First Confused Guest

Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum

Help Support Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

egoodell

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
3,023
Reaction score
0
Well it finally happened just about at our first year anniversary of getting our license.
I was just about to leave the B&B to drop off guests at the downtown mall (we do this on wine tour day so they don't have to drive to dinner after wine tasting all day) and I get a call.
"Hi we'ere here to check in -which door do we enter"
**Me breaking out in a sweat** " I'm sorry, are you sure you have a confirmation for today at Arcady? We're booked"
Him: "Um no I didn't think to bring it"
DH who is hyper anal is starting to go into hysterical convulsions.
Me: Come on in the main door, we'll pour a glass of wine and figure this out, not to worry"
Not to worry? Finding a room in wine country on a Saturday night? Who am I kidding?
DH sits down and pours them a wine and starts pulling out info and maps for them while gently prodding. Turns out he filled out the Webervations REQUEST form, emailed it out, and left home to go get girlfriend in New York.
I received the email last Thursday, emailed him first think on Friday telling him very sorry we are disappointed to say we are booked, go to bbonline and see if there are any rooms left.
I call first B&B - full
I call the next one, picking it as the website, while beautiful can be confusing. She has ONE ROOM!!! Another suite!! (that's what I have) SAME PRICE! RIGHT IN TOWN WHERE THEY CAN PARK and not get in the car unless they want to.
Finish wine, just about to leave to drop off guests and lead them to the B&B when the owner calls to confirm they want it since they have another inquiry. YES AND YES!
If I had called just five minutes later who knows where I would have had to send these poor kids.
**whew** All's well that ends well.
Riki
 
Wow!! That was a nail biter. Well handled! Great job.
 
Good job, quick thinking.
But on the other hand...I guess it pays to check your email once in a while....
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper."
 
Good thinking. You did a lot for them.
Question: You don't have live availability so they book what they see?
Second question/comment - we have had that happen here and altho it was not the same situation, it was sent like at 2am for the same day on weberv and our pc was down. Soooo - we do not take same day bookings online, we have it set to be 24 hour notice. Altho I have had them come in at 1159! NK.
We had all over our weberv = this is a reservation request only - you do not have a room booked unless you get a confirmation # from the innkeeper. I did this for 3 years and finally went live.
I juist posted Iris Inn 1 year anniv on the INN THE NEWS section here - I thought you might like to see that since you are on one year as well. If you didn't have a grand opening to kick it off.
regular_smile.gif
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
.
Yes well this online request was made right after a booking was made, before I could update the calendar.
My webervations form clearly states that they are only making a REQUEST and that it is not REAL TIME on my calendar.
I emailed him right away that the room was unavailable right after receiving the request. He just filled out the request and left his home and never checked his email again. He completely admitted it was his mistake which we assured him was not the issue, the issue was we were determined to find him something as nice as what he requested, which we suceeded in doing.Not anything I could have done about it. Turned out fine in the long run, but I was sweating it.
Riki
 
Good thinking. You did a lot for them.
Question: You don't have live availability so they book what they see?
Second question/comment - we have had that happen here and altho it was not the same situation, it was sent like at 2am for the same day on weberv and our pc was down. Soooo - we do not take same day bookings online, we have it set to be 24 hour notice. Altho I have had them come in at 1159! NK.
We had all over our weberv = this is a reservation request only - you do not have a room booked unless you get a confirmation # from the innkeeper. I did this for 3 years and finally went live.
I juist posted Iris Inn 1 year anniv on the INN THE NEWS section here - I thought you might like to see that since you are on one year as well. If you didn't have a grand opening to kick it off.
regular_smile.gif
.
We do have the live calender, but when you get two reservations just seconds apart, they both see the date as available. One emailed me directly and the other went through the system.
Riki
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
.
muirford said:
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
My take...I bet a lot of guests read 'A room has been reserved for you...' and stop right there. They never get to the part that says it is only a request for a reservation. And many certainly never got the part that says the reservation is being reviewed, which implies it may be denied.
 
Good job, quick thinking.
But on the other hand...I guess it pays to check your email once in a while.....
What??? I check my email every half hour. What does that have to do with it?
Riki
.
Sorry for the misunderstanding... I meant if the guest would have checked their email they would have seen you note that there were no vacancies...
embaressed_smile.gif

Sorry for not wording it correctly.....
 
Good job, quick thinking.
But on the other hand...I guess it pays to check your email once in a while.....
What??? I check my email every half hour. What does that have to do with it?
Riki
.
Sorry for the misunderstanding... I meant if the guest would have checked their email they would have seen you note that there were no vacancies...
embaressed_smile.gif

Sorry for not wording it correctly.....
.
Oops now I see what you mean! Yes, it was pretty dumb, but we didn't want to point that out since the poor guy already told us he didn't think to check - we just concentrated on them having a great weekend. They had traveled so far! Was so relieved to get them a beautiful suite.
Riki
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
.
muirford said:
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
My take...I bet a lot of guests read 'A room has been reserved for you...' and stop right there. They never get to the part that says it is only a request for a reservation. And many certainly never got the part that says the reservation is being reviewed, which implies it may be denied.
.
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
.
muirford said:
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
My take...I bet a lot of guests read 'A room has been reserved for you...' and stop right there. They never get to the part that says it is only a request for a reservation. And many certainly never got the part that says the reservation is being reviewed, which implies it may be denied.
.
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
.
That is what I was going to suggest. You can go into webervations and customize the responses to suit your needs.
"Your request for a room has been recieved, we will contact you personally to secure a room with us." or something like that. I hesitate to use confirmed in the reply as someone reading it quickly will think it is confirmed..:-(
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
.
muirford said:
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
My take...I bet a lot of guests read 'A room has been reserved for you...' and stop right there. They never get to the part that says it is only a request for a reservation. And many certainly never got the part that says the reservation is being reviewed, which implies it may be denied.
.
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
.
MissInnkeeping said:
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
I don't think any of the online booking engines accept a reservation request without a credit card. So the guest WOULD have entered all the pertinent info. I've used Webervations from the guest side and the cc space has to be filled in. It also reminds you this is not a confirmed reservation until you receive the confirmation, but no one understands that part.
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
.
muirford said:
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
My take...I bet a lot of guests read 'A room has been reserved for you...' and stop right there. They never get to the part that says it is only a request for a reservation. And many certainly never got the part that says the reservation is being reviewed, which implies it may be denied.
.
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
.
MissInnkeeping said:
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
I don't think any of the online booking engines accept a reservation request without a credit card. So the guest WOULD have entered all the pertinent info. I've used Webervations from the guest side and the cc space has to be filled in. It also reminds you this is not a confirmed reservation until you receive the confirmation, but no one understands that part.
.
Bree said:
MissInnkeeping said:
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
I don't think any of the online booking engines accept a reservation request without a credit card. So the guest WOULD have entered all the pertinent info. I've used Webervations from the guest side and the cc space has to be filled in. It also reminds you this is not a confirmed reservation until you receive the confirmation, but no one understands that part.
Yes they do. You depict whether the cc is required, whether the v-code is required or whether they can give you the cc # later. This is in the set up area. Hopefully all inns have it set to require the cc details.
Also our reservation is LIVE so it is what it appears, you book it, then it is yours. I will not take a phone rez without simultaneously blocking out the room in weberv.
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
.
muirford said:
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
My take...I bet a lot of guests read 'A room has been reserved for you...' and stop right there. They never get to the part that says it is only a request for a reservation. And many certainly never got the part that says the reservation is being reviewed, which implies it may be denied.
.
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
.
MissInnkeeping said:
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
I don't think any of the online booking engines accept a reservation request without a credit card. So the guest WOULD have entered all the pertinent info. I've used Webervations from the guest side and the cc space has to be filled in. It also reminds you this is not a confirmed reservation until you receive the confirmation, but no one understands that part.
.
Bree said:
MissInnkeeping said:
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
I don't think any of the online booking engines accept a reservation request without a credit card. So the guest WOULD have entered all the pertinent info. I've used Webervations from the guest side and the cc space has to be filled in. It also reminds you this is not a confirmed reservation until you receive the confirmation, but no one understands that part.
Yes they do. You depict whether the cc is required, whether the v-code is required or whether they can give you the cc # later. This is in the set up area. Hopefully all inns have it set to require the cc details.
Also our reservation is LIVE so it is what it appears, you book it, then it is yours. I will not take a phone rez without simultaneously blocking out the room in weberv.
.
I didn't know that. I thought it was required. Didn't know you could skip requiring the credit card.
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
.
muirford said:
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
My take...I bet a lot of guests read 'A room has been reserved for you...' and stop right there. They never get to the part that says it is only a request for a reservation. And many certainly never got the part that says the reservation is being reviewed, which implies it may be denied.
.
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
.
MissInnkeeping said:
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
I don't think any of the online booking engines accept a reservation request without a credit card. So the guest WOULD have entered all the pertinent info. I've used Webervations from the guest side and the cc space has to be filled in. It also reminds you this is not a confirmed reservation until you receive the confirmation, but no one understands that part.
.
Bree said:
MissInnkeeping said:
I totally agree - in fact the entire first sentence really doesn't make total sense to me. But, the fact that it says "A room has been reserved" is all anyone would need to read to think they were done. Yes, it is stupid that someone would think a room would be secured without a credit card and/or a phone call, but there are some people out there...
I highly suggest you change that automated response to read, "Your reservation request has been submitted and is not confirmed until you have received notification from the innkeeper directly. Please await confirmation or call xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm this reservation."
I don't think any of the online booking engines accept a reservation request without a credit card. So the guest WOULD have entered all the pertinent info. I've used Webervations from the guest side and the cc space has to be filled in. It also reminds you this is not a confirmed reservation until you receive the confirmation, but no one understands that part.
Yes they do. You depict whether the cc is required, whether the v-code is required or whether they can give you the cc # later. This is in the set up area. Hopefully all inns have it set to require the cc details.
Also our reservation is LIVE so it is what it appears, you book it, then it is yours. I will not take a phone rez without simultaneously blocking out the room in weberv.
.
I didn't know that. I thought it was required. Didn't know you could skip requiring the credit card.
.
Bree said:
I didn't know that. I thought it was required. Didn't know you could skip requiring the credit card.
YES! Why you would select that setting I don't know, unless it was set for you and you didn't know to change it.
Credit Card Options
Option A - Most personal, don't request credit information online.
Option B - Secure online credit optional.
Option C - Secure online credit required.
Option D - Secure online credit cards processed by Webervations/NightClerk (must be setup by Webervations Support Staff)
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
.
muirford said:
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
My take...I bet a lot of guests read 'A room has been reserved for you...' and stop right there. They never get to the part that says it is only a request for a reservation. And many certainly never got the part that says the reservation is being reviewed, which implies it may be denied.
.
That's not the entire Webervations message - I just posted the part about how the requests work. The very first sentence is 'thank you for your reservation request'. There's more to the email after the part I quoted as well.
I have never had the situation Riki encountered here, but I have had people who send us a request and then when the calendar doesn't show an X right away, get panicky that someone else will get their room.
And now I'm going to try to get my hackles down from being scolded by some of you. You'all know I don't take kindly to that kind of talk.
 
For some reason, I think that there are guests out there that don't think that they need a confirmation. Your case was even worse, because he assumed that you had a room for them by filling out the request form.
We had some folks show up an hour before regular check-in. I had checked my reservation system after getting home from the store & they had booked the same day. Turns out that they booked from the C&VB. I've straightened that out with them that same day reservations need to CALL ME!! I've had a couple of other same day rezs since that happened. Saved my skin by adding a note on the rez system too that reservations within 24 hrs of stay need to CALL. You know that when you're a small operation & you have other jobs, it is really hard to take the drop ins.
Maybe we all need to put something on our sites that says "Your stay is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation from the innkeeper.".
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
On our system you cannot submit a request if the room is not available, and it is taken out of inventory when the request is made. The only possible double booking is if a phone call has come in and the availability has not been updated yet. So far, that's only happened once. We also have Webervations set to tell the guest to call for same-day reservations after 8 a.m. - they aren't allowed to make an online booking.
.
muirford said:
This is what the automated response from Webervations says for me:
A room has been reserved for you online and cannot be reserved with any other online reservation. This is an automatic email to let you know that your reservation request has been successfully submitted. You will receive a confirmation email after we have reviewed your reservation.
My take...I bet a lot of guests read 'A room has been reserved for you...' and stop right there. They never get to the part that says it is only a request for a reservation. And many certainly never got the part that says the reservation is being reviewed, which implies it may be denied.
.
That's not the entire Webervations message - I just posted the part about how the requests work. The very first sentence is 'thank you for your reservation request'. There's more to the email after the part I quoted as well.
I have never had the situation Riki encountered here, but I have had people who send us a request and then when the calendar doesn't show an X right away, get panicky that someone else will get their room.
And now I'm going to try to get my hackles down from being scolded by some of you. You'all know I don't take kindly to that kind of talk.
.
muirford said:
That's not the entire Webervations message - I just posted the part about how the requests work. The very first sentence is 'thank you for your reservation request'. There's more to the email after the part I quoted as well.
I have never had the situation Riki encountered here, but I have had people who send us a request and then when the calendar doesn't show an X right away, get panicky that someone else will get their room.
And now I'm going to try to get my hackles down from being scolded by some of you. You'all know I don't take kindly to that kind of talk.
Sorry, we're very literal here...I thought I was looking at the entire message.
 
Back
Top