There are many little tips and tricks that will assist you in making your work easier and  increasing your online distribution.
Below is a list of items that will assist you in understanding how Room Manager works and some of the terminology.

 

Q: What is the difference between stop selling a rate plan or closing the availability to a room?

 

A: Each room can have several rate plans attached to them. For example it could have a rate for a one night minimum stay and also a rate plan for a three night minimum stay. The availability is always held at room type level, so if you put in 0 availability for the room, then all associated rate plans would be unavailable for sale.

 

If, on the other hand, you wanted to just make one of the rate plans unavailable, for example the one night stay on a Friday and Saturday night, then you would put a stop sell against the one night rate plan. This would mean a guest could still book the three night rate plan.

 

For more information on setting stop sells, click here. For more information on closing out availability, click here.

 

 

Q: When I create a room in Room Manager will it automatically be added to the Online Distribution module?

 

A: Yes, if you create a new room type or daily rate plan in Room Manager, this will automatically be sent to the Online Distribution module and will be available on your website. You can also add additional room types and rate plans in the Online Distribution module, however these are only available for online sale.

 

 

Q: Can you explain what happens when a booking is made online and how it gets into Room Manager?

 

A: All online bookings, regardless of which distribution channel they originate from, will first be placed in the Online Distribution module. The Online Distribution module will then remove this availability from all other active distribution channels and send the booking to Room Manager. Here, they will show up as a New Online Booking. For more information see New Online Bookings.

 

 

Q: What do I do when I receive a phone or walk in booking?
A: You would manually insert the booking into Room Manager. Simply click on a date in the reservation calendar, or, select add a booking, and insert all necessary details. This will then remove availability for that room, send the new data to the Online Distribution module, and update all active distribution channels.

 

 

Q: I would like to reserve the right to give final confirmation to a booking in case there is an over booking.

 

A: Once your system is correctly setup and availability is up to date, online bookings from your website will be automatically dropped into Room Manager.

 

Also, when you are setup correctly the only time you will need to check availability is if you take a phone booking. All other bookings, ie from the Visitor Information Center, your website, and other online distribution channels will automatically drop in.

 

Many operators now direct customers to their website if they are out and about and cannot access their computer when they receive a phone booking. However we have another option here, where you can quickly look up availability on your mobile and confirm a booking to a guest instantly. For more information on this view our help. http://www.resonline.com/help/index.html?quick_booking_1.htm

 

In saying the above, we have added the following into your booking conditions on your Booking Page. To edit these see this help link http://www.resonline.com/help/index.html?online_property_details.htm . Click on the booking and billing policies.

 

“Your booking is confirmed pending successful processing of your credit card and final confirmation of availability”