---
title: Guesty reservations confirmed after a declined card
description: "On a booking engine connected to Guesty, a reservation can be confirmed even though the guest's card was declined. The guest sees a normal success screen,…"
url: "https://homerunner.io/docs/why-was-a-reservation-confirmed-in-guesty-even-though-the-guest-s-card-was-decli/"
updated: "2026-10-26"
category: Booking engine and checkout
---

# Guesty reservations confirmed after a declined card

On a booking engine connected to Guesty, a reservation can be confirmed even though the guest's card was declined. The guest sees a normal success screen, and the reservation stays confirmed and unpaid.

**Why this happens.** Guesty's booking API creates and confirms the reservation first, then attempts payment afterward. When the card is declined during that later step, Guesty does not surface an error in the booking flow. Guesty has acknowledged this as the current behavior of the reservation-creation endpoint. Guesty Payment Automations, such as collecting 100% at pre-confirmation, do not close this gap for bookings arriving through the booking engine API.

**What you can do.** Two options reduce your exposure.

**Stripe pre-authorization with 3D Secure.** You can enable Stripe pre-authorization with 3D Secure at checkout. With this active, the card is validated and the booking amount is held during checkout itself, so a declined or fraud-flagged card stops the booking before any reservation is created. Your Stripe secret key goes into HomeRunner **Settings**, then **Payment Providers**, alongside your publishable key. Because this is a credential you enter yourself in your own dashboard, no one on the HomeRunner team needs to see it.

**Automatic cancellation of unpaid reservations.** You can enable automatic cancellation of unpaid reservations, so bookings that remain unpaid past a set window are cancelled and the dates reopen automatically. Contact support to have auto-cancellation enabled and to choose the window.

**Blocking repeat offenders.** You can also block repeat offenders by phone number and email using the HomeRunner guest blacklist.

As a general operational practice, treat a confirmed reservation as separate from a collected payment, especially for same-day and late-night bookings.

Still stuck? [Contact the HomeRunner team](https://homerunner.io/contact/) with your site address and what you tried, and we take it from there.