Managing GDS Bookings

Procedures and Cost considerations

This guide provides essential information for hotels on managing bookings received through GDS via GuestCentric. Understanding the associated costs and procedures is crucial for efficient handling and accurate billing.

Understanding the costs of GDS bookings:

There are three key cost components associated with each GDS booking:

• Travel Agency Commission (%): This is the commission percentage offered by the hotel as an incentive to the travel agent for facilitating the booking
• Guestcentric Commission (%): This represents the commission percentage outlined in your service agreement with GuestCentric for providing GDS
• GDS Pass-through Fee: A per-transaction fee charged by the GDS providers for each booking processed through their systems

Key Principle: Travel Agent initiated changes

For accurate processing and consistent updates across all cost components, all changes, updates, and cancellations should ideally be initiated by the travel agent at the original booking source. However, we understand that certain situations require specific actions. Please refer to the guidelines below for common scenarios and general booking status management:

Specific scenarios requiring hotel action

Scenario 1: Guest in-house and needs to depart early

In situations where a guest departs earlier than their original booking, directly involving the travel agent for an update can be challenging.

Hotel Action:

1. Adjust the reservation in Onyx to reflect the early departure for accurate commission calculations on your end.
2. Please inform our accounting team at billing@guestcentric.com about this change by providing supporting documentation (e.g., PMS screenshot). This will allow us to issue a credit note for the commission on that reservation, which will be processed after the monthly report.

Important Note: GDS pass-through fees are non-refundable in cases of early departure.

Scenario 2: Unable to charge due to invalid credit card guarantee

The action required depends on the GDS the booking originated from:

Reservations from Amadeus

Hotel Action:
Report the case immediately to our support team. We can act with 48 hours' notice before the check-in date.

GuestCentric Action:
We will cancel the reservation directly in AMADEUS. For reservation cancellations less than 48 hours before check-in, the hotel must contact the travel agency.

Reservations form Sabre, Galileo, ODD or Worldspan

Hotel Action:

1. Immediately contact the travel agent to request a valid credit card guarantee, as the booking is currently unconfirmed on the hotel's end.
2. If no response is received from the travel agent, remove the reservation in Onyx to prevent incorrect commission calculations.
3. The hotel must email our Accounting team with the reservation details and proof of cancellation in your PMS (e.g., PMS screenshot showing the cancellation).
   Our Accounting team will then issue a credit note for the Guestcentric commission.

Important Note: GDS pass-through fees are non-refundable in cases of invalid credit card guarantees leading to cancellation.

General procedures based on booking status:

A) Booking Confirmed

GuestCentric Status
All successfully processed GDS bookings will have a status of "Confirmed" or "New" in GuestCentric.

B) No-Show´s

Status
Bookings where the guest does not arrive will retain a status of "Confirmed" or "New" in GuestCentric.

Cancellation Responsibility
GuestCentric Support cannot cancel bookings on behalf of the hotel. Cancellations can only be initiated by the travel agent responsible for the booking.

Hotel Action
After receiving your monthly invoice from GuestCentric, contact our Accounting team to report the no-show, providing the complete reservation details.

Financial Implications
A credit note will be issued for the Guestcentric commission. However, please note that GDS pass-through fees are non-refundable for no-show bookings.

C) Booking Canceled

Cancellation Responsibility
All cancellations must be performed by the travel agency. You can find the agency's contact information within the reservation notes in GuestCentric.

GuestCentric Support
GuestCentric Support cannot cancel GDS bookings for the hotel.

Important Reminders:

- Ensure cancellations are always initiated by the travel agency
- Please note that the agency's contact information is in the booking notes. Guestcentric has no additional information.
- GDS pass-through fees are non-refundable for canceled bookings

Need Further Assistance?

If you have any questions regarding these procedures or specific booking scenarios, please do not hesitate to contact Support or our Accounting.