Reconcile Hostelworld PayNow payouts

1. Log in to Hostelworld Inbox with a Manager account and open Property Setup > Finance > Pay Now.
2. On the Payouts tab, click the payout that matches the bank deposit. The details show the timeline (Initiated automatically, In transit, Completed), the Payout Trace ID and the summary of charges, refunds, adjustments and fees.
3. Switch to the Guest Payments tab, click Export, pick the date range and a column set (the default has 23 columns) and download the CSV.
4. Match the bookingId column of the CSV to your booking references and your own records, line by line, looking for refunds and fees that explain the gap.
5. The payout and the export sit on two different tabs, so the matching is copied by hand every week, and one refunded booking is enough to make the totals disagree.

Match last week's Hostelworld PayNow payout to our bookings. Tell me which bookings it pays, which refunds and fees cut it down, and which PayNow bookings are not in it yet.

1. 01

   Find the payout behind the bank line

   list_payouts filtered to completed payouts around the bank date gives the candidates, and the agent picks the one whose amount equals the deposit. A payout still in transit is reported as on its way, not as missing.

2. 02

   Break it down by booking

   get_payout lists every payment inside it with its booking reference and status. The agent adds succeeded and refunded lines and checks that charges minus refunds, adjustments and fees give the net amount, so any gap is visible before matching starts.

3. 03

   Pull the export for a slightly wider window

   export_guest_payments covers the payout week plus a day on each side, so a payment dated at the edge of the week is not left out. The CSV rows are joined to the payout on bookingId.

4. 04

   Compare with your own list

   Given your PMS export or booking sheet, the agent flags PayNow bookings no payout covers yet, payments you have no record of, and refunds. A booking made this week is marked as expected in the next payout, not as missing.

5. 05

   Chase a late transfer the right way

   When a completed payout has not reached the bank after 5 business days, the agent hands you the Payout Trace ID to give your bank. It never changes PayNow settings or bank details.

Payout po_2026_10_07, completed 7 Oct: net EUR 464.40 (charges 520.00, refunds 40.00, fees 15.60)
Matched to bookings: 3 of 3 (412-305871264, 412-305871377, 412-305871402)
Refund inside this payout: 412-305871402, EUR 40.00
In your sheet, in no payout yet: 412-305990341, booked 8 Oct, expected in the next payout
Bank: not received yet; if nothing arrives by 14 Oct, give your bank trace ID tr_9F21K0Q4

• Only Manager user accounts in Hostelworld Inbox can enable PayNow, change payment settings and view payouts.
• Hostelworld PayNow is offered only in certain countries and only for non-refundable rates, and Hostelworld charges the guest the full booking value at booking.
• Hostelworld pays PayNow money into the bank account every 7 days, for bookings made the previous week, regardless of arrival date.
• Hostelworld's PayNow guide mentions a currency conversion fee of about 2% when the guest pays in a different currency from the property's.
• A Hostelworld PayNow account in the Active, Action Needed status keeps selling, but payments, payouts or both are restricted if the Stripe requirement is not met by the date in the amber banner.

Every tool here only reads, so it can run weekly from n8n, Make, Zapier or cron without waiting for your OK.

Sources: Hostelworld Help: PayNow guide · Hostelworld Help (Spanish): Una guía sencilla para PayNow · Hostelworld Help: Understanding how payments work

curl https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/hostelworld/get_payout \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"payout_id":"po_2026_10_07"}'

{
  "payout_id": "po_2026_10_07",
  "status": "completed",
  "trace_id": "tr_9F21K0Q4",
  "summary": {
    "charges": 520,
    "refunds": 40,
    "adjustments": 0,
    "fees": 15.6,
    "net": 464.4,
    "currency": "EUR"
  },
  "transactions": [
    {
      "booking_ref": "412-305871264",
      "amount": 200,
      "status": "succeeded"
    },
    {
      "booking_ref": "412-305871377",
      "amount": 180,
      "status": "succeeded"
    },
    {
      "booking_ref": "412-305871402",
      "amount": 140,
      "status": "refunded",
      "refunded": 40
    }
  ]
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the tool is hostelworld_get_payout. Example data.

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