| Purpose | Understand how 3DS authentication affects reservations and manage payments that remain pending. |
| Best for | Property admins, reservations staff, and front desk staff who process card payments. |
| Use this when | A guest's card requires 3DS approval, a deposit remains pending, or the reservation status does not match the expected payment outcome. |
| Requirements | Access to the reservation, its folio and deposits, and its Email Messages tab. |
| Expected result | Staff can identify the applicable 3DS flow, verify guest communication, follow up on pending approval, and cancel an unapproved deposit when required. |
| Limitations | Cloudbeds does not automatically cancel confirmed reservations when 3DS approval remains incomplete. Inquiry reservations cannot currently be changed manually to Canceled. |
Introduction
3D Secure, or 3DS, is an additional cardholder-authentication step required by the card's issuing bank. The cardholder approves the payment on their own device before the payment can be completed.
The authentication flow depends on who enters the card. A guest entering their own card can complete 3DS in the same session. When hotel staff or an online travel agency provides the card, Cloudbeds sends the guest a verification link instead.
Table of contents
- Compare the two 3DS flows
- Manage manually entered reservations awaiting 3DS
- Check the payment and verification-email status
- Cancel an unapproved 3DS deposit
- Understand abandoned Inquiry reservations
- Frequently asked questions
Compare the two 3DS flows
Use the reservation source and the person entering the card to determine how the cardholder receives the 3DS challenge.
| Payment flow | How 3DS works | Reservation outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudbeds Booking Engine or Pay by Link | The guest enters the card on their own device and completes 3DS in the same session. | The guest does not reach confirmation until the challenge is approved. An abandoned Booking Engine flow remains in Inquiry status. |
| Online travel agency or staff-entered card | The cardholder is not present in the payment session, so Cloudbeds emails the guest a 3DS verification link. | The reservation can be Confirmed while the deposit remains pending 3DS approval. |
Expected behavior: A confirmed reservation with a deposit awaiting 3DS approval does not indicate that the payment has completed.
Manage manually entered reservations awaiting 3DS
For phone or manually entered reservations, use a visible pending status and a property follow-up procedure until the cardholder approves the payment.
- Consider creating the reservation with Confirmation Pending status when the card requires 3DS.
- Tell the guest that the card requires an additional approval step and ask them to open the verification email on their device.
- Monitor the payment status. When the guest approves the challenge, the payment changes from pending to confirmed.
- If approval is not completed, follow the property's procedure for contacting the guest and canceling the reservation after the property's chosen timeframe.
Workflow consideration: The setting that changes a reservation to Confirmed when payment is added applies to all reservation sources. Using Confirmation Pending may require staff to review and confirm the reservation manually after the deposit posts.
Suggested guest message: “Your card requires an additional approval step. Please check your email and approve the payment before we confirm your reservation.”
Until approval is complete, treat the card as non-collectible. The stored card number alone does not confirm that the payment will succeed.
Check the payment and verification-email status
When staff attempt a payment that requires 3DS, Cloudbeds displays a Card requires authentication message. The message identifies the email address used for the verification link. The reservation folio shows the deposit as Pending, and the saved card is marked accordingly.
Verify that the 3DS email was sent
Open the reservation's Email Messages tab and locate the 3DS verification email. Review its delivery status before assuming that the message was blocked or filtered by the guest's email provider.
Cancel an unapproved 3DS deposit
Cancel the pending deposit separately when the reservation will not proceed. Canceling the reservation alone does not clear the pending deposit record from the folio.
- Open the reservation's Folio, then open Deposits.
- Click the vertical ellipsis menu next to the pending deposit, then select Cancel.
- Review the Cancel Pending Payment warning, then confirm the cancellation.
- Cancel the reservation separately when required by the property's workflow.
Important: A canceled pending payment cannot be rescheduled. To attempt the payment again, use Add Payment in the folio.
Understand abandoned Inquiry reservations
An abandoned Cloudbeds Booking Engine reservation can remain in Inquiry status when the guest does not complete 3DS. Properties cannot currently change an Inquiry reservation manually to Canceled.
Inquiry reservations do not hold room inventory, so an abandoned 3DS inquiry does not reduce availability. It can remain visible in records and reports until the product behavior changes.
Confirmed reservations: Cloudbeds does not automatically cancel a confirmed reservation when the guest does not approve the pending 3DS challenge. The property must use its own follow-up and cancellation procedure.
Frequently asked questions
Expand each question for additional guidance about 3DS payment behavior.
Will the guest see a pending charge before approving 3DS?
No charge or pending authorization should appear while the payment remains at the unapproved 3DS step. If the guest reports a charge, contact Cloudbeds Support and provide the reservation ID, payment date and time, payment status shown in the folio, and a screenshot of the reported card activity.
Does Pay by Link require a separate 3DS email?
No. After the guest opens the payment link, they complete any required 3DS challenge in that same session on their device.
How do staff know that a card requires 3DS?
Cloudbeds displays a Card requires authentication message when the payment is attempted. The folio also shows the deposit as Pending, and the saved card is marked accordingly.
Next Operational Step
Add the 3DS follow-up process to the property's reservation procedure, including the guest message, approval-check timeframe, pending-deposit cancellation steps, and the staff member responsible for the final status review.
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