Does anyone else have an issue with payments for long stays coming after the end of the stay? Personally I think they should be split into 2 payments with one at the beginning and one at the end.
One suggestion is to split the booking into 2 sets of dates. Hypothetically: Instead of booking Feb.1-15, book it as Feb. 1-7, 8-15.that way, you’d receive payment for the first half sooner.)
It’s unlikely that you will ever receive rover payment at the beginning, before the service even begins, in case there’s a dispute from the client which rover needs to review. For clients you generate on your own, you can opt to handle all booking & payment details (not converting them to rover clients) in which case you set all parameters,which may include deposit payment upfront.
It's highly unlikely that what you're suggesting will ever be adopted by Rover because it holds the money as a guarantee, just in case there are problems at the conclusion of a stay.
Also, if you look at it from the customer's standpoint, they benefit from having a third party hold the money. Unless you are someone the customer knows and trusts unconditionally, they wouldn't feel secure if the money were turned over. Also, splitting the engagement into more than one is going to cost the customer money in the form of Rover's service fee, which is levied on each booking. So I really don't think this type of change will ever happen. Sorry