Charge Routing Rules
Charge Routing Rules are rules which can be added to the reservation to instruct permitted posted charges to route to a Ledger, Folio or Bill Split in the reservation. Or set to route to another reservation, a NRA (Non Resident Account) or a Master Account.
Charge Routing can be attached to Companies, Reservations, Groups, and both C&B and Advanced C&B. This article focuses on Charge Routing attached to a Reservation.
To use a Charge Routing Rule, you need to find or create a reservation. Once the reservation is saved, you can add a charge routing rule to it.
Where to Apply
There are 6 tabs in a reservation where information can be added to the Reservation. The Guarantee Page is the second tab where Charge Routing Rules can be applied.
On a saved reservation, Charge Routing Rules appear beneath the Ledger section.
Adding Charge Routing Rules
Select 'Add' to add a charge routing rule. A pop-up will appear giving two options; Select a Preconfigured Charge Routing Rule, or create a Custom Rule.
If an appropriate preconfigured Charge Routing Rule is not available, a custom rule can be attached.
Creating a Custom Charge Routing Rule
Select 'Custom Rule' and Ok to create a charge routing rule for use in the reservation.
A Custom Rule will open within the Charge Routing Rule section of the reservation screen.
The first line is a mandatory field for the Charge Rule Description.
Destination
The Destination determines where the specified charges will be routed; either to the Same Reservation or an Other Reservation.
If the Same Reservation is selected, you can select a Folio or Ledger.
Folio allows you to select which Guest folio the charges are to route to (if there is more than one occupant), and apply the charges to a specific Bill Split (Bill Split 1 to Bill Split 6).
Ledger gives no further options, however a Ledger account will need attaching in the Ledger Section for this option to route.
Other Reservation allows you to route to a Folio or Ledger giving you a drop down option to attach it to another Booking, Master Account or NRA (Non Resident Account).
The Booking, Master Account or NRA which is to be routed to needs to have been created prior making your Custom Routing Rule. It is worth noting the booking refence number for the account to be routed to.
A Search button to the right of the Booking / Master / NRA drop down takes you to a search screen which allows you to find the 'Other Reservation'.
You can use the Smart Search or Advanced Reservation Search Parameters to find the account.
Search Results
The Results will display below the search fields, and show the following information from left to right;
- BookRef - hyperlinked to display information about the Booking / Master Account / NRA
- From - Arrival Date (only applicable to Bookings)
- To - Departure Date (only applicable to Bookings)
- Room Type - Displays the Room Type Code
- Contact - Full Name
- Ad / Ch / Inf - Adults, Children and Infants
- Status of the Reservation
- Multi-Room Descripition
At the end of the row is a 'Use' hyperlink. Once selected the account will appear in the Custom Rule.
Ceilings
Beneath the Destination you can enter how much the customer is allowed to charge back to the account. Daily Ceiling is the daily total value of all specified charges routed. Stay Ceiling is total stay value of all specified charges routed. When left at 0.00 values, no limit is applied to the charges.
Charge Types
In a table below the Ceilings, you can apply daily or stay ceilings according to the type of charge. There are 5 types (from top to bottom);
- Rate Plan
- Upsells
- Product Rules
- Analysis Codes - please see below
- Newspapers
When any of the above are selected, they will route from the reservation to the defined destination. Daily Ceiling if entered would route the rate plan up to the value specified for each day of the stay. Stay Ceiling if entered will route the rate plan up to the value specified for the stay. Leaving the fields empty at 0.00 will allow an unlimited value to be routed.
Multiple Analysis Codes can be created against a rule, for example if the customer has a allowance which can be used for Food and / or Drink, the analysis codes they are permitted to charge to can be selected and total value added to the daily (or stay) ceiling.
Multiple Rules
If charges on an account are to be split to go to different destinations, multiple rules can be applied.
This may occur for example if the rate plan is to go to a ledger account, but the guest is to settle their own extras.
To add more charge routing rules, set up your first rule, and then select 'Add' beneath the Charge Routing Rules to add your next rule and follow the previous charge routing rule steps above.
Multiple Booking Lines
Reservations can have multiple booking lines if there are changes to the Room & Rate information during the guests stay. If the customer does not want all charges to route to an attached charge routing rule, there is an option on the Booking Line in the Room & Rate information on the Main Page of the reservation to 'Ignore Charge Routing' rules.
For example if the first night stay is to be routed to a company, but the guest wishes extend their stay for a second night stay, when Ignore Charge Routing is ticked for the second nights stay in the Room & Rate information, the system will only route the relevant charges from the first nights stay.
Routed Charges
Routed charges appear on the invoice with the description of the charge and its origin.
These can also be seen on the Postings Report if further investigation is needed.
Please note, images and fonts may vary between system versions.