Cloudbeds Smart Policies - Everything You Need to Know

Cloudbeds is introducing Smart Policies, a new feature designed to simplify policy management for properties and automate key operational processes such as refunds, payment collection, and Cancelation fees. Unlike the current global policies, Smart Policies allow properties to customize their policies at a more granular level, linking them directly to rate plans and automating processes that previously required manual intervention. This ensures smoother operations, improves guest satisfaction, and frees up time for property managers.

Overview

When Smart Policies is enabled, there are a few areas in Cloudbeds that are updated for you to set the policy and where the policy is displayed in plain text for your front desk staff to understand what policy is associated with a rate plan and reservation.

• Within the existing Policies section, you’ll now see:
  • A new Cancelation and Pre-payment tab. This is where you can view the smart policy templates and adjust specific options as needed. Each template includes three core components: the Guarantee Method (Deposit, Credit Card only, or No Credit Card), the Remaining Balance Payment plan, and the Cancelation Policy.
  • A new Channel Deposit tab has been added to your settings. This tab keeps all previously configured deposit and payment processing rules for your OTAs exactly as they are. No action is required on your part: your existing OTA deposit setup and payment processing behavior will continue to work without any changes.

• On the Rate Plans and Packages page, a new Policy dropdown has been added that allows you to choose the policy that applies to the rate plan. The policy information will be displayed on the booking engine when creating a reservation in Cloudbeds.
• The Processing Method for Booking Engine source is removed from the Payments and Processing section as this will now be managed by the settings on the Smart Policy.  Currently, it only supports processing the deposit/initial payment at the time of booking (immediately).

If you're interested in this feature, reach out to our dedicated team for more information on each available package.

Cloudbeds Smart Policies: Next Steps

1. Configure the Default Cancelation Policy (Action required)

The first step to configure the new Cloudbeds Smart Policies is to set the default Cancelation policy that will be used for most of your rate plans.

By default, all rates use the Free of charge until arrival date as the default policy.

1. Navigate to the Cancelation & Prepayment tab in Policies
2. Locate your desired Cancelation policy. 
3. Set this as the default policy by selecting Make default
   • Example: If your current Cancelation policy is set to 14 day, choose the 14-day policy.

4. Open the policy and adjust the settings as needed.
   • What amount do you want to charge the guest? 
     • This will be the amount collected at the time of booking.
     • If you don’t want to collect anything at time of booking but x days before arrival date, then set to only collect the credit card details.
   • Collect the remaining balance: 
     • If you’re not collecting the full amount at time of booking, then you can set the policy to automatically collect the remaining balance x days before arrival date. This is usually set to match the Cancelation policy.
     • The Cancelation window and payment collection are based on the property's local time at 12:00 AM on the date of arrival.

Cancelation Policy Summary

• The Cancelation window cannot be changed or updated.
• This information will be displayed on the booking engine, emails, and reservations in Cloudbeds.

2. View the Corresponding Reservation Policy in Cloudbeds

• When making a reservation, the policy name is displayed on each room/rate plan.
• Additional policy details can be viewed by hovering over the policy name.

3. Assigning Policies to Rate Plans (Optional) 

If you have rate plans that will use a different policy from the default policy, follow these steps:

1. Access the Rate Plans page
2. Open each individual rate plan to be configured
3. Select the appropriate policy in the field "Which Cancelation policy do you want to set for this rate plan?"
4. Save each rate plan after making your selection.

4. Booking Engine Policy

• On the Booking Engine, the policy is displayed for each room/rate plan. 
• Depending on the rate selected, the deposit due at time of booking and any upcoming payments will be displayed in the cart.

5. Channel Deposit 

A new Channel Deposit tab is available in the Policies page which preserves your previous settings. No changes are required, and your existing payment processing configurations for OTAs will remain unchanged.

 

• The deposit is calculated from the room rate only (sub-total). Decide whether taxes and fees are included (available for specific deposit types only).
• Add-ons/items sold before checkout are included in the deposit.
• Add-ons/items sold after checkout are not included and are charged at check-in or after the reservation is completed.
• The Include Taxes and Fees toggle is only visible for the Percentage or First Day Price options. Ensure your taxes/fees are configured and applied to the relevant reservation sources.

6. Email templates with new policy information

No changes are required in the configuration of your email templates. Your new policy information will automatically be integrated into the email templates sent to your guests.