How do Cancellations work with DBM?

Overview

During the Covid-19 lockdown, we have seen an increase of guests cancelling their reservations, an unfortunate side-effect of the global pandemic, and have been looking at ways to streamline this process for reservations made on our booking engine (Guestline DBM).

With this in mind, we have enhanced our DBM offering by releasing DBM Cancellations.  This is available to all Guestline DBM customers, if the reservation is under the following conditions:

• non-deposit rate and no cancellation policy = cancellable 
• non-deposit rate and cancellation policy of type Fixed (within cancellation deadline) = cancellable
• non-deposit rate and cancellation policy of type Percentage (within cancellation deadline) = cancellable 
• non-deposit rate and cancellation policy of type Non-Cancellable = non-cancellable 
• non-deposit rate and we have a cancellation policy of type Fixed (out of cancellation deadline) = non-cancellable 
• non-deposit rate and  cancellation policy of type Percentage (out of cancellation deadline) = non-cancellable 
• Rate Pans that require prepayment in advance = non-cancellable

Note: Guestline DBM will determine if a booking can be cancelled based on the policies configured at the time of booking, rather than the time the booking is viewed/cancelled. DBM will also look at the timezone configured in Channel Manager (Distribution Hub) – Hotel Information, to ensure the reservation has not passed the daily and hourly deadline.  

How it works

Once a booking is completed, the guest's confirmation email will include a link to “My Booking”. “My Booking” is also available to deep link on the property’s website.

Once the guest has been directed to “My Booking”, the guest will be prompted to enter their reservation details: 

• Hotel name of where they are staying (will pre-populate)
• DBM Booking Reference (will pre-populate, but the booker can find it in the confirmation email)
• Last name of the booker 

Once directed to their booking details, the guest will be able to review their stay dates, the number of occupants booked, room and rate details, billing address, and details of the hotel including check-in and out times. Should the cancellation conditions be suitable, they will also be able to cancel the booking. If they are unable to cancel their booking due to terms, the cancel button will not show.  

Should the guest choose to cancel their booking, they will receive the following prompt.  

• “Do Not Cancel”, will return the guest back to their booking details. 
• “Cancel Booking” will update the booking status and remove the ability to cancel the booking again.

Once cancelled this will send the cancellation through to Guestline Channel Manager (Distribution Hub) and Rezlynx PMS.

The guest and property will also receive an email to confirm their cancellation. 

Should the guest access “My Booking” again, the status will remain as cancelled.  

Activation & Configuration 

Activation requests are raised with the Distribution Team either by a call logged or email to Distribution@guestline.com. 

Hoteliers are advised to review their Payment Config and Cancellation Policies, prior to enabling the feature.  

• Your Cancellation Policies can be reviewed HERE
• Your Payment Configuration can be reviewed HERE

The hotel's timezone is required to be set in Guestline Channel Manager (Distribution Hub) under Hotel Information.