Reservation Categories Details

The reservation category is one of the most important parts of the distribution channel. The reservation category deals with the types of bookings, such as Group Booking, Owner Booking, Corporate Booking, etc. The owner can gain an understanding of the types of bookings made through the distribution channels by utilizing the reservation category and classify them accordingly. Reservation categories are used to define specific channel procedures and calculations. By linking multiple reservation categories to one channel, the number of channels will remain limited.
One example of combining one channel with multiple reservation categories is Owners. We can have multiple booking types for one channel (Owner), such as Own use, Owner books for himself in another house, Owner books for guests in his own house, and Owner books for guests in another house. Therefore, four different procedures require four different reservation categories to effectively manage reservations for one channel. Another example would be business DCs that utilize various RCs for different types of bookings, including first-time bookings, group bookings, follow-up bookings, extensions, and more.

Under a certain reservation category, you can find various cards, tabs, sub-modules, and tables. While these cards/tabs are available in Newyse, they may not be present in MXTS as we are transitioning from Newyse to Maxxton Software. Certain functionalities are still under development, while others are currently in progress.

Here is the first tab with name General where you can find the checkboxes and different options to view or configure different general functionalities related to the Reservation Category.

1. General- On this page you can find out some checkboxes on Newyse where In Maxxton you can get the same options in the Settings drawer.

   • Show vat on confirmation - It will show vat on the bill after confirmation.

   • Always show the unit on the reservation - This is used to show a Unit on the reservation and it is a confirmation for the user and service provider. It will help you to know which unit is booked.

   • Unit in reservation may not be switched - This checkbox restricts switching to a different unit than the one initially reserved. In certain cases, users may desire to switch units at the last moment, but it can only be done within units that have the same amenities and add-ons. Enabling this toggle indicates that the customer is not given the option to switch to other units.

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In Maxxton we have same options in settings drawer that is available in Newyse under General tab with some additional options as well. Below, you will find an explanation of each of these options.

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1. Color - Different RCs can have different colors. Therefore, we can identify RCs by their colors in the planning chart by selecting any color. RCs can easily be recognized by their color if we have selected a specific color for them. We can distinguish RC's by color and perceive them solely based on color. e.g. - For Color Blue RC is Reserver, For Color Yellow RC is own use reservation.

   
   
   

2. Internet user group - This configuration option is used to specify which reservation category is allowed to be seen/enter on the web application. In the screenshot below, you can see different types of Internet user groups.

3. Business Snapshots -If this toggle is enabled, then the user can take a business snapshot, and the invoices will be created in the reservation. The invoices are helpful for finance and related calculations to be shown at the time of reservation, which will give us a clear idea about the bill. Also, the payments that have been paid and due will also be reflected in the invoices.

4. Show Reservation Check IN/Check Out - The Check In/Check Out module is a separate feature that can be found in the front office manager. If the "show reservation check-in/check-out" toggle is enabled, reservations with this RC will appear in the check-in/check-out module. This is used to differentiate reservation statuses, including check-in, check-out, as well as initial, provisional, definitive, cancelled, and declined. Checking in and checking out provides a clear idea about the particular type of reservations, allowing for prioritization of specific reservations using this function.

5. Invoice settings -

• Invoice type - If invoices created through work order management can be invoiced using the owner debit card, the maintenance fund debit card, or solely through a work order invoice.

• Eligible for energy bill - By enabling this toggle button, the RC becomes applicable for energy bills, allowing for the calculation of utility bills for reservations that require energy invoices (e.g., electricity, water, gas). The utility bill is generated based on meter readings, and the calculation is performed on a monthly basis, taking into account consumption and the recorded meter readings.

• Owner year-round reservation - Enabling this toggle button for this RC signifies that reservations created with this reservation category are permitted to have invoices generated for work orders and energy settlements. This is specifically for owners DC and RC who wanted to make bookings for an entire year.

E.g. European clients are using dates such as 01/01/23 to 31/12/2023 and US clients are using 01/01/2023 to 12/31/2023.

6. Reservation settings- In the reservation settings we have options like

• Manage Certificates - If this toggle button is enabled then we can view or manage certificates of a reservation created with this reservation category.

• Alter Billing configuration - Enabling this toggle allows for the modification of the payer. When activated, it enables the "Change Payer" button for reservations within this reservation category, facilitating the movement of resources from one bill agent to another, or from a bill agent to a bill customer, and vice versa. In Newyse we have the same function to Alter Billing configuration and i.e. Override billing configuration distribution channel allowed.

• Group Booking- Enabling this toggle button allow users to book multiple accommodations from same or different accommodation types at one time.

• Owner Use- This is specifically for the owner and a separate RC is created for this category. It enables this RC for owner reservations.

• Resource internal price for owner settlement - By enabling this toggle the resource in the reservation with internal bill lines will be considered in owner settlement and redirection.
  
  
  

7. Allow Redirection When turnover is Zero - In an owner reservation the accommodation prices are zero as most of the time these resources are defined as free resources and the turnover will be zero however for other resources if the toggle is enabled it will allow redirecting and the charges will be debited by the owners debit card.

8. Auto-validate reservation - This is used to change the validation status automatically whenever the reservation status changes and if the toggle key is enabled then it will auto-validate the reservation.

9. Exclude from Datawarehouse/BI data - This excludes all the reservations having this reservation category in the data warehouse. The data warehouse is used for business intelligence and creating dashboards. Metrics that can be impacted by excluding this reservation category are e.g. Occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, Reservation Turnover, etc

10. Reservation excluded from My Environment - My Environment is a guest portal where guests can log in separately and guest can make changes to their booking. If this toggle is enabled then the reservations with this RC will not be visible in My environment. This is used for the guests/customers who wants to edit their reservations as per their requirements and some channels are using this type of configuration to provide access for the customers convenience.

11. Free Resource - This card can be used for any type of resource or specific resource (such as accommodation, extras, products, packages, specials, or activities) that has been chosen as a complimentary addition to a reservation. The customer will not be charged for the selected resource when making the reservation. The screenshot below illustrates an example where certain resources, like the parent-level accommodation and some child accommodation types, have been added as complimentary resources for RC-own use reservations. Any bookings made with this RC will not incur any charges. This configuration is particularly beneficial for property owners who wish to book their properties for personal use.

12. Accommodation Priority - This card is used to specify owner units to be booked for an owner of that property. If the checkbox is checked as Mark for own use then it means this RC is specific to the owner reservations. It has almost the same function that we have discussed in the above mentioned point that if this checkbox is checked means this is a specific RC that can be book specifically for owners. We can see in the below screenshot that RC is Own use reservation where mark for own use is checked. It means this RC will be available to book owners units and own use is defined for specific period.

13. Expiration Rule - This card is used for conditions like optional booking. If there is a condition added for this RC and any booking comes under this RC the booking gets expired if it will not confirmed/provisional/definitive as per the configured condition. Sometimes users/customers will leave bookings and bookings not proceeding further after the initial booking status so the accommodation is not available in the planning to book anymore. So this rule helps to remove the bookings status and makes it available in a defined time. The booking validity automatically expired and the accommodation is available to book again.