need advice on gentle letdown

[happykeeper]

As I was doing dishes it came to me....
For certain weekends (including the one in question) you have a 30 day cancellation period... you take a deposit (at least one night's stay, or maybe 50%) which is NON-refundable within 30 days of those weekends.
Applies to all (more or less :wink: ).
=)
Kk..

Ah yes - Restrictions for certain weekends allows you to change your policy. That would work.

 

[Copperhead]

As I was doing dishes it came to me....
For certain weekends (including the one in question) you have a 30 day cancellation period... you take a deposit (at least one night's stay, or maybe 50%) which is NON-refundable within 30 days of those weekends.
Applies to all (more or less :wink: ).
=)
Kk..

Ah yes - Restrictions for certain weekends allows you to change your policy. That would work.
.

Ah yes - Restrictions for certain weekends allows you to change your policy. That would work.

Unless her dates are flexable, as they most likely are, and she just says 'Well, make them the following weekend"

 

[user 26]

before you do anything else, i think you need a policy on your website and wherever you have your 'rules' ... something to the effect that management reserves the right to decline advance reservations for those guests who have had to cancel their reservations in the past ...
no blame, no negative talk ... just a simple policy that would apply to anyone ... not just this guest ... who has cancelled and/or rescheduled.

 

[MooseTrax]

this will sound strange- the email was sent a few days ago and now there is the worry it did not get there or they didn't read it or they think it is the confirmtaion. now i'm worried they are going to show up thinking they have a rezervation because they made a rezervation and they didn't get the cancellation email. tell me to stop worrying.

 

[MooseTrax]

before you do anything else, i think you need a policy on your website and wherever you have your 'rules' ... something to the effect that management reserves the right to decline advance reservations for those guests who have had to cancel their reservations in the past ...
no blame, no negative talk ... just a simple policy that would apply to anyone ... not just this guest ... who has cancelled and/or rescheduled..

before you do anything else, i think you need a policy on your website and wherever you have your 'rules' ... something to the effect that management reserves the right to decline advance reservations for those guests who have had to cancel their reservations in the past ...
no blame, no negative talk ... just a simple policy that would apply to anyone ... not just this guest ... who has cancelled and/or rescheduled.

i hate to add rules for particular situations that may only arise once in 5 years. have you ever read the policies someplace and been able to tell exactly what sorts of guests they get based on what they hve for rules? my policy page could be a never-ending scroll if i tried to get every situation that ever happened. sometimes vague is better!

 

[user 26]

well ~ each must do as we feel is right.
but i had a guest i made a special rule for and she said 'WHERE IN YOUR POLICIES DOES IT STATE THAT?!'
as she was fuming, i was frantically getting my son to help me to add it to our website. without going into details ... yes, it was for one particular situation. but it was the third year she was (trying to) pull her same stunt with me. and the next day, some random person called trying to do the same thing ... i was convinced i was being set up by the other guest.
isn't there some phrase about 99% of the rules are made because of 1% of the people? something like that.
'nuff said.

 

[ginocat]

$50 cancel fee. Strong cancel policy! Take deposit at time of booking?? Thank you for reminding me why I DO NOT have on-line reservations!!!!!

 

[user 26]

moose trax ~ what did you eventually decide to do?

 

[MooseTrax]

moose trax ~ what did you eventually decide to do?.

i sent an email explaining why her reservation could not be accepted before oct. now i'm worried she didn't get it or didn't read it.

 

[EmptyNest]

moose trax ~ what did you eventually decide to do?.

i sent an email explaining why her reservation could not be accepted before oct. now i'm worried she didn't get it or didn't read it.
.

Did she make an on line reservation???? Send her a hard copy.

 

[MooseTrax]

moose trax ~ what did you eventually decide to do?.

i sent an email explaining why her reservation could not be accepted before oct. now i'm worried she didn't get it or didn't read it.
.

Did she make an on line reservation???? Send her a hard copy.
.

Did she make an on line reservation???? Send her a hard copy.

yes, the reservation was made online or this would have been over on the phone. the reservation would not have been taken on the phone, i would have explined why. good idea. i can send the cancellation in the mail and be sure she gets it.

 

[MooseTrax]

it doesn't matter how polite you are, the guest will take offense. that's my lesson for the day.

 

[muirford]

it doesn't matter how polite you are, the guest will take offense. that's my lesson for the day..

Ouch!

 

[NW BB]

she booked online so she knows the room is open. her usual reason for cancelling is no money. holding the room for 6 months is not what i want to do but i also do not want to be rude to her. we're talking it over here to see what to say. something along the lines of 'thanks for your reservation but due to...we'd appreciate you checking again closer to your date...'.

Tell her that her history of cancellations has put you in a position where you must charge her a non-refundable deposit of one night's stay to hold a room for her. I did that once - someone who cancelled three reservations three times over the course of a year, once within the seven-day notice period and the last time 'because the stock market dropped'. I'm pretty sure I won't hear from them again but why would I want to?
.

I agree with Muirford, except I would tell her because of the multiple cancellations in the past, that it will be non-refundable, no rescheduling and paid in full.
I just did that with guests who burned us in the past and when they put through a Webervation again, I politely told them that they are welcome here, but because of their history of cancelling and how it affects us, the reservation needs to be paid in full and there is no rescheduling or cancellations. They booked even under those conditions!!! They booked 3 nights in my most expensive room, showed up for their reservation, stayed 2 nights, ate breakfast, got in the car and drove off.....our innsitter went in to freshen and found all their belonging were packed up and gone! They still had one more night that they paid for, but it wasn't a problem because they were paid in full.
I'm positive that if I hadn't charged them in full when they made the reservation, they would have tried to cancel last minute again! This was their 3rd stay with us, so we know they like the place. They just can't get their act together!