In this article we will describe the initialization procedure of the Booking.com channel and the specific features of this connection.
However, the activation of a channel needs preliminary operations, such as the acquisition of the channel on Woodoo. It must be completed by the configuration (mapping of rooms and rates), which is actually a common procedure for all WooDoo channels. That' s why we have created general articles describing these further operations:
☞ Docs: Acquiring a Channel
☞ Docs: Configuring a Channel
The activation of a channel is a procedure that can be done autonomously by Wubook users, but if it's been a long time since your training and even following the instructions on this page you don't feel confident to proceed, ask for assistance from the WuBook staff that will be happy to help you.
Initialization
After acquiring the channel in WooDoo and entering your Booking.com Hotel ID, by clicking on > Confirm you will enter the channel initialization phase: this is the connection authorization that the OTA portal must issue to WuBook.
To connect WooDoo to Booking.com you must proceed directly from your B.com account. You must then access your Booking.com extranet:
＠ Web: Extranet Booking.com
Click on Settings at the top right and select Connectivity Provider from the drop-down menu:
Click on the Search bar and type "Wubook":
Please note: If you already work with a channel manager and want to change provider, click on "Switch to a new channel manager":
Now, at step 2, you can choose whether to automatically connect to Wubook or do it manually by receiving instructions via email. You will find a pre-selected option to connect to the provider automatically, this is the one we recommend! Then click on "Save":
At this point you will reach step 3 and the connection will be done, you don't have to do anything else on Booking side. You will be able to configure the channel autonomously on WooDoo, i.e. to map rooms and rates.
The configuration of rooms and rates on the Booking.com channel is the same as described in the generic article:
☞ Docs: Configuring a Channel
The peculiarities of the Booking.com channel are the possibility to map the Single Rate in the rooms association table and the possibility to set the values of Minimum Advance and Maximum Advance in a special table after the Rates association table:
Single rate
Booking.com allows you to sell any type of room as " single-use": the Single Rate of Booking.com is not a real rate on which you can define separate restrictions. The restrictions of the single-use (except for the closure) will be the same as for the main room.
WooDoo allows you to manage this sale through the connection of a virtual room. Price and closure of the WooDoo virtual room will define price and closure of the Single rate on Booking.com. Any other restrictions will be taken from the main room.
☞ Docs: Virtual Rooms
CONGRATULATIONS: the channel is active and your Booking.com account is now connected to the Channel Manager!
On WooDoo the channel is active when the green gear symbol appears in the WooDoo > Channels section of your account.
Don't forget that from now on you will have to work on WooDoo to update your rates and availability on Booking.com!
Importing reservations history
Reconfiguring the channel
☞ Docs: Reconfiguring a Channel
Reopen closed rooms
If a room is booked and the reservation is cancelled, then the room must go back on sale. When a reservation is cancelled on Booking.com, if the "closure" restriction is configured in the period of the booked stay, this configuration would be automatically removed and the status of the period would return "open".
L.O.S. model
L.O.S. stands for Lenght Of Stay, it means that for each day, for each room, for each rate, there is not only one price but more prices depending on the length of stay.
For example on a day/room/rate, you can define a price for a one night stay, a price for two nights, another price for 3 nights, etc. ... The Channel Manager WooDoo could manage the channel also in LOS model, but in this case the connection must be activated manually: if you are interested in this sales model, contact us!
Promotional rates management
On Booking.com you can find the following types of rates:
- Parent rate. Prices and restrictions are managed by the channel manager and reservations that enter on this type of rates are sent to the channel manager.
- Child rates XML-res. The price of a child rate is automatically derived from that of a parent rate and the restrictions are set directly on the Booking.com extranet. Prices and restrictions are NOT managed by the Channel Manager but the reservations that enter on this type of rates are sent to the channel manager.
- Parent o child rates not-XML: Pricing and restrictions are NOT managed by the channel manager and reservations entering with type of rates are NOT sent to the channel manager.
On Booking.com promotional rates are always created as child rates and by default they are XML-res.
Risk-free reservations
When a Risk-Free reservation is cancelled, Booking.com does not immediately send the cancellation to the channel manager. The cancellation arrives only after 48h of search for the substitute guest.
Misalignment of identifiers
In case Booking.com manages to find a substitute guest, the channel manager will receive a reservation with the same channel reservation id as the cancelled one. The channel then interprets it as a reservation modification. On the Booking.com side, the new reservation appears with a new channel reservation id. So, some reservations that seem new on B.com, appear as changes on WooDoo.
Sales open in any case
In case of cancellation of a Risk-Free reservation, during the time B.com searches for the new guest, the sale is opened at any cost (even if the channel manager sends a closure or non-availability value). The portal keeps the sale of the room open. (If you do not use the XML connection with the channel manager, you may close the room but you will lose the right to compensation).