ROOM & SERVICES BLOCKING & CONFIRMATION POLICY
Objective:
Having a highly perishable product every hotel aims to have an efficient way of handling the room / facility inventory. At Evolve Back Resorts, it is a way of business to ensure that the guest with payment is given the first priority and we have been constantly innovating to make sure that our product is available to the right customers at the right time. One such step is the “ROOM / FACILITY BLOCKING SYSTEM”, whose guidelines form the foundation for efficient handling of room inventory.
Direct sales team (DS)
Direct Sales Team:
Evolve Back Resorts has successfully integrated our CRM system (Leadsquared) with our PMS (Mycloud). This makes us an efficient team and we do not need to manually enter guest details in multiple systems. Hence, the direct sales team executives should block rooms through the Leadsquared application only. The reservation will be created in “hold” status in our PMS (Mycloud) & will automatically capture guest details such as name, email ID, phone number, city etc... Please note that DS team execs should NOT block rooms directly in PMS.
Being a high-end luxury offering, most of our guests would need time (typically 2 to 3 days from the time of making their inquiry) in order to finalize and confirm their holiday with payment. To accommodate this requirement, we have devised the below Hold/Confirmation timelines.
Please note that all tentative blocking (without payment) should necessarily be created under the “Hold” status in PMS. As mentioned above, we use this status when our guests need time to confirm their stay with payment. However, we cannot keep reservations in “Hold” status on an indefinite basis & rooms should be confirmed/released as per the below timelines.
Reservations created in hold status between 00:00 hours to 11:59 hours: Should be confirmed/released latest by 18:00 hours on the same day.
Reservation created between 12:00 hours to 23:59 hours: Should be confirmed/released latest by 12:00 hours on the next day.
Reservation created on saturday/sunday : Should be confirmed/released latest by 12:00 hours on Monday.
Reservation created on 1 day prior to the national holiday or on the national holiday : Should be confirmed/released latest by 12:00 hours on the next working day.
When can we move a DS reservation from “Hold” to “Confirmed” ? A DS reservation can be moved to confirmed status under the below conditions.
100% Payment : It is strongly recommended that all sales executives insist on 100% payment from the guests to confirm his/her stay. This will help executives to save time and make them more efficient in their work. A reservation qualifies to move to “Confirmed” status when the 100% payment is posted to the reservation in our PMS.
Partial Payment : There will be cases where the guest is reluctant to make the 100% payment for his/her reservation. In such cases, our policies allow part payments as per the below-mentioned terms and conditions.
50% payment to be collected at the time of Booking confirmation
Balance 50% payment to be collected by the operations team upon Check In. Sales exec should ensure that the operations team collects the balance 50% payment at the time of check in.
In the case of partially paid reservations, our policies allow a reservation to be moved to “Confirmed” status when the above mentioned 50 % payment is posted to the reservation in our PMS.
Offline domestic travel agents team (TA-D)
Before we move into the room blocking, payment terms and confirmation policy for our offline domestic travel agents, we must first understand the different classifications of such agents at Evolve Back Resorts.
Top offline domestic travel agent (Top TA) : Those offline domestic travel agents who generate a net revenue of 50 Lakhs and above in a financial year are referred to as “Top TA” . Click here to view the list of Top Domestic Travel Agents
Non-Top offline domestic travel agent (Non-Top TA) : All other offline domestic travel agents that do NOT fall in the above-mentioned Top TA list are referred to as “Non Top TA”.
Travel agent reservations need to be blocked directly in Mycloud PMS. We are unfortunately not able to block rooms from Leadsquared as we will not have the final guest details (guest name, email ID, phone number, guest city) at the time of making the blocking.
Most of our travel agents, especially those that operate in the B2B segment would need time (typically 2 to 3 days from the time of making their inquiry) in order to finalize and confirm their guest’s holiday with payment. To accommodate this requirement, we have devised the below hold/confirmation timelines.
Please note that all tentative blockings (without payment) should necessarily be created under the “Hold” status in PMS. As mentioned above, we use this status as our travel agents need time to confirm bookings with payment. However, we cannot keep reservations in “Hold” status on an indefinite basis & rooms should be confirmed/released as per the below timelines.
Reservations created in hold status between 00:00 hours to 11:59 hours: Should be confirmed/released latest by 18:00 hours on the same day.
Reservation created between 12:00 hours to 23:59 hours: Should be confirmed/released latest by 12:00 hours on the next day.
Reservation created on saturday/sunday : Should be confirmed/released latest by 12:00 hours on Monday.
Reservation created on 1 day prior to the national holiday or on the national holiday : Should be confirmed/released latest by 12:00 hours on the next working day.
When can we move a TA-D reservation from “Hold” to “Confirmed” ? A TA-D reservation can be moved to confirmed status under the below conditions.
100% Payment : It is strongly recommended that all sales executives insist on 100% payment from the travel agents to confirm reservations. This will help executives to save time and make them more efficient in their work. A reservation qualifies to move to “Confirmed” status when the 100% payment is posted to the reservation in our PMS.
Partial Payment : There will be cases where the travel agent is reluctant to make the 100% payment for a reservation. In such cases, our policies allow part payments as per the below-mentioned terms and conditions.
Non Top TA
50% payment to be collected at the time of booking confirmation
Balance 50% payment to be collected 5 days before check In
Top TA
25% payment to be collected at the time of booking confirmation
Balance 75% payment to be collected 5 days before check In
Guarantee Mail:
Agents classified as “Top TA”are allowed the privilege to confirm reservations without making payment by sending us a guarantee mail. An executive is allowed to “Confirm” rooms based on the guarantee mail received from the agent. By sending us the guarantee mail, the agent agrees to stick by our cancellation policies. For confirmations made using the “guarantee mail” option, we should follow the below mentioned process.
Guarantee mail to be collected at the time of booking confirmation
Balance 100% payment to be collected 5 days before check In
In the case of partially paid reservations, our policies allow a reservation to be moved to “Confirmed” status when the above mentioned 50 % / 25% payment is posted to the reservation in our PMS.
Travel agent online booking system :
Selected travel agents are provided the facility to make online bookings (with nil payment) on the official Evolve Back website using a predefined promo code. Such bookings enter our PMS in the "Confirmed" status. However, these are just tentative blockings made by the said agent and not yet a confirmed reservation. The sales executive should move the reservation to "hold" status within 24 hours of receiving such a booking. The sales exec should then follow the above-mentioned SOPs w.r.t hold bookings and ensure that the reservation is confirmed/released.
Offline inbound travel agents team (TA-I)
TA -I bookings refers to reservations received for non-Indian guests through an offline travel agent. These blocking /inquiries typically originate about a year before the check in date. However, our agents are only able to confirm the reservations about 2 to 3 months before check in. To accommodate this requirement, we have devised the below hold/confirmation timelines.
Please note that all tentative blocking (without payment) should necessarily be created under the “hold” status in PMS. As mentioned above, we use this status as our travel agents need time to confirm bookings with payment. However, we cannot keep reservations in “Hold” status on an indefinite basis & rooms should be confirmed/released as per the below timelines.
The TA-I team can create ‘hold’ reservations in our PMS up to 2 years before the check in date & they are allowed to hold such reservations without payment up to 30 days before the check in date. During this period, the room is reserved for the potential guest, and no other department can take that specific room. On or before 30 days of check-in, the TA-I team must confirm or release the said reservation.
When can we move a TA-I reservation from “Hold” to “Confirmed” ? A TA-I reservation can be moved to confirmed status under the below conditions.
100% Payment : It is strongly recommended that all sales executives insist on 100% payment from the travel agents to confirm reservations. This will help executives to save time and make them more efficient in their work. A reservation qualifies to move to “Confirmed” status when the 100% payment is posted to the reservation in our PMS.
Partial Payment : There will be cases where the travel agent is reluctant to make the 100% payment for a reservation. In such cases, our policies allow part payments as per the below-mentioned terms and conditions.
25% payment to be collected at the time of booking confirmation
Balance 75% payment to be collected 5 days before Check In
In the case of partially paid reservations, our policies allow a reservation to be moved to “Confirmed” status when the above mentioned 25% payment is posted to the reservation in our PMS.
TA-I bookings received within 30 days to the check-in date:
While most of the TA-I queries originate well before the check-in date, there are also queries that the TA-I team will receive for which the check in date is within the next 30 days. The sales exec can create ‘hold’ bookings for such queries & the below policy should be followed.
Reservations created in hold status between 00:00 hours to 11:59 hours: Should be confirmed/released latest by 18:00 hours on the same day by adhering to the above outlined payment guidelines.
Reservation created between 12:00 hours to 23:59 hours: Should be confirmed/released latest by 12:00 hours on the next day by adhering to the above outlined payment guidelines.
Reservation created on saturday/sunday : Should be confirmed/released latest by 12:00 hours on Monday by adhering to the above outlined payment guidelines.
Reservation created on 1 day prior to the national holiday or on the national holiday : Should be confirmed/released latest by 12:00 hours on the next working day by adhering to the above outlined payment guidelines.
Website Bookings - www.evolveback.com
“Website bookings” refers to reservations originated on our official website (www.evolveback.com). Such bookings are routed through our channel manager and enter our PMS in the "Confirmed" status. These bookings can be broadly classified into the below 2 types
Bookings received with 100% payment : No action required with respect to blocking/payment/confirmation.
Bookings received with 50% payment : Sales exec should ensure that the operations team collects the balance 50% payment at the time of check in.
Online Travel Agents (OTA)
Before we move into the Room blocking, payment terms and confirmation policy for our online travel agents (OTA), we must first understand the different classifications of such agents at Evolve Back Resorts.
OTA Collect Agents : Agents who follow this business model are responsible for collecting the payment from the guest on behalf of Evolve Back Resorts. The prominent OTA Collect agencies are Makemytrip/Goibibo/Travelguru/Expedia/Yatra/Agoda.
Hotel Collect Agents : Agents who follow this business model do not directly collect the payment from the guest. The agent only acts as a facilitator for the booking process. Evolve Back Resorts will directly collect the payment from the guest. The prominent HOTEL Collect agency is Booking.com
All OTA bookings enter are routed through our channel manager and enter our PMS in the "Confirmed" status. & we must follow the below mentioned SOPs with respect to their payment/confirmation/release.
Bookings received through OTA Collect Agents : As mentioned above, payments for such bookings will be made by OTA. We allow such OTAs to make payment within 30 days of check out & hence no payment needs to be posted to the reservation at the time of confirmation.
OTA Collect reservations are allowed to be in "Confirmed" status without payment. However, the sales exec is expected to give clear communication to the operations team to move the said outstanding to the correct city ledger account.
Bookings received through Hotel Collect Agents : As mentioned above, payments for such bookings need to be collected from the guest by the Evolve Back Resorts sales executive. These bookings can remain in "Confirmed" status without payment for a maximum of 72 hours from the time of receiving the booking.
The sales exec should contact the guest and post 50% of the payment to the reservation within 72 hours of receiving the booking in our PMS. The sales exec should ensure that the operations team collects the balance 50% payment at the time of check in.
If however, the sales exec is unable to collect the above mentioned 50% payment, the said booking should be released within 72 hours of having received the reservation.
Corporate Bookings
Considering the nature of Group Bookings / corporate bookings and the time taken to coordinate with multiple parties, EBR allows the corporate team to make tentative blockings in "Confirmed” status rather than ‘hold’ status as per the following terms:
Tentative blockings made for which the check in is within the next 45 days –
Corporate Team can hold such rooms in "Confirmed" status for 5 days from the date of creation.
The team should collect 50% of the booking value within the aforementioned 5 days. If they are unable to collect this payment, the reservation should be released.
The Balance 50% payment is to be collected 14 days before Check In
Tentative blockings made for which the check in is greater than the next 45 days –
Corporate Team can hold such rooms in "Confirmed" status for 10 days from the date of creation.
Corporate Team should collect 50% of the booking value within the aforementioned 10 days. If they are unable to collect this payment, the reservation should be released.
The Balance 50% payment is to be collected 14 days before Check In
Please note that for every corporate blocking made, a clear mail with deadlines should to be sent to all_sales outlining the number of rooms, room types, time limit of blocking etc…
Important Notes
(Applicable for all Departments)
Posting of payment towards the booking :
Evolve Back Resorts has successfully integrated our Payment gateway (EBS) with our PMS. Hence, the most efficient way to collect payment is through the online payment link generated through the PMS. Payments received through this method is auto allocated to the reservation without manual intervention. This is the quickest and most accurate way to ensure that a payment is posted to the guest reservation so that it qualifies for confirmation.
Some guests/ agents would like to make offline payments Ex : NEFT, IMPS, cheque deposit etc. Such payments take up to 3 working days to reflect in our bank statement. In such cases, our policies allow a reservation to be moved to “Confirmed” status as per the below guidelines.
The executive must seek proof of payment (NEFT/IMPS etc...) from the guest in the form of a screenshot/debit message from the bank etc.
With the above mentioned proof of payment, the reservation can be moved to "Confirmed" status and the executive need not wait for the payment to reflect in our bank statement.
The executive must ensure that the payment is posted to the reservation within 72 hours of changing the status of the reservation to “Confirmed”.
This procedure allows us to streamline the reservation process and accommodate offline payment methods effectively.
Other Experiences/Services - Blocking, payment, & confirmation policy
At Evolve Back Resorts, we offer a range of experiences and services (other than room) that guests can enjoy throughout their stay with us. We are referring here to experiences/services that come at a cost to the guest. For example, safaris in Kabini, Spa sessions at vaidyashala, Private dinings, Surface transfers etc....
Please note that all such 'experiences/services' as mentioned above can only be blocked for a guest once the room reservation is confirmed for the same guest. The standard operating procedures (SOPs) for room blocking and payment, specific to each department, will also apply to facility bookings.
CAUTION : Please note that 'experiences/services' cannot be confirmed to the guest without payment, even if the guest has already paid for their room according to the room payment policy.
Let's illustrate this with an example : Mr Sharma (Direct Sales guest) makes 100% (Rs 1.5 Lakhs) payment on Aug 15 for a Pool Hut with a Check in on Aug 23rd for 3 nights. As per above mentioned SOPs, the room will move from hold to confirmed on 15th Aug, 2023.
On 17th Aug, 2023 at 1130 AM , Mr. Sharma requests us to book 3 sessions of jeep safaris worth Rs 10,500/-. The sales exec can block the said safari seats for Mr Sharma. However, As per DS room blocking policy, Mr Sharma needs to make 100% of the payment ( Rs 10,500/-) by 6 PM on 17th Aug, 2023 so that his safari seats can be considered as confirmed. Failure to receive this payment will result in the release of the blocked safari seats back to the inventory.
Services/Experiences reservation requests received within 5 days of check in
For service/experience reservation requests received from guests whose check in is within the next 5 days, the sales exec must first check with the respective operations team or concierge team as to whether they can accommodate the experience for the guest. Only after obtaining written consent from the operations or concierge team can the sales executive proceed to collect the required payment and confirm the service/experience for the guest.
MyCloud rate type:
All reservations in PMS should be blocked under any one of the below mentioned Rate types only.
HOUSE USE: This rate type should be chosen for bookings done on complimentary basis for the below mentioned purposes
Travel agent fam trips
Employee travel to the resorts on official duty
Director travel to the resorts on official duty
COMP: This rate type should be chosen on a restrictive basis only when a director gifts a holiday to his/her friend, family etc...
MAP: For all bookings that do not fall under the above two categories, the reservation should be booked under "MAP" rate type.