Hi,
I will be changing the pricing of my guest rooms next year in several ways. First of all, the first six rooms (Chenille, African Tulip, Bird of Paradise, Allamanda, Oleander and Lady Palm) are increasing $10. The back three guest rooms (Bougainvillea, Ruellia and Bromeliad) will remain at $160 plus tax giving an option for more affordability.
I am also adding a $20 cancellation fee. I’ve been hearing Google has changed their requirements for their ranking and they are now looking that lodging establishments be listed on at least one OTA (online travel agency like booking.com, Expedia, Trivago, etc). I selected booking.com because they have the reputation for being the strongest OTA in Europe. I had one lady last summer that booked, then canceled the same room three times for the same date for some reason. I had to pay the credit card “discount” charge (the normal % charged for my credit card companies to process the payment and then the “transaction fee” we pay a set fee for each transaction, usually between a few cents up to ten cents) on all three transaction and then the refunds because each time the credit card info had to pass through the credit card secure channels. I can always have the system ignore the cancellation fee, particularly for returning guests (just be sure to send me an email so I know to do so).
I’ve worked in the hospitality industry all my adult life and have seen much. Back when I was in the corporate world, the front desk had what we called Rev Max (revenue maximization). The reservation staff would have standards that when a certain percentage of rooms were sold, the price of the rooms went up a set amount. With technology, so much can be automated and this is one of the bells and whistles my new reservation system has. I have recently activated this. If you are reading this, you are probably a returning guest. As soon as you have some dates you are thinking of visiting, you might want to book your room so first of all you get the room of your preference and also to save the added fee if others are also interested in visiting during the same dates.
I will be posting another blog later today or this weekend focused on things going on in da ‘burg,
ed
