Which booking options should I choose for my listings?
On the Booking Rules step of the listing builder, you can create different Guest Booking Options.
A Booking Option determines the price the guest pays for their booking, as well as the cancellation policy for that booking. Cancellation Policies indicate the refund amount that guests are entitled to if they need to cancel a booking.
Some channels do not support certain policies, or may deprioritise them in guest searches. We’ll use the most suitable Booking Options for each channel to maximise your conversion and booking revenue.
When a guest makes a booking, one or more Booking Options will be available to them. They will be shown the amount that the booking will cost, as well as the cancellation policy for the booking.
Some channels display multiple Booking Options to guests. When guests make a booking on one of these channels, they are able to choose which Booking Option they prefer.
Some channels impose their own policy which applies no matter which policy you select. In many cases however, you can control the Booking Options offered to guests.
By choosing a good combination of Policies and prices, you can maximise your appeal to guests and control your level of cancellation risk.
Which Booking Options should I select?
To maximise your ability to display your chosen Booking Options on your selected channels, you can select up to three different cancellation policies with different prices.
You should select a mix of Fully Refundable, Partially Refundable and Non-Refundable Policies. This is to ensure that your selected channels support at least one of your cancellation policies and so you can take advantage of channels that permit multiple cancellation options.
Baseline & Additional Options
You should select a Baseline Option, and at least one Additional Option.
Baseline Option
Your previously defined rates will apply when a guest makes a booking with your Baseline Option. That means that the Basic and Seasonal Rates you select in the listing builder, as well as any exceptions to these that you have set will apply. When setting your rates, consider what cancellation policy you intend to apply for them. This will become your Baseline Option.
Additional Options
Additional Options are based on adjustments you make to your previously defined rates. For example, you can increase your rates for more flexible cancellation options to offset your risk, or decrease them for stricter policies to make them more appealing to guests.
How to set your pricing for different policies
You are able to select any policy for your Baseline Option. We recommend that your Baseline Option is fully refundable (i.e. Free 7, Free 14 or Free 30), since listings with these policies receive significantly more bookings.
Your most flexible policy should have the highest rates, meaning that guests pay more for the convenience of being able to cancel closer to check-in. By charging more for these bookings, you are able to offset the risk that comes with offering free or more flexible cancellation.
If your Additional Options policies are less flexible than your Baseline Option, you should decrease your rates for these. For example, if you charge €100 per night for a booking with Free Cancellation, you may only wish to charge €80 per night for a booking with only a partial refund.
On channels which support multiple policies, we'll display as many as possible to the guest. This means that the guest will see the different cancellation options, and the different prices associated with each.
We recommend that you increase or decrease your rates by a maximum of 30%. Differences of more than this amount make it harder for guests to understand the relative price of your rental property.