⚠️ This article applies only if Little Hotelier Pay is activated on your account. If Little Hotelier Pay is not activated, you cannot process a refund in Little Hotelier and will not see the Process refund button.
Process refunds with Little Hotelier Pay
You can process refunds directly in Little Hotelier Front Desk for payments originally made through Little Hotelier Pay. This includes:
Reservation payments
Automated payments
Virtual terminal payments
Payment request payments
Refunds are returned to the same payment card used for the original payment.
⚠️ If the original payment was made through a third-party payment gateway, such as PayPal, Paystack, AsiaPay, or BimoPay, you cannot refund it in Little Hotelier. Log in to the payment system you originally used, process the refund there, then record it against the reservation in the Front Desk.
When can I process a refund?
With Little Hotelier Pay, you can easily process payments and refunds in your Little Hotelier Front Desk.
Refunds must be processed:
Within 90 days of processing the original payment
No later than seven days after a guest’s check out date
💡 You can still process a refund for a cancelled reservation if it's refundable under your cancellation policy.
⚠️ If you're not using Little Hotelier Pay and use a third-party payment provider such as Stripe, Square, or PayPal, process the refund through the payment system you originally used.
How to process a refund
Process a refund for a reservation
Refund a payment for a reservation in Little Hotelier using Little Hotelier Pay:
Go to Front Desk > open the reservation on Calendar or Reservations
On the Payments tab, click Process Refund
Enter the following details:
Amount
Note
(Optional) Show note on invoice
(Optional) Email invoice
Click Process Refund
Process a refund for a payment made using the payment terminal
Process a refund for a payment made using the payment terminal:
Go to My apps > Payments > Transactions
Search and click on the transaction
Click Refund
Enter the Amount (full or partial)
Click Process refund
💡 Can't see the Refund or Process refund button? This usually means Little Hotelier Pay is not activated on your account, or the payment was made through a third-party gateway.
Frequently asked questions
How can a guest verify that a refund has been made?
For MasterCard or Visa payments, you can provide the acquirer reference number from the transaction details. Guests can use this number to check the refund status with their bank. This allows them to contact their bank to ask for the status of the refund.
When will the guest receive the refund?
Once you have refunded a guest using Little Hotelier Pay, it can take up to seven days to be received in the guest’s bank account, depending on their bank and where they are located.
Guest is not seeing the refund on their bank statement
If the guest is asking why they are not seeing the refund on their bank statement, this may be why:
The refund appears as a reversal: The original payment will be removed from their bank statement
If the payment is refunded during its authorisation period: The original payment will be adjusted to either a lower amount (for a partial refund) or zero (for a full refund). The transaction may also be marked as ‘Pending’ on their bank statement
How can I refund a payment made through a third-party gateway?
If the original payment was processed through a third-party payment gateway such as PayPal, Paystack, AsiaPay, or BimoPay, you cannot process refunds via Little Hotelier. Log in to the gateway's portal and process the refund there. Third-party payment gateway transactions are not visible in your Little Hotelier Pay Transactions page. Contact the gateway's support team if you need help.