The Third-Party Booking Standard
Five steps for bookings made through booking sites and travel agents. The guest chose the hotel; the website was only the way they paid for it.
- Who
- Reservations agents, checked by the revenue manager
- When
- Every booking from a site, agent or wholesaler, within 24 hours
- You need
- Channel extranets, the voucher, virtual card details
- Measured by
- Checked against the voucher within 24 h
- Who pays recorded in the booking
- Allocated as a direct booking would be
5 steps
01
Check the voucher
Within 24 hours of the booking reaching the PMS, compare it with the channel’s voucher: guest name, dates, room, bed, meal plan, number of guests, and the rate the guest actually paid.
Say this
Booking note: “Checked vs voucher 4 May: sold room only, PMS showed breakfast. Corrected. LM”
Common mistake Trusting the interface. The site sold breakfast, the PMS says room only, and the guest finds out at the breakfast door.
02
Record who pays
Write in the booking who pays for what: the channel, a virtual card and the date it can be charged, or the guest at the hotel. Front office should never need to ask the guest at checkout.
Say this
Payment note: “Virtual card, chargeable from 12 June. Room and tax only. Extras paid by guest.”
Common mistake Leaving payment details in the extranet only. At checkout the guest is asked to pay for a room they paid for in March.
03
Allocate as direct
Treat the booking as you would a direct one: the same room allocation rules, the same profile checks, the same returning-guest flags. The rate code is for accounting, never for choosing the room.
Say this
Allocation note: “Site booking, returning guest (3rd stay). Allocate as direct: high floor, away from lift.”
Common mistake Giving the booking-site guest the room by the service lift. They notice, and review the hotel on the same site.
04
Introduce yourself
Send one message through the channel’s guest messaging, or to the email on the voucher, with your name and direct line, so the guest can reach the hotel itself with any question before the stay.
Say this
“Dear Ms Rossi, I’m Luca from reservations. For anything before your stay, my direct line is below.”
Common mistake Inviting the guest to cancel and rebook direct for less. It breaks the channel contract and makes the guest wary.
05
Route changes
Any change the guest asks for (dates, room, names) is made through the channel that sold it, or agreed with it in writing, so the voucher, the PMS and the guest all show the same booking.
Say this
“I’ll change the dates with the site now, Ms Rossi, and their updated confirmation will reach you within the hour.”
Common mistake Changing the dates in the PMS only. The site still shows the old ones, and charges the guest a no-show.
The Third-Party Booking Check
Every booking that did not come direct, checked within 24 hours. The agent works down the list and initials the booking when done.
- Guest name matches the voucher
- Dates and number of nights match
- Room and bed type mapped correctly
- Meal plan matches what the guest bought
- Adults and children’s ages match
- Rate the guest paid noted in the booking
- Who pays: channel, virtual card or guest
- Virtual card charge date recorded
- Returning guest checked in PMS history
- Room allocated by the direct-booking rules
- Introduction sent with a direct line
- Requests on the voucher copied into the PMS
- Booking initialled by the checking agent
Brief it on Monday, then have each agent check the day’s third-party bookings against the list before lunch. Each Friday the revenue manager opens three at random with the voucher beside the booking.
The Standards Library.
No. 07 · Reservations
The Three-Ring Standard
Five steps for answering, holding and transferring a reservations call. The caller decides how the hotel feels before anyone mentions a rate.
No. 08 · Reservations
The Booking Call Standard
Five steps that take a caller from “do you have availability?” to a confirmed stay. Most callers have already decided to come and are waiting to be asked.