Booking.com - collecting extra charges during guest stay.

JTVRs
Jun 21, 2019 9:05 PM
Joined Jun, 2018 385 posts

This came through my booking.com email. Dated August 2018, like many emails I get from them. Not sure if they are catching up. I have been there for a week, setting up properties.

It deals with how to charge extra fees during a guest's stay, which would be useful for tours, extra services, charges, etc. Not sure if anyone has actually tried this.

My understanding (Airbnb forum) is that AirBnb makes this difficult. Not sure how HA/VRBO works regarding this.

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Dear Partner,

We’re happy to announce that you can now charge your guests for additional fees directly in the extranet. From breakfast to city tax, it only takes a few clicks to charge the guest for these additional fees.

How does it work?

Go to the ‘Reservations’ tab of your extranet. Click on the reference number of the reservation. On the ‘Reservation details’ page, click the button ‘Request additional fee’.
Fill out the ‘Additional Fee Request’. Be sure to include a description of the charge (i.e. cleaning fee).
The guest will automatically be sent an email asking them to pay the fee. Once the guest accepts the charge, you’ll receive their payment within 3 days.


Please note that you can only request payment during the guest’s stay.

We hope you enjoy this hassle-free way of charging your guests.

Kind regards,
Your Booking.com Team

Chris Hynes
Jun 23, 2019 1:37 PM
OR Team Member Joined Oct, 2012 1401 posts

OwnerRez pushes the nightly rate and a per guest fee if you have one.

Any other fees like cleaning fees, and also taxes need to be configured on the booking.com side and will pass through to OwnerRez.

This is talking bout a one-off payment request change -- if you do that, it'll come through to OwnerRez as well.

JTVRs
Jun 23, 2019 1:39 PM
Joined Jun, 2018 385 posts

Amazing how many arbitrary difficulties these sites set up to make it hard. Working on booking.com profiles.

Once I register a property, I cannot (on my own) modify the: property name (as published), taxes, fees.I have to contact them to do this via b.com email. I also cannot have them make the property name more than 25 characters, even though someone did this a few days ago or me!

Also didn't realize you cannot enter text into property profile. They weave it out of your selections. Makes it harder if you have particular instructions not in their complex checkbox pathways

Cant wait to see how vrbo and airbnb strangle me with such simple stuff.

JTVRs
Jun 23, 2019 6:42 PM
Joined Jun, 2018 385 posts

Yes, it was a one-off fee you could collect during the guests stay via booking.com. It seems amenable to offering tours, upgrades such as a wedding or picnic package, upscale services, Etc.

My understanding from and Airbnb forum I follow, is that Airbnb makes it difficult for complex to try and request an extra charge such as this.

I don't think it exists, but it would be nice if owner reservations unifed the above two along with VRBO, to have a request payment from guests during their stay function ( maybe along with direct booking or the hosted website)

BlueMtnCabins
Jun 23, 2019 7:46 PM
Joined Jun, 2016 1133 posts

JTVRs said:

Also didn't realize you cannot enter text into property profile. They weave it out of your selections. Makes it harder if you have particular instructions not in their complex checkbox pathways

Cant wait to see how vrbo and airbnb strangle me with such simple stuff.


ha, no wonder I get no bookings from them. They concocted property descriptions as "X miles from such and such tourist trap, and Y miles from such and such tourist trap" those even being I have never even heard of, and I owned there for almost 10 years. . Nothing about cabin itself, the great amenities we have, the unique features. I am telling you, they are more suited for renting some cookie cutter condotels, not standalone VRs. Not ready for VR prime time if you ask me. I cannot fathom how are they "all that" abroad. Very crude site.