Danish holiday-home rental agency Sol og Strand has selected payments technology company Shift4 to handle payment processing across its network of more than 7,000 privately owned properties.
The partnership will cover online bookings and settlement, with a focus on making payments easier to manage for both the company and its guests. Shift4 will also introduce T+1 settlement, giving Sol og Strand access to funds on the next business day.
The agreement comes as tourism remains an important part of Denmark’s economy. Denmark recorded almost 67.7 million tourist overnight stays in 2025, according to Statistics Denmark. Holiday homes accounted for about 23.7 million of those stays, making them one of the country’s most popular forms of accommodation. The number of holiday-home overnight stays increased by 1% from 2024.
This makes the holiday home Denmark market an important part of the country’s travel sector. Holiday homes are particularly popular with international visitors. In 2025, German visitors accounted for around 67% of holiday-home overnight stays in Denmark, while Danish visitors accounted for 26%.
Sol og Strand was founded in 1979 and offers holiday homes and apartments in destinations including Bornholm, Skagen, Blokhus, Blåvand and Fanø. Its portfolio includes smaller coastal properties as well as larger family homes and properties with swimming pools.
One of the main changes under the new partnership concerns payments made after a guest has left a property. Additional charges can sometimes arise after a stay, including cleaning costs, utilities or property damage.
Previously, Sol og Strand collected such amounts through a separate invoice. With Shift4’s new payment setup, eligible additional charges can instead be charged to the card used for the original booking, subject to the relevant authorisation and card-scheme requirements.
Separate post-stay billing is not unique to Sol og Strand. It is already used in parts of the holiday-rental industry, particularly where electricity, water, heating, cleaning or damage costs are calculated after guests leave. For example, Danish rental companies NOVASOL and Dansommer describe post-stay settlement or deductions from deposits for consumption and damage.
The approach also exists outside Denmark. Different accommodation and rental platforms use deposits, card authorisations or later charges to handle additional costs. Airbnb, for example, allows eligible damage-related amounts to be collected through the payment method used for a booking.
However, the exact process varies between companies and countries. Some holiday-home operators use a deposit, while others invoice guests after departure. In Denmark, consumer guidance also notes that guests may have to pay separately after a holiday-home stay for electricity, water or other consumption if these costs are not included in the original price.
For guests, the change is intended to reduce the need to deal with a separate invoice after returning home. It also allows Sol og Strand to automate more of its payment administration.
Jens Frandsen, Chief Financial Officer at Sol og Strand, commented: “Holiday-home rentals come with some very specific payment challenges. Booking volumes change substantially throughout the year, and there are times when an additional charge needs to be settled after a guest has returned home. We chose Shift4 because the team understood how our business works and was willing to build around what we actually need.
Faster settlement and a simpler way to handle post-stay charges will make a real positive difference to our teams and guests. As we continue to grow, we need payment infrastructure that can grow with us, and that’s what Shift4 will provide.”
Ruben Nielson, Director Business Development – Nordics at Shift4, added: “Payments should never be the thing guests remember about their stay – the holiday experience should. Travel payments are rarely as straightforward as taking the initial booking. Holiday-rental businesses must manage deposits, refunds, seasonal demand, and charges that may only become clear after a stay has ended.
Our work with Sol og Strand is about solving those problems so the experience stays front and centre for guests. T+1 settlement will give the business faster access to its funds, while the post-stay payment capability replaces a slow, manual invoicing process. It’s a good example of how payment infrastructure can be adapted to the commercial needs of a particular sector, and we’re pleased to be working with Sol og Strand to deliver it.”
The new payment infrastructure is designed specifically for the requirements of holiday-home rentals, where booking volumes can change significantly between peak and off-peak seasons. It also needs to support refunds, chargebacks, deposits and payments that become due after check-out.
The solution is focused on holiday rentals rather than traditional hotel bookings. While a hotel holiday home may offer some similar accommodation features, holiday-home rentals often involve additional costs linked to property use and consumption. This can make payment processing more complex than a standard hotel booking.
The change is also separate from products such as holiday home insurance, which can help cover certain risks associated with renting or staying in a holiday property. Insurance does not replace the need for rental companies to manage payments for agreed costs such as utilities, cleaning or damage.
For travellers searching for accommodation, the distinction between a holiday home, hotel or hotel brand such as Holiday Inn is therefore more than a question of location and price. Each type of accommodation can have different booking, deposit, payment and cancellation conditions.
For Sol og Strand, the Shift4 partnership is intended to make these processes easier to manage while keeping payments in the background of the guest experience
