I really appreciate you taking the time to help me here. I'm not sure if I'm being thick or what but I'm not convinced that I understand this correctly.
Let's say I have a non refundable rate + risk free reservations + payment by BdC. The guest then books. What happens at that point (on booking)? Does BdC take the money from the guest or not? Meaning that (1) if the guest cancels, then BdC returns the guest money and further guarantees the booking? And (2) if the guest doesn't cancel then no scenario exists after the free cancellation period where a guest would still need to pay?
Hi Barry, I would hope that is what they do, since that is how my policies are configured, however it isn't explicitly stated anywhere that I can see for these risk free reservations, that they are actually indeed doing this, and no one is willing to confirm anything at the call centre. My understanding, after some comms with the guest is that nothing has been collected/authorised/held from her credit card. And when I pressed the multiple agents (I phoned the call centre about 4 times today) to ask them to explain/confirm/clarify the scenarios I outlined above, absolutely none of them seemed to grasp the nuances of my concerns whatsoever and couldn't help me clarify the points above at all in the slightest. So I'm at a loss. Unless they can offer the solution you suggest and are willing to state that in writing up front, I can't make use of this program of theirs.
I have a scenario that no one at the call centre could clarify. I spent 90 mins on the phone to various agents this afternoon.
Background: I am based in South Africa. Legislation precludes me from processing guest cards myself. I have to request that the guest makes the payment themselves and I have to send them a card payment link. My current payment policy is 100% payment on booking in the 30 days prior to arrival. ie if the guest doesn't pay on booking, I can cancel at 24 hours after booking and then I usually find a replacement booking.
Here are the risk free reservation scenarios for clarification by booking.com:
Scenario 1:
Guest books, doesn't pay due to the flexible cancellation policy. Free cancellation period expires 4 days prior to check in. I request the guest to make payment. Card payment fails. I wait 24 hours and cancel the booking. It is highly unlikely at short notice that I will find a replacement guest. If booking.com doesn't cover this scenario then I've just blocked off a room for a long period of time for a booking that results in nothing. Given the number of card payment failures in South Africa, this is a significantly more common scenario than a cancellation.
Will booking.com cover this or am I out of pocket?
Scenario 2:
Guest books, doesn't pay due to the flexible cancellation policy. Guest decides they don't want the room. They don't bother to cancel. Free cancellation period expires 4 days prior to check in. I request the guest to make payment. They ignore me and are a no-show.
Will booking.com cover this or am I out of pocket?
If Scenario 1 and 2 result in me being out of pocket, then this is not risk free at all, as there are as many more cases in my experience where guests just don't bother to advise that they are not coming or where payment fails, as cases where they actually cancel.
I have opted out of this because I am not sure of booking.com's policy in these cases. If I will be out of pocket, then this is a program that not only not work for me, but will actually cause my revenue to drop. I hope that isn't the case as the idea behind the program is quite good.
I spent 90 minutes on the phone to booking.com today. No clarity what will happen if the guest card payment fails after the "free cancellation period" is over. I conclude I will be keeping a room available for two weeks and will only be able to determine whether or not the guest can/will pay, in the 4 days prior to arrival. At which point if they are not good for the payment, I'm out of pocket completely.
I'd rather know there is a problem, at the time of booking, cancel within 24 hours and find my own replacement booking.
As opposed to reducing risk, it appears to me that it increases financial risk. I've deactivated the program for my property. When/If I get proper clarity of all the Ts and Cs, then I'll consider it again.
Hi Barry,
I really appreciate you taking the time to help me here. I'm not sure if I'm being thick or what but I'm not convinced that I understand this correctly.
Let's say I have a non refundable rate + risk free reservations + payment by BdC. The guest then books. What happens at that point (on booking)? Does BdC take the money from the guest or not? Meaning that (1) if the guest cancels, then BdC returns the guest money and further guarantees the booking? And (2) if the guest doesn't cancel then no scenario exists after the free cancellation period where a guest would still need to pay?
Hi Barry, I would hope that is what they do, since that is how my policies are configured, however it isn't explicitly stated anywhere that I can see for these risk free reservations, that they are actually indeed doing this, and no one is willing to confirm anything at the call centre. My understanding, after some comms with the guest is that nothing has been collected/authorised/held from her credit card. And when I pressed the multiple agents (I phoned the call centre about 4 times today) to ask them to explain/confirm/clarify the scenarios I outlined above, absolutely none of them seemed to grasp the nuances of my concerns whatsoever and couldn't help me clarify the points above at all in the slightest. So I'm at a loss. Unless they can offer the solution you suggest and are willing to state that in writing up front, I can't make use of this program of theirs.
I have a scenario that no one at the call centre could clarify. I spent 90 mins on the phone to various agents this afternoon.
Background: I am based in South Africa. Legislation precludes me from processing guest cards myself. I have to request that the guest makes the payment themselves and I have to send them a card payment link. My current payment policy is 100% payment on booking in the 30 days prior to arrival. ie if the guest doesn't pay on booking, I can cancel at 24 hours after booking and then I usually find a replacement booking.
Here are the risk free reservation scenarios for clarification by booking.com:
Scenario 1:
Guest books, doesn't pay due to the flexible cancellation policy. Free cancellation period expires 4 days prior to check in. I request the guest to make payment. Card payment fails. I wait 24 hours and cancel the booking. It is highly unlikely at short notice that I will find a replacement guest. If booking.com doesn't cover this scenario then I've just blocked off a room for a long period of time for a booking that results in nothing. Given the number of card payment failures in South Africa, this is a significantly more common scenario than a cancellation.
Will booking.com cover this or am I out of pocket?
Scenario 2:
Guest books, doesn't pay due to the flexible cancellation policy. Guest decides they don't want the room. They don't bother to cancel. Free cancellation period expires 4 days prior to check in. I request the guest to make payment. They ignore me and are a no-show.
Will booking.com cover this or am I out of pocket?
If Scenario 1 and 2 result in me being out of pocket, then this is not risk free at all, as there are as many more cases in my experience where guests just don't bother to advise that they are not coming or where payment fails, as cases where they actually cancel.
I have opted out of this because I am not sure of booking.com's policy in these cases. If I will be out of pocket, then this is a program that not only not work for me, but will actually cause my revenue to drop. I hope that isn't the case as the idea behind the program is quite good.
I spent 90 minutes on the phone to booking.com today. No clarity what will happen if the guest card payment fails after the "free cancellation period" is over. I conclude I will be keeping a room available for two weeks and will only be able to determine whether or not the guest can/will pay, in the 4 days prior to arrival. At which point if they are not good for the payment, I'm out of pocket completely.
I'd rather know there is a problem, at the time of booking, cancel within 24 hours and find my own replacement booking.
As opposed to reducing risk, it appears to me that it increases financial risk. I've deactivated the program for my property. When/If I get proper clarity of all the Ts and Cs, then I'll consider it again.