2.3 Managing Your Availability and Bookings
Managing your Availability and Bookings
Bookings should generally be made by holiday-makers using the View Availability functionality on a property listing. However, it is also feasible for owners to enter these via the bookings facility from within their own account area.
Add a booking Calendar:
This allows accommodation owners to set up either a ‘Quick Setup - Daily Calendar’, ‘Quick Setup - Weekly Calendar’ or ‘Customise Calendar’.
Within add a booking calendar, In the Booking/Payment tab, owners can chose the type of Booking calendar they prefer to use. The following options are available:
• NEW - Booking Calendar with Online Payment
• Booking Calendar without Online Payment
• Availability Calendar only
To add a booking calendar, click on ‘Enquiries & Bookings’ then the booking calendars and then ‘+ Add Booking Calendar’
Watch the videos below on how to set up your booking calendar.
Video: Set up a Booking Calendar (part 1)
Video: Set up a Booking Calendar (part 2)
Edit Booking Calendar
This allows accommodation owners to edit prices, periods of availability for short stays, add/edit extra charges, edit deposit /balance etc.
In the overview tab, you can extend Calendar by 1 month, 6 months and 12 months up to a total duration of 18 months by clicking on ‘Extend Calendar’
In the prices tab, this allows you to click on ‘Set Availability’ to set a booking price for specific periods and allow short breaks. It also allows you to set periods as unavailable.
Watch the video below on how to set up a short break on your Booking Calendar.
Video: Set up a Short Break
Bookings
This section allows you to view all bookings but will default to unapproved bookings. Use the drop down box to view other types of bookings.
View Availability
This allows you to view your availability on your booking calendar you have set up.
If you have set up a Booking Calendar without Online Payment, you can add bookings. To add a booking, simply click on the required date, using the arrows to navigate. Emails will be sent to the holiday maker to notifiy them of the booking and any changes made. You will also be sent a copy of the emails.
To view the price and booking details for a given period, hover over that date.
To block out a date/make unavailable, hover over that date the click on 'Edit Price/Availability' on the right hand side of your screen.
Please Note if you mark a date as unavailable, it will always be shown on the live site as booked.
Booking Calendars
This section with allow you to edit periods, create short breaks, prices and availability.
To make a date unavailable (not adding booking details and it will be shown on the live site as booked), go to the prices tab then click on Edit Availability/price. You can also use the form to create short breaks.
Payments
This section allows you to view all payments but will default to payment due. Use the drop down box to view other types of payments.
Widget for allowing Online Booking and Payments on Your Own Website
You can display your LovetoEscape Booking Calendar and Payments System on your own website very easily. This will enable you to safely take credit and debit card payments from your own website, without going to the hassle of getting your own merchant services account or creating your own payment gateway.
The Widget is a small paragraph of HTML code which you add to your own website. You can add a variety of styles of Calendar, from availability only to full online payments.
To find the code you need to add your Widget, go to Special Offers and Marketing > Widget. You will first need to create a booking calendar.
Copy your personalised Widget Code onto your own website on your Availability/Bookings Page. It's that simple! You can manage all of your bookings from LovetoEscape.com, your own website, and also from VisitScotland, with whom we have partnered to power Online Bookings and Payments through VisitScotland.com (for our Scottish Holiday Cottages and B&Bs only). All Bookings and Enquiries will come through your LovetoEscape listing, and your calendars will update automatically over all platforms. This makes LovetoEscape a great way to save both time and money in managing your holiday cottage or accommodation.