Welcome to Risk-free Reservations by Booking.com!

Risk-free Reservations is a new program aimed to help you make more money.

How does it work?

For select one-night reservations, there’s a cancellation policy upgrade: Customers will see a free cancellation policy, instead of a non-refundable or special conditions. If a guest cancels, we look for a new guest for the same dates. If we can’t find a new guest, your room will stay empty, but we’ll cover the cost of the reservation.

What’s in it for you?

Our customers aren’t always sure about their travel plans and like the flexibility free cancellation provides. This program helps you get more reservations without the risk of cancellations. If a guest cancels, we’ll find a new guest. If we can’t find one, we’ll cover the cost. No matter what, you get your money.

What’s the catch?

This doesn’t apply to all your non-refundable rooms and rates, but a select group. To find out which reservations are Risk-free, go to “Reservation Details” and scroll down to “Policies.” In the “Cancellations” box you’ll see the text: If we can’t find a new guest, we’ll pay for this reservation. These reservations are risk free. All others aren’t.

How do I get paid?

Payments are always guaranteed, but they may be delayed. Since the guest can cancel their reservation up to 24 hours before check-in, we can’t give you their credit card information until that time. If we can’t find a new guest, we’ll pay you on the day the guest would have checked in.

If you have any questions or don’t want to participate, you can contact us.

Kind regards,

Risk-free Reservations Team

Ok, sunt oaspete, intru pe Booking.com si ghiciti care este primul lucru de care fug? Just guess. Yup, acel ceva numit tarif nerambursabil. Iata, am gasit Hotelul XYZ si imi place, deci care este urmatorul pas? Sa compar preturile. Pe Booking.com vad tariful de 90 euro/noapte cu anulare GRATUITA, acelasi tarif il gasesc si pe Expedia, dar … nerambursabil. Unde rezerv? Logic ca pe Booking.com – cu siguranta faptul ca am remarcat aceasta diferenta intre OTA-uri ma va aduce inapoi pe acest site pe viitor.

Privind din perspectiva hotelierului iarasi, deduc urmatoarele:

1. Eu, hotelierul, platesc pentru marketingul acestui site prin comision.

2. In loc sa fidelizez eu clientul, acesta devine client Booking.com.

3. In loc sa vand la tarif mai mare cu politica flexibila, am vandut cu politica flexibila la un tarif nerambursabil. Pentru ca oaspetele a vazut 2 tarife – cel flexibil si cel nerambursabil – cu aceeasi politica de anulare.

4. Am oferit acestui site un pret mai bun chiar si decat cel de pe site-ul propriu.

5. Si cum totul este un cerc vicios, costurile cu comisioanele vor creste – pentru ca in loc sa primesc rezervari fara comision de pe siteul hotelului, clientul va rezerva mereu pe Booking.com.

Exemplu:

In mod normal, aveam tarifele din imagine.