Expedia FAQ

1. Ensure that the base rate and rate plans in the Cloudbeds property have the correct Per-Person Pricing amounts.
2. Contact your Expedia Market Manager to update the pricing model on Expedia, as they are the only ones authorized to adjust this setting within an account.

You should retain the extra person fee settings in the extranet to cover guests beyond the specified occupancy. In general, if properties' per-person pricing configuration in Cloudbeds fully accounts for all occupancy scenarios, you can remove the settings from the “Guest and Occupancy Fees” page.

Extra guest fees configured in the Guest and Occupancy Fees section apply only to guests exceeding the occupancy limit defined in the rate plans. For example, if the rate plan specifies pricing for 1–4 guests, the extra guest fee will apply to the 5th guest and beyond, up to the maximum occupancy limit.

Expedia offers two methods of payment for their bookings:

• Expedia Collect: Bookings are prepaid at the time of the booking and the property must charge the Expedia Virtual Card (EVC).
• Hotel Collect: Bookings include credit card details, and the property charges the guest directly.

The reservation can be Hotel collect or Channel collect depending on the settings and payment type chosen on Expedia side.

The payment method is always noted in the reservation details in Cloudbeds PMS, as shown below:

The Expedia Virtual Card will be displayed under the Credit Card tab:

To ensure accurate tax calculation, the taxes configured in Cloudbeds PMS should match the tax type and amount in Expedia’s extranet.

• For configuring taxes in Cloudbeds PMS, see this guide: Applying Taxes and Fees to Reservation Sources.
• For configuring taxes on Expedia, contact your Expedia account manager.

Use the following example to configure shared dorms on Expedia:

• Room type: 5-bed dorm
• Number of rooms: 4
• Total accommodations: 20

Steps to configure:

1. On Expedia’s extranet, configure the room type to allow only 1 person to stay.
2. The number of rooms for our example room type on Expedia would then be set to 20 (4 dorm rooms, each with 5 beds = 20 total accommodations).
3. Name the room something like “1 bed in a 5-bed dorm” for clarity.
4. If the guest wants more than 1 bed, they book the room multiple times.
5. If there are 8 beds available for example, we set an availability of 8.

Per Expedia (April 2019):

"No, we do not currently send the information to the partner as our policies for transmitting this information are now in line with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)."

Per Expedia (April 2019):

"The information is not currently transmitted on all bookings at this time. This is in the works, but we do not have an expected time frame when this will be completed."

Per Expedia (April 2019):

"A temporary system email address is accessible in Partner Central and the partner is informed via email currently when a booking takes place. The partner can use the email address information in Partner Central or use the email address information available there."

From Expedia:

"Starting from 14th September 2019, the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) comes into play across all European Economic Area (EEA) countries. This may affect some connected properties, so we wanted to share some information on the solutions we are offering to help them get prepared."

What is the change?

"The change will require all consumers to provide two-factor authentication for their credit card payments to prove their identity. This means that consumers will have to give two of the following:

• Something they know (password or PIN)
• Something they own (e.g., the physical credit card)
• Something they are (biometrics e.g., fingerprint)."

How might this affect properties?

"This change will have the most impact when properties are charging guests without them being physically present, e.g., for pre-stay deposits, cancellation, or no-show fees. If customers aren’t able to complete two-factor authentication, banks may reject payments."

How can Expedia Group help properties?

1. "Cancellation & no-show fees: Properties can opt-in to our new collection service at no extra cost and we’ll collect any no show or cancellation fees for them. We’ll validate their guests’ cards at the time of booking and if the charge is successful, the property will be provided an Expedia Virtual Card (EVC) to collect payment from Expedia.
2. Pre-stay Deposits: For properties with rate plans that require deposits, we’re recommending they move these to Expedia Collect only. This means we will collect the balance in full at the time of booking. With added confidence they will get paid, this means partners will no longer need a deposit. We’ll then pay out to properties at check-in through either EVC or bank transfer/direct debit."

We have received information from Expedia that they are currently testing an option to allow guests to make bookings without providing a credit card up-front. According to Expedia,

this would make it quick and easy to book on the go and can help encourage last-minute bookings to fill the remaining rooms.

You can control your settings for these bookings, so Expedia only gives travelers this option if you have a certain amount of inventory remaining. Or, you can opt-out of this feature altogether. In order to do so, you would need to communicate with your Expedia Account Manager.

If a guest cancels or doesn't show up, be sure to reconcile the reservation by the fourth day of the month after they would have to check out and waive the cancellation fee to avoid paying unnecessary compensation.

This is an option that Expedia Group made available to all partners, with communication being sent out upon its activation.

When you receive Expedia Channel Collect reservations, the following messages are displayed under the Special Request field based on each booking payload:

1. Reservation paid for by Expedia Virtual Card. The card can be charged XX USD after DATE/TIME UTC. The Expedia Virtual Card balance provided in this booking has Expedia compensation withheld, but the daily rates include Expedia compensation.

2. Reservation paid for by Expedia Virtual Card. The card can be charged XX USD after DATE/TIME UTC. The daily rates and Expedia Virtual Card balance provided in this booking include Expedia compensation, which will be invoiced at a later date.

3. Reservation paid for by bank transfer. You will receive XX USD. The bank transfer balance provided in this booking has Expedia compensation withheld, but the daily rates include Expedia compensation.

4. Reservation paid for by bank transfer. You will receive XX USD. The daily rates and bank transfer balance provided in this booking include Expedia compensation, which will be invoiced at a later date.

Solution:

To adjust the balance due (which should be the full amount of the reservation minus the amount retained by Expedia), you need to manually add a payment referring to that remaining balance to record that it has been paid to Expedia.