💡 Important to know:
This functionality is only available for direct booking rates advertised via your direct booking engine.
Terms of non-guaranteed bookings
A non-guaranteed status is a type of reservation agreement between guest and a property with the following terms:
Guests won’t have to input any credit card details (unless there is a deposit configured or they decide to guarantee the reservation).
The property commits to holding the room until a specified hour on the check-in day (e.g. 6 p.m., which will display as “18:00” on your direct booking engine). If the guest fails to arrive by this time, the property is free to release the room.
⚠️ Be aware that you can release the room, but the inventory will not be adjusted automatically; you need to manually cancel the reservation for the inventory to be updated.
If you enable non-guaranteed reservations for a direct booking rate, guests will have two options when booking:
Book the room without having to input their credit card information.
Tick a checkbox to guarantee the booking beyond the specified time.
💡 A guaranteed booking requires guests to enter payment card details to complete the booking. This secures the room even if the guest arrives after the check-in time.
Enable non-guaranteed bookings for a direct booking rate
Follow these steps to enable non-guaranteed bookings for a direct booking rate:
Go to Direct booking > Direct booking rates.
Filter the rates by clicking Added on the Show rates status
Locate the relevant room type, and in its Direct rates section, find the direct rate to configure. Click on the name of the direct rate > select Edit from the actions menu.
In the window that appears, locate the Additional direct booking controls section > Reservation policy settings.
Select from the three options:
Pre-payment details needed to secure booking — all bookings will be guaranteed bookings. This is the default option. If you keep this selected, non-guaranteed bookings will not be enabled.
Pre-payment not needed to secure booking — all bookings will be non-guaranteed reservations, and if the guest does not pay by check-in time, the room can be released immediately. Select this option to enable non-guaranteed bookings.
Pre-payment needed if guest intends to check-in after — all bookings will be non-guaranteed reservations which will be held until a specific time of day after check-in. If the guest does not pay by this time, the room can be released. Select this option to enable non-guaranteed bookings then use the Select time field to select the time of day the room can be released.
Click Save
💡 Please remember:
You can only edit the Additional direct booking controls section once the room rates have been added to Direct booking.
To disable non-guaranteed bookings, select the option Pre-payment details needed to secure booking then click Save
If deposits are enabled for this room rate, the credit card form will always display regardless of the time you have selected under Select time.
Ensure you have set up the credit cards your property accepts to allow guests the option to guarantee their booking.