The flexible booking journey is the online route a guest takes to book a room, from the link they are sent to a confirmed booking. This article explains the stages, the statuses a booking passes through, and when invoices are created.
What you need to know
The stages of the journey
A guest works through the journey one stage at a time. Each stage is an item on the booking checklist, and the whole checklist is created at the moment the booking is created. Which stages apply depends on how your product group is set up, and on the instalment plan applied to the booking. A plan that requires a guarantor adds Add guarantor details and Sign guarantor contract; a plan with an advance payment adds Pay ARP. So not every guest sees every stage.
Personal details
Contact details
Academic details
Reservation fee
Other contacts, such as a guarantor or an emergency contact
Payment plan
Contract
Payment
Your workspace can add its own items, so a booking can show stages that are not in this list. The order is fixed and does not change as items are completed.
The two booking statuses
A booking created through the journey starts as Tentative. It becomes Confirmed once every checklist item is complete.
A Tentative booking is a real booking. It holds the unit that was allocated to it, so the room is not offered to anyone else while the guest is still working through the journey.
A booking that is not confirmed before its timer runs out becomes Expired. The record and the guest details are kept, and the unit is released.
The booking expiry timer
The booking expiry timer belongs to the product group, not to the individual booking. Where it is active, every new booking for that product group is created as Tentative, and a booking that is not confirmed before the timer runs out expires and releases the unit for sale.
Each product group carries its own Default expiry, and 30 minutes is the value most product groups use. Go to Inventory, then Product groups, and open a product group to find Booking expiry timer and Default expiry.
When invoices are created
A draft invoice is created automatically whenever a booking is created, and that includes a booking created through the journey. Where the accommodation rate is zero, no invoice is generated, and setting the rate above zero triggers generation.
The reservation fee and the down payment are taken during the journey itself, and each produces its own document. Go to Guest experience, then Bookings, open the booking, and go to the Financials tab, then Invoices & receipts.
When would you use it
You need to explain to a guest what happens after they open their booking link.
You are looking at a booking that shows Tentative and want to know what is still outstanding.
You need to know at what point a guest is charged, and what document each payment produces.
You are setting up a product group and want to know what the booking expiry timer changes.
Things to note
The checklist order is fixed. An item stays in its position whether it is Completed, Pending or Waived.
The journey emails the guest their link. An operator can send it again with Resend link on the booking.
A booking with a zero accommodation rate produces no invoice until the rate is set above zero.
Draft invoices are excluded from reporting, including debt reports. Only issued documents are included.
The reservation item is what holds the room: its own description reads Secures the room and extends the hold, so completing it pushes the expiry out.
While a booking is tentative the checklist shows Hold expires with the date, and Extend hold gives the guest more time.
Find out more
Article | What it covers |
The steps to take when a guest cannot open their link, or the booking shows Expired. | |
How to find the checklist item that is holding a paid booking back. | |
When a draft invoice is created, how it updates, and how to open and export it. | |
The same journey seen by the guest, stage by stage. | |
The manual alternative, where a lead is offered a room and converted to a booking. |