A reservation in option
Depending on your administration settings, you can allow guests to turn their reservation into an option instead of finalizing the reservation immediately. You can always create new options via the backoffice.
Allowing options for channels
To allow options, go to the Administration settings, 'Bookings' tab, and set the number of days an option is valid and the maximum number of options per booker.
These settings only apply to your website and other channels, not to options you create via the backoffice (i.e., directly in the PMS).
At least six weeks in the future
It is not possible to create an option for a date less than 6 weeks in the future. This is to prevent options, which might not be confirmed, from blocking your last-minute availability.
Confirming or cancelling an option
Via the email template that the booker receives, they can either confirm the option (by paying) or cancel it. If no choice is made, the booker receives another reminder 1 day before the validity period expires.
If no action is taken by the guest or via the backoffice, the option is automatically cancelled at the end of the validity period.
An option for a group booking applies to all underlying reservations.
An option cannot be created for a reservation that is part of an already confirmed group booking.
Overview of valid options
In the Reservations module, open the tab 'Option' for a list of all currently valid options.
Creating an option in the backoffice
Create a reservation in the regular way. However, you will not confirm this reservation. Instead, click the three dots next to 'Booking' and choose 'Option'. Choose the number of days the option should be valid, and save this setting. Then click 'Send option' to notify the guest of the reservation option and its validity.
Confirming or extending an option in the backoffice
Within the validity period of the option, you can confirm the reservation in the PMS. To do this, open the relevant option, and click 'convert option to reservation'.
You can also extend the validity period of the option. This is done in the same way as setting the validity of a new option. Click the three dots next to 'Booking' and choose 'Option'. Choose the number of days the option should be valid, and save this setting. You can then resend the option, with the new validity.
Once an option is confirmed, you can no longer revert the reservation to an option. A confirmed reservation must be cancelled and then you can recreate the option, if necessary.
Insight into how many bookings came from an option
To see how many reservations originate from an option, you must make an export of (a selection of) confirmed reservations in the Reservations module. In this export, you will see a column 'Created as option', where the value '1' means that this reservation originated from an option.