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Hi,
The situation:
We have set the booking buffer option to one day in the Hotel Booking plugin. This is perfect for cleaning etc.We also list our accommodation on Airbnb. Airbnb also offers the option to set ‘Preparation time’: Block 1 night before and after each reservation.
We synchronize calendars between Airbnb and Hotel booking plugin.
The problem:
Hotel Booking plugin is adding the 1 day booking buffer to bookings imported from the external airbnb calendar. This is undesirable because Airbnb already added the extra day. Now we block two days extra in our system on the bookings imported from airbnb.Suggested solution
The Hotel Booking Buffer should only be applied on reservations made in the WP/Hotel Booking environment. This is also the case on Airbnb: only reservations made on airbnb get the extra airbnb ‘preparation time’. Airbnb does not apply the extra time on bookings imported from Hotel booking.Hello there,
I have checked the behavior locally and was unable to replicate the issue you are referring to. Despite the website and imported OTA accommodations both had a booking buffer of 1 day, the accommodation on the website did not add 1 more buffer day to the existing rule, the buffer still stood as 1 day and not 2 days. If you believe the issue persists, kindly submit a request to our Help Desk providing temporary access to your WordPress dashboard, so we take a closer look at it.
Regards,
AndreSo we still have problems with the booking buffer for reservations made with Aribnb/booking.com and the plugin. We created a ticket so your help desk could login and check our situation. I post the outcome here so other ppl might find it usefull
@Valerie replied:
Since the Hotel Booking iCal file includes all the needed data for importing, OTAs should import and block the dates appropriately. The issue can be fixed by removing the booking rule ( ‘Preparation time’: Block 1 night before and after each reservation) from Airbnb.
Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information.I replied with a screenshot:
Below the reservations from April. You can see the buffer time from Hotel Booking Plugin. The buffer is not exported to Airbnb and booking.com@Valerie replied:
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I’ve consulted our developers, and I am ready to share with you some insights concerning the booking buffer feature.
Airbnb (or any other OTA) receives bookings only with check-in and check-out dates. In other words, ical file contains only this information, and the Booking buffer is not added to the ical file. Nevertheless, the Booking buffer is added to the imported files from Airbnb (and other OTAs). We will keep your request in mind for future consideration.Andre Florus just told us this didn’t happen…
So let me get this clear: we add a booking buffer to a reservation. We sync with other OTA’s: the buffer is gone on the OTA’s so ppl can make a reservation in the buffer time nonetheless?
Syncing the reservations back made through one of the OTA’s: buffer is added. Dont! Don’t add buffers to imported bookings, but export the bookings made in Hotel Booking Plugin with the buffer – as it should. You cannot book in the buffer time, so why strip the buffer when exporting?Hello there,
Thank you for your detailed feedback and sharing your experience. Basically, this is how Booking Buffer feature works in the Hotel Booking:
1. The Booking Buffer is NOT added to the export file, as external platforms have their own buffer options, which may be configured directly in their settings;
2. The Booking Buffer IS added to all the bookings on the website, including the ones imported from external platforms. The Booking Buffer in the Hotel Booking is applied to specific accommodations, therefore, if the imported booking is related to the same accommodation, then the buffer option will be applied to it as well.I hope this makes sense.
Regards,
AndreThis doesn’t make sense at all.
The way you implemented this, results in double buffers on imported bookings AND no buffers on the exported (synced) bookings.
You say: “external platforms have their own buffer options”. So when this is clear to you, then why would you add extra buffers on bookings imported from OTA’s?
Example: Airbnb can book the accommodation in the buffered period, because Airbnb doesn’t receive the buffers from Hotel Booking. Because you strip them from the export!
When I implement buffers on Airbnb, this isn’t applied to the bookings Airbnb imports. This is correct behaviour, they understand external platform might have their own buffer options. And they clearly expect the import to include the complete booking, not the stripped booking… how does that even make sense at all?
And to make it worse: you know other platform have their own buffer options, yet you manage to apply extra buffers on the imported bookings… Resulting in double buffers. Resulting in extra day’s we can’t rent the accommodation.
I’m sorry, but the ‘buffer option’ is something we waited for almost a year. Now we have it, but it doesn’t follow the standards used by other OTA’s. Your plug-in should be in line with the bigger platforms. You can’t expect Airbnb or Booking to adjust the way they work because you have a different view on the matter.
We should be able to sync the complete booking.
Imported bookings should not be modified.Hello there,
Thank you for your detailed feedback, it is indeed much appreciated.
I am following your concerns and they do make sense. We have already passed the request for further investigation to our developers and hopefully they will be able to look into this matter shortly and provide a feedback.Regards,
AndreI am having the same issue with bookings imported from AirBNB and agree totally with JJW’s analysis. Has this issue been fixed yet?
Hello Andrew,
We do have a request passed to our developers, however, they are currently busy with other priority tasks and have not yet selected this issue for development.
Once there are any updates regarding this matter, I will immediately let you know.Regards,
AndreHi,
I just bought the plugin and have the same issue. I don’t need the extra added buffer for imported bookings – this does not make sense at all. Please provide a quick solution for that otherwise the plugin is not really useable in my case.
Best regards
Patrick
Hello Patrick,
Unfortunately, currently there is no quick solution to this issue, you may disable buffer option in the Hotel Booking plugin and add accommodation blocks for bookings made on the website manually. Imported bookings will already have a buffer added to them as it is set up at your OTA.
Regards,
AndreHas this been implemented yet? We are currently setting up a website for a client with Airbnb. They use buffers at Airbnb and this will cause major headaches.
Quick fix should allow rules for specific calendar imports/exports to compensate for each OTA.
Rule1: if exporting to airbnb DO NOT include buffers.Hello Raphael,
Thank you for your feedback. The feature has not yet been selected for development, however I have added your up-vote to it and will check whether it is possible to push the request for development.
Regards,
AndreIf it will increase the possibility of an eventual solution to this issue, I would like to reiterate my up-vote!
I am a little surprised you chose not to develop this. Most people would want to use their website as their channel manager with your booking suite. Rules for import/export of ical booking would be a very powerful tool and not a lot of online channel managers offer it.
As a coder myself, it does not seem to me to be a difficult problem to address. My suggested solution is as follows:
1) Add a switch in Motopress to add buffer days to all imported calendar entries using the same rules as for local bookings. Switches for each individual import source (i.e. AirBNB, VRBO, etc..) would be a nice to have but not essential. Also, the ability to define the rules for buffer days by import source would be a nice to have but not essential.
2) Ensure that the buffer days added to imported calendar records are re-exported as blocked days to all calendar syncs (i.e. AirBNB, VRBO, etc..)
To use, turn off the application of buffer days on all sites you sync calendars with and enable the switch(s) above. Motopress will then add buffer days to any imported calendar record using the same rules as local bookings. These buffer days will be re-exported as blocked days to all synced calendars and we end up with a consistent set of buffer days across all calendars.
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