Reservation processing

Quote requests

Quoting is the stage when the channel double-checks availability and prices before reservation creation. Such a quote is by default limited to Rentals United. This means that Rentals United is the only source of truth. The channel is provided with the information available in our system at the time of reservation creation.

  • PULL channels - by default the quote is disabled and the channel is provided with the prices registered in the Rentals United system. There may be exceptions to this rule, depending on the channel's implementation of Rentals United API. For more information, please see  Rentals United API Portal.

  • PUSH channels - some channels use the data available in their system while the reservation is being made, some channels perform a quote to Rentals United. See Channel Integrations for details of each channel's integration. Note, however, if the quote is performed, it is usually limited to Rentals United.

  • Reservation inserted through Rentals United platform or Book Direct - a quote to Barefoot is always performed prior to the reservation. In this case, the inserted reservation will feature data quoted from Barefoot.

Inserting a reservation

Bookings are inserted into Barefoot instantly after Rentals United retrieves them from a Sales Channel and if the price quote is positive.

Reservations can be looked up in Rentals United as described in Bookings or Guest Planner.

Additionally, prices of reservations are broken down in the reservation comments. This breakdown is performed according to the rules of the channel the reservation came from. If you want to see how reservation price is broken down according to what is set in Rentals United, see Reservation price breakdown.

 
Note: Credit card details are passed to Barefoot.

Overriding rent

We do not insert a reservation with actually booked prices to Barefoot, but we provide the difference between the price in Rentals United (received from the channel) and the price from Barefoot. It means that the rent value will not be overridden in Barefoot, but Barefoot will recalculate this.

Technically, if there is any difference between the total price received from a channel (<total>) and the price in the price quote to Barefoot (the sum of all ratesvalue), then this difference indicates the commission. In this case, we make a SetCommissionForPortal request to Barefoot and include the difference between the prices. Barefoot will recalculate the reservation price based on this information.

Hence, if you decide to mark your rates up in Rentals United (increase or decrease their base prices), then you will see the real price paid by the guest in the Barefoot dashboard and there should be no discrepancy between the Rentals United and Barefoot.

In case the price in your PMS does not match with the price in the channel or Rentals United, see this article: Why is there a difference between the reservation price in my PMS and in the channel?

Modifying a reservation

Booking modifications retrieved from Sales Channels or made directly in Rentals United do not trigger booking updates in Barefoot. Instead, the original bookings are cancelled and new reservations with updated information are created.

In case the reservation is modified directly in the Barefoot system, then Rentals United is not notified about any changes. You should adjust it accordingly in Rentals United system, so that up-to-date information is shared with the channels.

Cancelling a reservation

Bookings cancelled in Sales Channels or Rentals United are automatically cancelled in Barefoot.

In case the reservation is cancelled directly in the Barefoot system, then Rentals United will receive no notification about it. You should adjust it accordingly in Rentals United system, so that up-to-date information is shared with the channels.

Email notifications

The host/property manager will always get an email notifications about new reservations and any updates made to reservations. The address that the email is sent to is the email address (available at My profile). The notifications will be sent regardless of the source of the change as well as the integration type.

The email notifications are sent when:

  • request is created

  • existing request is confirmed

  • reservation is created

  • reservation is modified

  • reservation is cancelled