⏱ Estimated time: 5 minutes
👤 Role: Finance Controllers, Hotel Owners, General Managers
Understanding why Stripe payouts may differ from your total sales.
Identifying "Reserves" and why they are implemented on your account.
How to contact Stripe support for a direct call-back.
Use this guide when you are reconciling your bank statements against your Ecommerce platform sales reports and notice a discrepancy. This is particularly common for new properties or those experiencing a sudden shift in booking volume or dispute levels.
Key Logic:
A Reserve is a portion of your funds that Stripe holds back to cover potential financial risks, such as guest refunds or chargeback disputes. Because these funds are "held" rather than "paid out," your daily bank deposit will be lower than your gross sales. This is a standard risk-mitigation tool used by payment processors worldwide.
Review your Stripe Dashboard specifically looking for "Reserve" notifications.
Have your Stripe account details ready if you need to contact their support team.
Note: Journey does not have access to your private Stripe financial data; we can see transaction status, but we cannot see or manage your account reserves.
If you notice your payouts are consistently lower than your sales, it is likely due to an active reserve.
New Accounts: Stripe often automatically implements a reserve on new accounts until a reliable processing history is established.
Risk Factors: Reserves can also be triggered by a sudden increase in refunds or a high number of guest disputes (chargebacks).
The Payout Delay: The funds aren't gone; they are simply delayed. Once the reserve period ends, those funds are released into your standard payouts.
For a deeper dive into the specific mechanics of your reserve, Stripe provides detailed resources:
If you believe a reserve has been placed in error or you need an update on when funds will be released, you must contact Stripe directly.
Log in to the Stripe Support portal.
Click Contact Support at the top of the right-hand menu.
Select an appropriate topic from the pop-up (e.g., Payouts).
Request a Call: Click Have us call you. Stripe typically provides a real-time estimate of the wait time (usually only a few minutes).
Alternatively, you can use the Chat online feature for a written record of the conversation.
Monitor Your Dispute Rate: High levels of disputes are the most common reason for a sudden reserve being placed on a mature account. Ensure your guest "Statement Descriptor" in Stripe clearly identifies your hotel name so guests recognise the charge on their bank statement, reducing the likelihood of accidental disputes.
Privacy & Security: For security reasons, Stripe will only discuss reserve details with verified account owners. Journey Support cannot intervene or ask Stripe to remove a reserve on your behalf. Always use the "Call Me" feature within your own Stripe login to ensure you are speaking with an official representative.