Third Party Sources can be used to manually register a reservation on myfrontdesk which was made via your third party partner (OTA, wholesalers, travel agents or corporate clients).
You can create reservations using third party sources independently of the room availability. The system allows you to create a reservation even when there is no availability for the room type or there are stay restrictions in place (Minimum or Maximum Length of Stay, Closed to Arrival or Departure) because in theory, you would have a special agreement with your third party partner to reserve the rooms for them.
This practice could cause an overbooking if not done cautiously. This article will show you how to create a third party reservation when there is no availability and how to set user permission to prevent an overbooking.
How to create a third party reservation when there is no availability
- On the Dashboard, click Create New Reservation
- Choose one of the Third Party Sources.
- Choose Check-In and Check-Out dates.
- Click Search.
Even if there is no availability for the period specified, the system still allows you to select the room to make the reservation.
- Next to the desired room specify the number of Adult and Child and the Quantity of the room. Then, click Add.
- You will receive a warning about overbooking. You can click Continue to proceed.
Complete the reservation by following the instructions for Step 2. Add Guest Details and Step 3. Confirm & Payment Screen
How to disallow a user from creating overbooking by manually adding a third party reservation
You can allow an overbooking if you are expecting a cancellation or there is another room for your guest at your property. Otherwise, you can have an actual overbooking. To prevent a user for making this mistake, you can do one of the options below:
Property Owner has access to User Management menu by default. Any other users needs to be granted permission by the Property Owner.
- Click the gear icon (Manage)
- Under User Management, Click Roles
- Click the pencil icon (Edit) next to the role
- Under the section Reservation, switch off the permission Create Overbooked Third-Party Reservations and Create Third-Party Reservations if you don't want the user to create any third party reservations at all.
- Click Save
By deactivating all the third party sources, no user including the Property Owner will be able to create a reservation from third-party sources.
- Click the gear icon (Manage)
- Under Property Configuration, click Reservation Sources
- Go to Third Party Sources tab
- Switch off (Inactive) all the third party sources
