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By ActivityPay
You book a $2,400 five-day rafting expedition six months in advance. Your customer's card gets charged, you see the transaction in your system, and you assume that money is working for you—building your cash reserves or helping cover equipment maintenance during the slow season. But here's what's actually happening: that $2,400 isn't in your account yet. It's sitting in an authorization hold, and depending on how your payment system is configured, it might stay locked up until your customer actually shows up for day one of their adventure.
For adventure businesses running multi-day tours with advance bookings, this authorization hold issue creates a cash flow nightmare that most payment processors either don't understand or don't care to fix. You're essentially providing free financing to credit card networks while your seasonal business struggles to cover pre-season expenses.
When someone books your multi-day tour, two separate things can happen with their payment. An authorization hold reserves the funds on their credit card—it shows as pending in their account, but the money hasn't actually moved to you. A payment capture completes the transaction and starts the process of transferring funds to your business account.
Most standard payment systems default to authorization-only for future bookings, especially when there's a significant gap between purchase and service delivery. The card networks designed this to protect consumers from businesses that might charge them months before delivering a service (or never deliver at all). That's reasonable for vague "coming soon" purchases, but it creates serious problems for legitimate adventure operators.
The timing of payment capture directly impacts your working capital. If you're booking summer rafting trips in January but not capturing those payments until customers arrive in June, you're missing five months of cash flow when you most need it—right when you should be hiring seasonal guides, servicing equipment, and ramping up marketing.
Here's the math: A 12-trip outfitter booking $150,000 worth of summer adventures between January and March could have that entire amount sitting in authorization holds instead of their business account. That's $150,000 they can't use to negotiate better equipment pricing, hire early-season staff, or invest in the marketing that drives even more bookings.
Credit card authorization holds typically expire after 7-10 days for most merchants. But adventure businesses often get extended hold periods—up to 30 days—because card networks recognize you're selling future-dated experiences. Even with extended holds, there's still a gap problem.
If someone books your September mountain biking tour in March, here's what commonly happens:
Now you're days away from the tour with an empty seat and no payment. You've held that spot for six months based on a booking that never converted to actual revenue.
The most effective solution for multi-day tours is structuring your payment timing around actual cash flow needs rather than defaulting to whatever your payment system suggests. This means capturing real payments at strategic points, not just holding authorizations.
Capture a meaningful deposit immediately at booking—typically 25-50% of the total tour cost. This isn't an authorization hold; it's an actual charge that completes processing and deposits into your account within 1-3 business days. This deposit serves multiple purposes: it improves booking commitment (reducing no-shows), provides immediate working capital, and creates a financial stake that makes customers more likely to follow through.
For a $2,000 multi-day kayaking tour, capturing a $500 deposit at booking gives you real money to work with months before the tour. That's $500 per booking that's funding your operation, not sitting in authorization limbo.
The remaining balance needs thoughtful timing based on your specific cancellation policy and operational needs. Many adventure operators find success capturing the final balance 30-45 days before the tour date. This timing is late enough that customers have their travel plans confirmed (reducing cancellations), but early enough that you can fill the spot if someone does cancel.
Some operators use a three-stage approach for longer or more expensive expeditions:
This staged approach generates cash flow throughout your planning cycle while giving customers manageable payment milestones instead of one large final charge.
Most booking platforms that integrate with payment systems offer payment scheduling options—but they're often buried in settings or require specific configuration. The default setting is usually "authorize at booking, capture at service date," which is exactly what creates the cash flow problem.
Look for these specific configuration options in your booking platform:
If your current booking software doesn't offer these options, you're not just dealing with a minor inconvenience—you're using a system that's actively hurting your cash flow. This is worth a serious conversation with your software provider or an evaluation of integrated payment solutions designed specifically for activity businesses.
Clear communication about when charges will occur prevents disputes and reduces chargebacks. When customers understand they'll see multiple charges at specific times, they're less likely to contact their bank claiming an unexpected charge.
Your booking confirmation should explicitly state: "Your card will be charged $500 today as a deposit. The remaining balance of $1,500 will be charged on [specific date], 30 days before your tour." Some operators include this same language in reminder emails sent a week before each payment capture.
When you're capturing final payment weeks or months after initial booking, you'll inevitably encounter expired cards or customers who've received replacement cards. Build a process for collecting updated payment information 7-10 days before scheduled captures.
Send an automated email: "Your final payment of $1,500 for your August 15th rafting tour will be processed on July 15th using the card ending in 4352. If you've received a new card or this card is no longer valid, please update your payment information here: [secure link]."
This proactive approach catches problems before payment failures occur, saving you the awkward conversation and potential lost revenue.
There's one legitimate concern with early payment capture: chargebacks. When you capture payment months before delivering the service, you're technically increasing the window during which a customer could dispute the charge. However, the actual chargeback risk increase is minimal if you're handling three things correctly:
First, your cancellation policy must be clearly displayed at booking and in all confirmation materials. Customers can't successfully dispute a charge if they agreed to your refund terms.
Second, automated reminder communications keep your tour top-of-mind. When customers receive periodic emails confirming their upcoming adventure, they're far less likely to see a charge on their statement and not recognize it.
Third, detailed booking documentation protects you in disputes. When you can provide the credit card company with booking confirmations, policy acceptance records, and communication history, you'll win the vast majority of chargeback claims.
The cash flow benefit of proper payment capture timing dramatically outweighs the marginally increased chargeback risk—especially when you're implementing chargeback management and prevention tools designed for activity businesses.
Authorization holds made sense when payment systems were designed for simple retail transactions. But multi-day tours aren't retail—they're complex advance bookings that require working capital long before service delivery. Getting payments captured at strategic intervals instead of held in authorization limbo means you have real cash flow to invest in the equipment, staff, and marketing that grow your adventure business.
Review your current payment timing today. Log into your booking system and check whether you're capturing or just authorizing payments. If you're running on authorization holds, you're leaving cash flow on the table during the exact months when seasonal adventure businesses need it most.
An authorization hold reserves funds on a customer's credit card but doesn't transfer money to your business—it just shows as pending in their account. A payment capture actually completes the transaction and starts transferring the funds to your business account, typically within 1-3 business days.
The most effective approach is to capture a meaningful deposit (25-50% of tour cost) immediately at booking, then capture the remaining balance 30-45 days before the tour date. This provides working capital when you need it while giving customers time to confirm their travel plans.
The chargeback risk increase is minimal if you clearly display your cancellation policy, send reminder communications about the upcoming tour, and maintain detailed booking documentation. The cash flow benefits dramatically outweigh the marginally increased risk.
Send an automated email 7-10 days before your scheduled payment capture asking customers to update their payment information if their card has changed or expired. This proactive approach prevents payment failures and awkward conversations close to the tour date.
Check your booking platform's payment settings for options like immediate capture, scheduled payment capture, or installment scheduling—these are often buried in configuration settings. If your system doesn't offer these options, consider switching to booking software designed specifically for activity businesses.