Posted by Jare's Place on January 27, 2011 at 2:03am
Hi there, I opened my b&b in the summer of 2010. Since then I have updated my website to take online bookings. Recently I got my first booking. Yah! Now I'm not sure what to do? Do I book, charge the guests credit card right away? Do I wait until the guest arrives? If I wait, is there a way I can hold that amount on the guest credit card until they arrive? Any ideas/knowledge/suggestions welcome. Thanks for reading.
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Well hopefully by now, yu have received more website bookings. Actually before you do access the guest's credit card yu must have your booking disclosure on your website, usually the same page as the reservation engine. You must spell out very clearly your booking policy. You can charge a deposit equal to a one night stay with the balance charged at the time of check out. You must also state your cancelation policy in the event the guest either cancels or is a no show for the reservation. Have a check box under your terms of service which must be ticked before the reservation can cycle through as received. This will provide and electronic signature so if there are any questions down the road, you can state you had the disclosure on the site and they approved the terms of service.
Congratulations for the first online booking! We always take a down payment at the time of booking, a second one 1 month prior to arrival and then the rest at arrival, no matter through which channel the booking comes in.
You can hold an amount from the guest's credit card without actually charging his card, its a common procedure with car rental companies who put the deposit on hold until the car is returned. It's called pre-authorization, your bank can explain to you how to do this.
I hope this helps, all the very best for Jare's Place (looks lovely!)
Replies
Well hopefully by now, yu have received more website bookings. Actually before you do access the guest's credit card yu must have your booking disclosure on your website, usually the same page as the reservation engine. You must spell out very clearly your booking policy. You can charge a deposit equal to a one night stay with the balance charged at the time of check out. You must also state your cancelation policy in the event the guest either cancels or is a no show for the reservation. Have a check box under your terms of service which must be ticked before the reservation can cycle through as received. This will provide and electronic signature so if there are any questions down the road, you can state you had the disclosure on the site and they approved the terms of service.
Best of luck with your B&B
Adrienne
Redefine Vacations
Good morning,
Congratulations for the first online booking! We always take a down payment at the time of booking, a second one 1 month prior to arrival and then the rest at arrival, no matter through which channel the booking comes in.
You can hold an amount from the guest's credit card without actually charging his card, its a common procedure with car rental companies who put the deposit on hold until the car is returned. It's called pre-authorization, your bank can explain to you how to do this.
I hope this helps, all the very best for Jare's Place (looks lovely!)
Michaela
MACA BANA