Online bed booking with payment
Visitors of your public hostel page press Book now, choose a move-in date and get a bed at once. The deposit and booking fee are invoiced on the spot and paid online; a booking not paid within your hold hours is released.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- A student from another city wants to book tonight, and your desk opens at ten.
- People reserve a bed by phone and never pay, and you turn others away in the meantime.
- Online enquiries need three calls before anyone pays a rupee.
- Taking a token amount by bank transfer means checking statements to see who paid.
How it works
- On the hostel form, with the hostel on the public page, tick Online Booking. Choose Online Bookings As (the resident category), Book Up To (days ahead), Hold Online Bookings (hours) and Unpaid Online Bookings at a Time.
- Give the rent plan of each room type a Security Deposit or a Booking Fee. Only those room types show Book now; the others keep the enquiry form.
- The visitor presses Book now and sees the rent, the deposit, the booking fee and the amount to pay now. They also see the hold time and the refund terms.
- They give their name as on their ID, mobile and email, gender and move-in date. They accept the booking terms and house rules, and press Book and Pay.
- The first free bed of that room type from that date is booked, filling rooms that are already shared first. A login is made for them, and the deposit and fee are invoiced at once.
- The page says Your bed is held, with Pay Now and the time to pay by. The payment link and how to sign in are also sent to them.
- Paid in time, the booking stays and the desk sees it like any other. Not paid in time, the hourly check cancels it and the bed is free again.
Everything it does
Who can book what
- Room types whose rent plan for the online category asks for a deposit or a booking fee: a bed is held only against a payment
- The hostel must send its own invoices (not SmartMy Campus fees)
- Move-in from today up to Book Up To (days ahead), 60 to start with
- A boys' or girls' hostel fixes the gender; a co-ed hostel asks for it
- Someone who already has a login is asked to sign in first, then books for themselves
- Short stays priced by the night (dynamic pricing): the visitor picks arrival and departure and pays every night at booking. The limit is Longest Online Short Stay (nights), 30 to start with
What a booking makes
- An enquiry with the source Website, marked Booked
- A stay marked Booked Online, in the category Online Bookings As (Working Professional when empty)
- A portal login for the new resident from the email or mobile
- An invoice of the deposit and booking fee, made at once, with its pay link
- Held Until on the stay: now plus Hold Online Bookings (hours), 2 to start with
Guards against blocked beds
- Unpaid Online Bookings at a Time, 5 to start with. While that many wait for payment, Book now asks visitors to try later or send an enquiry
- Unpaid past the hold time: cancelled by the hourly check, the invoice cancelled, the bed free
- No free bed for that date: the visitor is asked to send an enquiry to join the waitlist
- A hidden trap field turns away spam robots; the booking terms box must be ticked
Cancelling
- A paid deposit is refunded in full if the booking is cancelled
- A paid booking fee is refunded by the hostel's Booking Fee Refund (%), 0 to start with
- Nights paid at booking for a short stay are credited when it is cancelled
Who uses it
VisitorBooks a bed from the public page and pays the deposit and fee online.
Owner / AdministratorTurns on online booking for a hostel, sets the hold hours and limits, and the deposit and fee on the rent plans.
Front Desk / AccountsSees online bookings among the stays, collects documents and checks the resident in.
Where you use it
- Web, public: Book now on /hostels/<number>, and the booking page that follows
- Web, back office: the hostel form's Description tab, group Public Page and Online Booking; rent plans under Hostel > Configuration > Rent and Charges > Rent Plans
- Payment: on the page of your payment provider, from the Pay Now button or the invoice link
- Not in the resident app: booking is on the public page; the app and portal show the stay and its invoice after booking
What you control
Settings
- Online Booking: off; shown once the hostel is on the public page
- Online Bookings As: empty, which uses Working Professional
- Book Up To (days ahead): 60
- Hold Online Bookings (hours): 2
- Unpaid Online Bookings at a Time: 5
- Longest Online Short Stay (nights): 30, for short stays priced by the night
- Invite New Residents: on, so the login invitation goes out with the booking
Notifications
- Hostel Booking Confirmed: to the new resident: in the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS come from your message credits, and app push once the apps are in the stores
- Hostel Invoice: to the resident, with the link to pay
- Hostel Login Invitation: the set-password link by email, or by WhatsApp or SMS when there is only a mobile
- Hostel Payment Received, and Hostel Booking Cancelled when an unpaid booking is released
- All go out at once; WhatsApp and SMS need your message credits
Questions
Which bed does an online booker get?
The first free bed of the room type from the move-in date, for their gender. Rooms already shared are filled before an empty room is opened. The desk can move them with Change Room before check-in.What stops someone booking every bed without paying?
A bed is held only for Hold Online Bookings (hours), 2 to start with. And while Unpaid Online Bookings at a Time (5) wait for payment, no new online booking is taken.Has online payment been tested?
Not with a live payment yet. It works through the payment provider you set up with your own account. Make one small booking and payment yourself before you open the page to the public.Can a returning resident book online?
Yes. Someone whose email or mobile already has a login is asked to sign in, and then books for themselves.Can the room type be booked without a deposit?
Only for short stays priced by the night, where the nights themselves are paid at booking. Monthly room types need a deposit or a booking fee on the rent plan; without one they keep the enquiry form.Related features
PUBLIC PAGE AND ONLINE BOOKINGA public page for each hostelEach hostel you choose gets a public web page with its photo, amenities, room types, rent from, the beds free today and an enquiry form. Enquiries from the page land in your desk's list with the source Website.ENQUIRIES, BOOKINGS, WAITLISTDeposit and booking fee at bookingBooking a bed charges the security deposit and the booking fee of the rent plan at once, with a link to pay online. A booking not paid within your hold hours is cancelled and the bed is free again, and check-in can wait until the deposit is paid.MORE IN THE PRODUCTShort stays with a rate calendar and booking-site calendarsSell beds by the night next to your monthly residents. Price rules set each night's rate by season, weekday, occupancy, length of stay and how early it is booked. Calendar links keep your beds in step with booking sites.STAYSBed booking without double bookingSearch the free beds for any dates, room type and gender, and book one in a few clicks. The system refuses a second booking of the same bed for the same days and names who holds it.BILLINGRent plans by hostel, room type and categorySet the rent of a bed once per hostel, room type and kind of resident, for any period from a day to a year. Bill it in advance or in arrears, prorated by the day. Each new stay picks the plan that fits, and a manager can give one resident a discount.ENQUIRIES, BOOKINGS, WAITLISTWaitlist with bed offers by emailPeople who want a bed when you are full wait in line, by hostel, room type, gender and dates. Every hour the system looks for a bed that fits, offers it to the first in line by email for a set time. It books it when they accept.
See it with your own blocks and classes.
Tell us how many hostels and students you have. We will show you an allotment, a leave request approved by a parent and a night roll call, set up the way your hostel works.