About Visual One Deposits

1. Deposits require the payment gateway to be connected to chameleon™. 
   
   
2. The payment gateway deposit functionality is only available to users of Elavon’s Fusebox, Shift4, and Freedom Pay’s rGuestPay gateways.
   
   
3. Properties can specify different deposit rules based on a variety of criteria, listed below under “Adding a New Deposit to chameleon”.
   
   
4. Once deposit functionality is enabled, chameleon™ will no longer accept fake credit cards for testing purposes. Thus, if a test is ever required, a valid credit card will need to be used and then refunded. 
   
   
5. The deposit taken through chameleon™ automatically transfers to the property's merchant account bank, and posts on the reservation in Visual One. 
   
   
6. chameleon™ does not process refunds, so it is recommended that properties taking deposits disable changing or cancelling online, unless prepared to arrange manual monitoring and processing.
   

Adding a Deposit to chameleon™

1. Select “Rate Plans” then “Manage Deposits”.
   
   
2. Select “+Add a Deposit”.
   
   
   
   
3. Tariff ID: select the tariff, package, or booking ID in question. If this deposit applies to all rate plans, select “All Rate Plans”.
   
   
   1. Note: properties can set the GROUP tariff under this field to set a deposit rule that will apply for all groups.
      
      
   2. Note: if the property has built a booking ID as a rate plan, they can specify it here however it will also have to be selected under the "group" field shown below.
      
      
4. Room Type ID: if this deposit type only applies to a room type, select that room type in this drop- down menu. If this deposit applies to all room types, select “All Room Types”.
   
   
5. Start Date: the start date for when this deposit rule applies for this criterion.
   
   
6. End Date: the end date for when this deposit rule applies for this criterion.
   
   
1. Note: by selecting the month, you can fast forward through numerous months. By selecting the year, you can fast forward through numerous years.
   
   
7. Deposit Type:
   
   
1. Percentage of Stay Total: this will mean that the reservation will be charged a percentage of the grand total.
   
   
2. Number of Nights to be Paid in Advance: this will mean that the reservation will be charged for “X” number of nights to be paid in full.
   
   
8. Include Taxes: this setting will include taxes in the deposit.
   
   
9. Include Options: this setting will factor option charges into the deposit.
   
   
10. Extra Fee: if a service charge is required for this payment type, indicate the dollar value of this charge in this section.
    
    
11. Priority: if more than one deposit rule applies for the same date range, room type, or rate type, the deposit priority closest to 1 will be charged.
    
    
    1. b4checkin recommends that properties build deposit rules in increments of 10 to allow for future rules to be easily built and prioritized.
       
       
    2. Properties can have numerous deposit rules with the same priority level.
       
       
12. Group: if this deposit rule is being built for a group, the booking ID must be specified here.
    
    
    1. Note: if the property has built the booking ID as a rate plan, they can specify it under the "Tariff ID" field however it must be set here as well to operate correctly.
       
       
13. Amount (% of # of nights): the percentage or number of nights that will be charged for on this deposit. Numbers only; no symbols.
    
    
14. Save.
    
    
    

Editing a Deposit in chameleon™

The most common edit to a deposit rule will be the adjustment of the date range for which this deposit applies.

1. Select “Rate Plans” then “Manage Deposits”.
   
   
2. Select the edit button next to the deposit rule in question. 
   
   
   
   
3. Adjust the fields per the required action.
   
   
4. Save.
   
   

Removing a Deposit from chameleon™

A deposit rule can be removed from chameleon by:

1. Select “Rate Plans” then “Manage Deposits”.
   
   
2. Select the garbage can (delete) button next to the deposit rule in question.
   
   
3. This deposit rule no longer applies on chameleon.  
   
   
   
   

Deposit Rule Samples

Situation #1:The property has 6 tariffs. 1 of those tariffs charges a deposit and the other 5 do not need a deposit.

Deposit Rule Set-Up: 1 deposit rule is required for the tariff that needs to be charged. This would be selected under the "tariff ID" selection box.

Situation #2: The property has 6 tariffs. 5 of those tariffs charge a deposit and the other 1 does not charge a deposit. 

Deposit Rule Set-Up: This can be done in two ways:

1. Build a deposit rule for the 1 tariff that does require pre payment and set it at priority 1. Then build a deposit rule for the 5 tariffs that require charging and set it at priority 2.
2. Build 5 separate deposit rules for the 5 tariffs that require deposit rules.

Situation #3: The property has tariffs (non-group), the GROUP tariff, and 2 group booking IDs. 50% of the stay needs to be charged for the 3 tariffs.  25% of the stay should be taken for all groups, except for 1 booking ID which should be charged 10% of the stay.

Deposit Rule Set-Up:

1. Build the deposit rule for the booking ID that charges 10% and set the priority to 1.
2. Then, build the GROUP tariff deposit rule for all groups to pre pay 25% and set this at priority 2.
3. Finally, build a deposit rule for all rate plans as priority 3, as all other tariffs require a 50% deposit.

Situation #4: The property has 6 tariffs. 4 of them are charged at 50% and 2 of them should be charged 25%.

Deposit Rule Set-Up:

1. Set a deposit rule for each of the two tariffs that require a 25% deposit and set them both at priority 1.
2. Set a deposit rule for all rate plans at 50% as priority 2.