Taking a reservation over the phone is easy! You can perform all steps while on the phone with the guest: give the customer an indication of what your availability is, create the reservation, take their information, record a deposit, and send the confirmation email.
Here is how you take a reservation over the phone, step by step:
- Step 1: Open the 'New Reservation' Modal
- Step 2: Choose a room and rate type
- Step 3: Add Upsell Items
- Step 4: Associate a guest to the reservation
- Step 5: Add Reservation Notes
- Step 6: Take or Record a Payment
- Step 7: Send the Confirmation Email
Step 1
Open the 'New Reservation' Modal:
To view available rooms and rates for your guest's preferred dates, click New in the top right of the calendar page.
Step 2
Choose a room and rate type:
The first page of the New Reservation modal is where you will input the guest's stay dates and number of guests. You can also choose Special Rates. Changing these variables will update the list of room and rate options that appear below the search criteria.
In the lower section, you can use the Rate Type dropdowns to see price options (the lowest price for that room, given your search criteria, will be the default price shown) and then select a room using the checkbox on the left. Once you have selected a room and corresponding rate type, click "Continue" in the bottom right.
Note that on a mobile device, if you have the feature flag for Mobile View Support enabled, the screen above will be broken into two pages - one for entering search criteria and the next for choosing a room and rate type, as shown below.
Step 3
Add Upsell Items:
If your business offers any upsell items, you will be asked if any need to be added to this reservation. The experience here is as if the guest was booking in the online booking engine. Select one or more items with the checkbox to the left of the item. You can adjust the price later if needed. Click Create Reservation. This will create the booking and bring you to the reservation page, where you can move to Step 3!
Step 4
Associate a guest to the reservation:
On the left, click the plus sign icon to add a guest to the reservation. In the Find Customer modal, type the guest's name in into the search bar. As you type, a list of existing customers is displayed that match the provided name. If the customer does not show up, you can click Create New Customer... right below the name. If there is a match, verify that it is the same guest. If you can verify that the customer is a match, double-click the name of the customer, and it will be applied to the bill. If the customer information is not in the system, click Create New Customer... to prompt a customer entry form. Enter the guest's information. Note that the notes section is for private guest notes. Those notes live with the customer every time they stay. Create the customer at the bottom when done.
Step 5
Add Reservation Notes:
Next, you can type reservation-specific notes:
- Special accommodations
- Dietary restrictions
- Additional guest names
- Arrival time
- Tax exempt status
Also, you may have custom fields to fill out, such as:
- Housekeeping Notes
- How did you hear about us?
- Reason for stay?
- Dinner reservations
Related ► Creating Custom Fields (Bill Attributes)
Note that here there is no save button when entering in these notes. It will automatically save after every keystroke. ("Paste" does not count as a keystroke.)
If you have notes that you would like to live with the guest/customer, enter those notes with the guest's information.
Step 6
Take or Record a Payment:
The next step is to retain a credit card for the customer. To do so, click the Add Credit Card button on the right side of the page under RESERVATION CREDIT CARDS. Enter the credit card number with no spaces or dashes. Enter the expiration date, CVV, and billing ZIP. Check the "Assign to Customer" box if necessary. Click on Add Card when done. The page will automatically refresh. You can tell that the credit card is retained because the card type, the last four digits of the card on file, and the card holder name are displayed on the page.
If you need to take a deposit for this guest, click the Payment button in the Payments section. The PAYMENT TYPE box will default to Credit Card. This payment type will electronically charge the customer's credit card. You will notice that the last four digits of the customer's credit card entered are shown. Edit the amount to charge the guest if necessary and click Take Payment.
Related: Credit Card Payments
Step 7
Send the Confirmation Email:
The last step is to send the guest a confirmation email. Please note that confirmation emails are not sent automatically for manually created reservations. They are automatically sent only if the guest has booked the reservation online through your website or an OTA. Since you are creating the reservation, and there are so many variables and possible exceptions, you will need to send it. Doing so is easy: click the email icon on the top right of the reservation. Choose the appropriate email template from the list ("Confirmation Email" will be selected by default). Make edits to the email body if necessary; you can edit the following items:
- Recipient's address, including adding additional addresses separated by a comma
- The subject of the email
- The main body of the email
When you are ready, click the Send button at the bottom to send the customized email to your guest! A history of all emails sent is tracked in the History tab at the top of that reservation.
On the Reservation Calendar, you will notice that the reservation exists for the day(s) and room(s) that you booked. The color of the reservation indicates payment status.