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Has it ever happened to you that you received two bookings for the same period? How did you feel at that moment, and how did you solve the problem?
Many hosts are afraid of overbooking, so they often hesitate to advertise on multiple channels. Others have chosen a channel manager, but for some hosts this is an additional annual expense. Is there another way to protect yourself from overbooking? Below, we bring you several solutions.
What is overbooking and how does it happen?
Before we look at the solutions, it is worth clarifying the source of the problem. What is overbooking and how does it happen?
Overbooking means a double booking for the same period, in other words, overlapping reservations. It is often also called double booking, but among hosts the term overbooking is much more common, so we will use it here as well.
Overbooking can happen if the reserved dates are not closed on all calendars, are not closed in time, or part of the booked period remains open due to an error.
Overbooking most often happens when availability is not synchronized across all sales channels in time.
Why is overbooking a nightmare for many hosts?
When overbooking happens, the host has to solve the situation in the least painful way possible for both themselves and the guest. In practice, this usually means that one reservation has to be cancelled or the guest has to be redirected to another acceptable solution.
Although this is not always a guarantee of success, many hosts first try to reach an agreement directly with the guest.
If you find yourself in such a situation, you can try the following:
- Explain to the guest that an unintentional mistake occurred and ask them to cancel the reservation themselves, if that works for them.
- Offer the guest another date, if necessary even at a lower price or with additional benefits.
- Offer the guest accommodation in another one of your units if it is available for the requested dates.
- Try to find alternative accommodation of similar quality and offer the guest another solution.
If none of the proposed solutions works, you will have to face the consequences of cancelling the reservation. These depend on the channel through which the booking was received and on the platform rules that apply at that time.
On larger platforms, a host cancellation may lead to financial penalties, lower listing visibility, calendar restrictions, loss of certain benefits, or an obligation to find alternative accommodation for the guest. That is why preventing overbooking is almost always a better solution than fixing the problem afterwards.
What are the possible solutions to prevent overbooking?
1. Advertising on only one channel
Although it is not recommended to rely solely on one advertising channel, many hosts still do so and successfully fill their properties.
Advantages: Since all bookings come through one channel, the chance of overlapping reservations is lower. If a problem still occurs because of a system error on the platform or agency side, responsibility is easier to determine.
Disadvantages: It is always risky to rely exclusively on one advertising channel. If you advertise on several channels, including your own website, you are less dependent on the business performance of a single platform or agency.
2. Instant booking turned off
Instant booking is an option that allows a guest to book accommodation immediately without sending an inquiry first. If you turn this option off, the guest must first send you an inquiry, and only after your approval can they book the accommodation.
Advantages: In order for someone to reserve a date, you must approve the booking. This reduces the possibility of overbooking.
Disadvantages: Some platforms rank listings with instant booking enabled more favorably, so your listing may have lower visibility if this option is turned off. In addition, if the guest waits too long for your response, they may choose another accommodation.
3. Manually closing dates
If you work with travel agencies that inform you of bookings by phone or email, advertise on booking platforms, and also have your own sales channels such as a website, you will need to enter each booked date manually into your calendars.
Advantages: As long as you enter new bookings into all your channels promptly, you have full control over your calendar and reservations.
Disadvantages: If you are not always near a computer or your phone is not always at hand, there is a risk that overbooking may happen in the period between the booking being made and the moment you manage to close the dates on all channels.
4. Channel manager
A channel manager automatically updates availability on all connected calendars.
Advantages: You do not have to close dates manually or think about whether a calendar has been updated. The channel manager does it for you.
Disadvantages: A channel manager service is usually not free, and the total cost grows with the number of units you rent out.
5. Calendars synchronized via the iCal method
If you advertise on multiple platforms and also have your own website, you can connect and synchronize calendars using the iCal data exchange method.
Advantages: You do not have to manually close all dates because they are automatically transferred to all connected channels. This solution can be very practical and often comes at no additional cost.
Disadvantages: Synchronization does not always happen instantly, but at certain time intervals. During that interval, there is still a possibility of overlapping bookings.
Conclusion
If you advertise on multiple channels, overbooking is always possible. It may happen because of a technical error, but also because of human error. In both cases, the most important thing is to resolve the situation as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
There are several ways to reduce the likelihood of overbooking, and we have listed some of them in this article.
It is a good idea to define one primary calendar that you use to track all bookings, for example the one on your website, and then with every new booking check whether all occupied dates are really closed on all calendars.
With extra caution and regular monitoring of all advertising channels, you do not have to constantly worry about overbooking.
The best protection against overbooking is a well-organized calendar system and regular checks of all sales channels.
Did you know that you can connect the calendar on your Apartmanica website free of charge to other calendars on booking platforms via the iCal method and further protect yourself from overbooking?
