as paid.
With this setup:
- Airbnb does not pass usable payment details or a VCC to Mews, and
- Even when SiteMinder includes “prepaid” info, Mews does not turn that into an automatic payment or mark the reservation as paid.
So Mews cannot automatically set the reservation balance to 0 based on Airbnb’s payout. You have to solve the Lynx “balance must be $0” requirement with one of these approaches:
Option 1 – Use billing automation to zero the guest side
If Lynx only cares about the guest bill, you can leave the real balance on an Airbnb company bill:
- Create / use an Airbnb company + travel agency profile and ensure it’s mapped correctly in the SiteMinder integration.
- Create a Billing automation:
- Condition: link the Airbnb travel agency and enable “Reservations prepaid in online travel agency (OTA)”.
- Items: route nights (and any Airbnb‑paid products).
- Target bill: Company bill (Airbnb), grouped per reservation.
- Result: new Airbnb reservations come in with all stay charges on the Airbnb bill, and the guest’s bill shows 0 (or only extras / city tax if you leave those on the guest).
If Lynx evaluates only the guest’s own bill, this will give it a balance of 0 without posting any fake payments.
Option 2 – Record an external payment (manual or via custom automation)
If Lynx (or your internal process) needs the entire reservation truly balanced to 0:
- When you receive the Airbnb bank transfer, post an External payment (e.g. “Airbnb payout / bank transfer”) for the correct amount on the Airbnb (company) bill and close it.
- To automate this, you would need a custom integration (Connector API, Zapier, or another middleware) that:
- Detects new Airbnb‑via‑SiteMinder reservations,
- Calculates the amount to be “paid”,
- Posts an external payment in Mews against the right bill.
So: there is no built‑in way for Mews + SiteMinder + Airbnb to automatically mark those reservations as paid. The practical options are:
- Route the stay to an Airbnb company bill so the guest bill is 0, and/or
- Automate external payments via a custom integration if you need the whole reservation balance truly at 0 for Lynx.
I hope this helped to clarify.
Wishing you a great day!
Best regards,
Paul
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