Lay My Hat

Back in November I had an HA enquiry for a potential booking at the end of April. I responded with a quote and replied a couple of times to a few questions he had, all via the HA dash but then heard nothing more and no booking progressed/confirmed.

Then last Saturday I received a copy of an email generated by HA sent to Mr C requesting his second payment! I then got an email from Mr C telling me he doesn't have a booking, I replied apologising that I knew he didn't have a booking and the email had not been generated by me but the HA system. Then, on looking at my past enquiries I noticed his enquiry was listed as 'Tentative', I kniew it wasn't anything booked just ignored it.

Then, yesterday HA sent out another payment reminder and I received another email from Mr C demanding I stop asking him for payments! So I opened the dashboard and had a closer rummage around to find out how to stop whatever was going on. I found I had to go Reservations and cancel the 'tentative' booking? that was never a booking!

What a phaff!

I had the same issue with a so-called "tentative" booking a while back. I agree it's a right palaver to get to close an enquiry (which is wha&t these "tentative" bookings really are). Why can't they just have a "cancel" button?

Crikey! That's a but scary and would bring me (control freak mousie) out in a cold sweat.

I hate the fact that these systems make us less flexible with clients....and that they just see it as poor service. Something like this would put him off using their site again I would think, so we all lose.

Mousie
x

Yes, once you've accepted a reservation HA send an automated payment request, followed by reminders to the "guest" if they don't pay up.

If you're set up for staged payments then HA later sends out a request for the second payment (and reminders for the same) even if the guest never paid the first instalment.

For some bizarre reason, there isn't a "cancel" button at the "tentative" stage so you have to confirm the reservation before you can cancel it (at least that was the solution I hit on to get rid of the "tentative" enquiries).

Such is the wacky world of HA reservations.

But I didn't accept a reservation!

Cripes, that's awful, apart from the extra work/worry it causes you - there's always the nagging feeling that the tentative guest will be far more wary of making enquiries in the future.

Just terrifying the way these listing sites are going.

Sam V wrote: I responded with a quote and replied a couple of times to a few questions he had, all via the HA dash but then heard nothing more and no booking progressed/confirmed.

As I recall how it works (though my memory could be deceiving me), unless you delete the quote it would be treated as an offer and a payment request would be sent.

Just wanted to say thanks for raising this, checked and I had 'Tentatives' sitting waiting and one about to send a payment reminder for a booking I hadn't taken!

thanks again, just need to remember to regularly check.