Booking settings configured in the property's Main Settings

1. Types of Booking Settings

Depending on different channels, the Hostfully Platform supports up to 3 types of booking settings:

• Booking inquiries:

  • Flow:

    1. Guest sends an inquiry

    2. You return a quote with payment link, and a hold can be included.

    3. They can pay to book or ignore.

  • If you want payment link to work in the quote, payment processor is required

    • Alternatively, (without payment processor) you can handle payment off system and manually mark the booking as booked / paid. More details here: How to manage a lead (via Dashboard & Pipeline).
      

Booking requests: (with Stripe as payment processor)

• Flow:

  • Guest finds available dates and properties

  • They provide their payment information.

  • You (as property manager - PM) get this as a pending request (with message into Inbox), and can decide to accept / decline accordingly

    • If you accept the request, payment is processed directly without further intervention from the guest. This is the flow described here in this article

    • If you decline, nothing happens, and no payment is processed.

• You can also partially allow Booking Requests on Airbnb

Note: if you use VacationRentPayment as payment processor, booking request still gets charged immediately prior to approval. However, VRP does refund the payment processing fee on refunded transactions (if refund within 48 hours).

• Instant booking:

  • Default setting for Airbnb and Vrbo

  • Flow:

    1. Guests find available dates and properties

    2. Then, they can directly book for the open dates (and payment is processed right away)

       
       

Summary of booking settings for channels / channels managers

Note:

• Please be aware, that Airbnb's policy does not allow having Airbnb listings set on booking request, whilst having the same property listed elsewhere with an instant booking capability. PM and PM only is responsible for any violations of the Airbnb's policy.

• While Airbnb only supports Instant Book & Booking Request, guests can send you inquiries on Airbnb. (via a Contact Host button on Airbnb listing page). The inquiry will come in with the guest first name only (no last name).
  
  These inquiries will be visible in Hostfully PMP Inbox and you can respond directly from there. However, you can't take action like Pre-approve or Decline as on Airbnb.

  
  

  

  
  

  

Summary of requirements for booking settings across channels / channels managers

Note:

• Airbnb handles payment on their own. For other channels, you need a payment processor to facilitate it automatically.

• Hostfully Channel includes:

  • Booking widget

  • Hostfully listing website

  • Your own website if you use the widget or Hostfully APIs

2. Choose the Booking Settings for each channel

On the property's Main Settings tab, you can choose the Booking Settings for each channel as below:

3. Sample flow for Booking Request on Hostfully Channel

Once the Booking Request mode is set, the Hostfully booking widget will show a Book Now, instead of a Get A Quote button. Note that messages provided by the guests will show on your Inbox, as a new message:

During the booking process, the guest will be informed that the Property Management Company has 24 hours to accept or deny the request:

Each screen will remind the guest of that the booking is not final, and subject to acceptance from the Property Management Company:

Once the Booking Request shows on your dashboard, click on the Review button:

In the Inbox, you can engage in a conversation with the guest, or Accept / Decline the booking request. If you decide to accept the Booking Request, the payment will be processed:

Note that Booking Requests are represented by a "Pending" status on the Pipeline, as below:

Once the payment is processed, the booking will show the regular Booked status.