Why Stripe Is Required
Futurestay uses Stripe to process payments for direct bookings. Without a connected Stripe account, guests can’t pay you through your booking site. Connecting Stripe is one of the steps in the Setup Checklist, and it’s worth doing early so you’re ready to accept bookings as soon as you launch.
How to Connect
Go to Integrations > Stripe in your Futurestay account. Click Set Up Stripe to begin.
You’ll be asked to select your country and currency first, then you’ll be redirected to Stripe’s onboarding flow. From there, you can either create a new Stripe account or connect an existing one.
Stripe will ask for identity verification as part of their account approval process. For individuals, that typically means a Social Security Number (SSN). For businesses, you’ll use an Employer Identification Number (EIN). This is a Stripe requirement, not a Futurestay one, and it’s how Stripe complies with financial regulations.
Processing Fees
Futurestay charges the following processing fees on direct bookings:
- 3.5% for domestic transactions
- 4.5% for cross-border transactions
These fees are deducted from your payout before funds are transferred to your bank account. You never pay out of pocket; it comes out of the booking total.
If you’d prefer not to absorb those fees yourself, you can pass the 3.5% domestic processing fee on to guests. That setting lives in Website Settings and applies to all direct bookings.
One important note: Stripe’s processing fee is non-refundable. If you refund a guest for any reason, the processing fee on the original transaction is not returned. Factor this into your cancellation and refund policies.
After Setup
Once connected, Futurestay shows a confirmation screen with your fee details and refund policy information. Your Stripe account will start receiving payouts once bookings come in, on Stripe’s standard payout schedule.
If your Stripe account setup is incomplete for any reason (identity verification pending, required info missing), you’ll see a Finish Setup on Stripe prompt in the Integrations section. Click through and complete the remaining steps in Stripe directly.
Multiple Stripe Accounts (Amplify)
If you’re on the Amplify plan, you can connect more than one Stripe account and assign individual properties to different payout destinations. This is useful if you manage properties for multiple owners or want to keep income streams separate. You can manage account assignments from the Stripe integration settings.