Info for OTA users

This is meant for OTA users or those considering using them. I know there are those that do not use, this is not for you! This is for those that have determined that while you hate paying the commission, they do fill rooms that you need to be filled.
The following info are things that are New - to ME at least:
1) B oo king dot com - It appears as though the site may automatically try to up sale to your already booked guests on your behalf. If an upgrade is available, Booking may send an email to the guest offering an upgrade. (there is a story, see below)
2) Ex pedi a et al - Using B&B.com as your online mgmt system BTW I have been using this for about 10 yrs!
a) When using B&B.com to update your Ex pedi a policies, you must also call B&B.com to inform them of the changes. It does not automatically notify the OTA's of that update like it does with changes of availability. And no, there are no instructions telling you to call. (there is a story, see below)
b) You can write a mgmt response but you must go through B&B.com to submit it.

The B oo king.com story:
Got a call from someone due to arrive in a few days. He said he got an email that there was a possible upgrade available for the time of his stay. He wanted more explanation of the difference. Me scratching my head as he thought the email was from me. Turns out B oo king had sent the email. The price difference was a little higher on the email than what I would have charged directly. Guess they take a small ($5) fee for the change.
So turns out this guy took the upgrade directly with me.
This was the first time I had heard of this, wonder if this is common or new?

No one has mentioned upgrades to me, but we only have one type of room listed.

The Ex pedi a / B&B.com story:
Three months ago I changed my cancellation policy for Ex pedi a (et al) using the online system on B&B.com. Here I thought the system automatically updated the OTAs like it does when you update the availability. But as I found out, it does not.
Had an email from someone who booked using one of the et als wanting me to clarify the cancellation policy for their stay. (A holiday period) After sending, she replied forwarding her confirmation with a 14 day cancel instead of the 30 that I had sent.
So I contacted CS at B&B.com. I was informed that they were never notified of my changes. I should have called them as I was instructed when I signed on with them (10 years ago). Not their problem. After me stating how much I PAY them for their service, they decided to assist.
They made the update go life on the OTAs quickly but after a week of waiting on the assistance with the booking, I emailed them again having to remind them that it was not only an issue for ME but that the wait to contact the guest to assist them was terrible! They were to offer assistance to the guest to either 1) finding another location that suits their cancellation needs or 2) agreeing to my current terms.
It has now been over 2 weeks since the guest booked and the CS rep has yet to finalize this issue; my last email to them expressed my displeasure with their 'service'.
I am now looking at other services like myallocator to handle this and drop B&B.com's OTA system.

Morticia said:

No one has mentioned upgrades to me, but we only have one type of room listed..

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

No one has mentioned upgrades to me, but we only have one type of room listed.

Click to expand...

They won't if you do not offer them on their site.
BUT you may want to offer them in your confirmation! You never know! It can't hurt!