Can I require a card at booking?

Yes. With prepay on, the golfer pays by card to book; with a no-show fee set, their card is saved for it with their agreement.

When is the no-show fee charged?

Only after the session and grace period have passed with no door event and no check-in, and only once.

What happens if a golfer cancels late?

Inside your cancellation window the booking is cancelled and the code revoked, and the prepaid payment is kept. Before it, the refund is automatic.

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How do I stop no-shows and walkouts at my golf sim studio?

Operators say a card on file at booking stops walkouts. How OpenTeeSheet takes payment up front, sets a cancellation window, and charges an optional no-show fee only when the door was never used.

Updated 2026-10-24. Every quote links to where it was published.

In owners' own words

“Require a card on file for all bookings, period. ... the walkouts will drop to near zero overnight.”
Golf simulator studio operator, r/golfsimulatorbusiness · source

“Prepayments would resolve your no-show issue, paired with a cancellation policy”
Golf simulator studio operator, r/golfsimulatorbusiness · source

What it is

Operators who have solved this say the same two things: take the money (or a card) when the bay is booked, and publish a cancellation policy that applies on its own. An unstaffed studio cannot chase a no-show by phone, so the rule has to be enforced by the booking system, and the golfer has to see it before paying.

How OpenTeeSheet does it

With prepay on, the golfer pays by card when booking, and the booking is confirmed only when Stripe confirms the payment.	Pinned by automated tests: booking-payments.test.ts, booking-finalize.test.ts
You set a cancellation window from 30 minutes up to 7 days (default 30 minutes). A golfer who cancels before it is refunded automatically; inside it the booking is still cancelled, the bay is freed and the door code is revoked, but the prepaid payment is kept. The golfer reads the rule before paying.	Pinned by automated tests: cancel-policy-realdb.test.ts, cancel-booking.test.ts
A whole-dollar no-show fee is optional and off at $0. The golfer sees the amount and agrees before paying, and their card is saved for it.	Pinned by automated tests: no-show-fee-realdb.test.ts
The fee is charged only when the door lock's own webhook is live for that venue, the booking held a credential it can report on, the session ended, the grace period passed, and not one door event and no check-in exists. If that signal is unavailable the booking waits for the venue to confirm; it is never a guess.	Pinned by automated tests: no-show-fee-realdb.test.ts, no-show-fee-unit.test.ts
One charge per booking, ever, at the amount the golfer agreed to. Cancelled bookings and attended bookings are never charged, and the venue can waive the fee.	Pinned by automated tests: no-show-fee-realdb.test.ts

What owners report from other tools

A general scheduler gives the owner a calendar and leaves the cancellation and no-show policy to be enforced by hand.

Set up card at booking and a no-show fee

Connect your Stripe account in the dashboard and turn on prepay, so a booking is paid when it is made.
Set your cancellation window, from 30 minutes to 7 days.
Set a whole-dollar no-show fee, or leave it at $0 to keep it off.
Connect your door lock so its door events can show whether the golfer arrived.

Questions

Can I require a card at booking?: Yes. With prepay on, the golfer pays by card to book; with a no-show fee set, their card is saved for it with their agreement.
When is the no-show fee charged?: Only after the session and grace period have passed with no door event and no check-in, and only once.
What happens if a golfer cancels late?: Inside your cancellation window the booking is cancelled and the code revoked, and the prepaid payment is kept. Before it, the refund is automatic.