Booking Management Updates

Create New Templates

Users have the ability to define their own templates for use with the following new email template types:

• Payment Due Reminders
• Pre-Arrival Welcome
• Pre-Departure Information

Create New Email Template form

Default templates already exists for use or you may create new templates to personalize the message and make it more specific for your rental.

Advanced features exist which will allow you to enter specific elements from your property listing or booking record as "variables". For example, in your Pre-Arrival Welcome, you may want to include the Arrival Date and Check-In Time as a reminder for your guests.

Upload Attachments

If you have standard documents that you send to guests on a regular basis, then these may be added to your Email Templates. Examples of these may be your Welcome Book, House Rules, or Check-Out Instructions.

Upload New Attachment form

If these documents do not change from guest to guest, then upload them to your Attachments and then assign them to one of your templates. When an email is sent using the Email Template, the attachment will automatically be included.

Attachments are assigned to a specific Email Template type. The attachments may be viewed, renamed, or deleted.

Configure Guest Emails

Settings may be defined to specify when these reminders should be sent to a guest based upon the timing of their Booking.

Go to "Booking Management > Settings" to configure your Email Reminders under "Automated Guest Emails".

Enable and configure when to schedule emails

Each Email Reminder type must specify an "Offset" (the number of days before a set date to send the email), the Template to use and check the "enable" box to confirm these emails should be sent automatically.

• For Payment Reminders, specify how many days prior to each Payment Due Date the reminder should be sent. The Payment Due Date is set in your Tracking Items for each Booking record. This will be useful especially for a guests' 2nd or 3rd payment which may occur months after the initial booking.
  For example, if you require the 2nd payment 30-days prior to arrival, you may specify an email reminder to be sent 7-days prior to this due date by entering 7 into the "Offset" field.
• For Pre-Arrival Information, specify how many days prior to the Arrival Date. For example, you may want to send the pre-arrival email a few days prior to arrival and include a reminder of what your rental has included and what they should bring.
• For Pre-Departure Information, specify how many days prior to the Departure Date. For example, you may want to send your check-out instructions a day before they check-out along with any questions you like to ask prior to the guest leaves.

Send Guest Emails Manually

After you have configured an Email Template, you may send individual Pre-Arrival and Pre-Departure Emails manually from inside each Booking record.

Send an email manually per booking record

Upon clicking "Preview & Send", a window will appear with your current template and will allow you to edit and preview the email prior to sending.

Upon sending, you will receive a copy and the tracking item will be marked complete.

Schedule Emails

A property listing must be active and the booking record must be "booked" in order for the reminder emails to be sent.

If you have enabled the "Automated Guest Emails" under "Bookings > Settings", then these emails will be sent automatically on their Due Date.

Example of a Pre-Arrival Info email scheduled for 6/18/2023.

The Pre-Arrival and Pre-Departure emails will be sent on the "Date Due" in the Booking's "Tracking Items". The Due Date is set by default according to your "Settings", but you may override the date if needed. For example, if you have a last minute booking and not much time prior to arrival, you may override a the Pre-Arrival Welcome email to be sent 1-day prior to arrival.

Payment Due Date Reminders are sent according to the Number of Days (from your Booking Settings) before the Payment Due Date on your Tracking Items.

Additional Tracking Fields

Along with the additional guest fees option that have been added to your Property Listing, other tracking fields have been added in order to capture details about each guest.

These fields include the ability to track:

• Tax Received
• Damage Waiver
• Check-in and Check-out times
• Refund
• Pre-Arrival and Pre-Departure Communications
• Additional Miscellaneous fields (see more below)

Any tracking items that do not apply to your listing may be hidden.

In addition, a new Waitlist booking status has been added for situations when you have multiple requests for the same dates. An entry of "waitlist" to Booking Management will not mark the calendar dates as booked.

Tax Calculation

After your Rental Rate or any additional guest fees are entered, the lodging tax amount will be automatically calculated.

Note: Additional guest fees are entered as part of the Tracking Items. Any fees entered will be included in the taxes displayed under the Pricing Summary. According to the DOR, any non-refundable fees (ex: linen, cleaning, pet, damage deposit) shall be taxed and are included in the calculation of the lodging tax amount. And refundable payments such as Security Deposit are not included in the calculation of the lodging tax amount.

Pricing Summary example

Check-In and Check-Out Times

Check-in and check-out times may be noted for each guest. In addition, you may define your default times under your User Settings in order to have these set automatically for each booking record.

The default times may be modified as necessary per guest. For example, you may want to make note that you have permitted a guest to have an early check-in.

Check-in and Check-Out Times

Define Multiple Payments

The original Booking Mangement system only allowed for tracking of two payments with the ability to define fixed amounts by default. This configuration has been updated to allow for tracking up to 3 payments per booking. It also allows you to define the default amount of each payment in fixed amounts or a % of the booking total.

Examples:

• Two payments simply split 50% each.
• Fixed amount of $1500 for the initial payment and 100% of the remaining total for the 2nd payment.
• Three payments with a $200 initial payment and 50% of the remaining total for the 2nd and 3rd payments

You can set your default payments in User Settings.

Payment Configuration Options

Customizable Fields

Additional miscellaneous fields have been added for other situations specific to your needs. You can customize their labels to your requirements.

Miscellaneous Fields

Future Updates

Additional changes are coming in a future release that will make use of this additional information that can be tracked.

Some of these changes include:

• Summary Report of taxes by month and year
• Reminder notifications of taxes due to DOR
• Guest communications for storing and sending House Rules and Check-Out instructions
• Booking Quote generation using your defined payment terms