What is auto top up?
If your Little Hotelier Pay account balance reaches zero or negative, auto top will automatically transfer funds from your bank account to your Little Hotelier Pay account, allowing you to keep processing refunds without disruptions.
When that happens, you will receive an email letting you know that your bank account will be debited within 48 hours. The email contains information on how your account balance reached zero or negative (likely due to a refund), as well as the amount that needs to be debited. Once the 48 hours have passed, the funds will be automatically transferred from your bank account to your Little Hotelier Pay account.
What happens when auto top up is not activated?
If auto top up is not activated, when your Little Hotelier Pay account balance reaches zero or negative, you will need to manually add the required funds to your account. You can do this by activating auto top up or processing more guest payments. Alternatively, contact our support team and request to switch from daily to weekly payouts or manually transfer funds to your account.
Here are some ways to do this:
Activate auto top up
Process more guest payments
Switch from a daily to weekly payout schedule
Manually transfer funds to your account
You won’t be able to process refunds while your Little Hotelier Pay account balance is zero or negative.
Do I need to activate auto top up?
If your property is located in the EMEA region, you’ll need to activate auto top
For properties located in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Asia, auto top up is already enabled by default
Auto top up is not available to properties in Hong Kong, Singapore or Mexico due to local regulations
How to activate auto top up (EMEA only)
Click on the button in the email to open the Direct Debit Authorisation page
Confirm your details and enter any additional details that are required
Confirm that you agree to the Terms and Conditions
Once complete, auto top up will be activated (once authorisation is successful)
Steps to activate auto top up (EMEA only):
Go to My apps > Payments, where you will be prompted to sign up to direct debit (auto top up)
After setting up your Little Hotelier Pay account, you will receive an email with instructions on how to activate auto top up
Click on the button to open the Direct Debit Authorisation page
Verify your details and fill in any missing information
Agree to the Terms and Conditions
Once approved, auto top up will be activated
Failed payouts and auto top up
Any funds received from your guest are not issued as individual payouts; instead, they are stored in your Little Hotelier Pay account balance, which is the sum of all funds received from all guests on the present day, including adjustments but minus refunds. This balance is then paid out to your nominated bank account once per day.
A failed payout can result from either of the following:
A failed deposit (payout) into your bank account, which is often caused by incorrect bank account details
A failed debit from your bank account (if auto top up is active)
When a payout or auto top up fails, you will receive an email with more detailed information.
All other payouts will not be processed until a failed payout has been resolved; to do this, check that your bank account details are correct (via Payments > Payouts > Linked account) and there are funds available in your bank account. If your bank details are incorrect, contact our support team and ask them to update your details so the payout can be attempted again.
Frequently asked questions
Why am I getting an "insufficient funds" error when trying to process a refund?
This error means your Little Hotelier Pay account balance is zero or negative. If auto top up is enabled and you are still seeing this error, the automatic debit from your bank account may have failed. Check:
Your bank account details are correct
There are sufficient funds in your bank account
Check if you received an email about a failed auto top up
How do I process a refund if I have unavailable funds?
If you can’t refund a guest due to your account balance having insufficient funds, but you need to refund the guest urgently, you can:
Process additional payments to bring your account into a positive balance.
Send the funds directly to your guest if they are asking for an urgent refund.
Contact our support team for assistance with your account balance.
To ensure you always have an available balance so you can process refunds in future, you can:
Activate auto top up (direct debit)
Switch to a weekly or fortnightly payouts to maintain a higher balance for refunds
Why do I have an available balance but unavailable funds to process a refund?
You have a pending payout (Status = In Transit) that will be transferred to your account shortly. Once this happens, the amount will be unavailable for processing refunds.