How to Start & Run a B&B BandBED2eBook-1 | Page 79

Managing Bookings

Now you have a system for taking and recording bookings . That is the easy part . The more difficult skill , which you will develop with experience , is in managing your bookings . By this we mean converting your enquiries into the most profitable and least troublesome outcome in bookings terms .

This is simple to say , but the skills involved are at the core of the success of every hospitality business . Whole books , hotel management courses , and years of experience are devoted to the art of managing bookings .

If you are new to this , you may be wondering what can be so complex about simply answering the phone , then writing each booking in your book ? As with most things in life , it is not that simple ! And with some intelligence and commercial instinct , you can make a huge difference to the profitability you actually achieve , given the same enquiries , to what you would achieve with a robotic approach .

What are we talking about ? As ever , examples help illustrate the message ; this is a page from your bookings book :

( Jones requested a twin room specifically , as they are two sisters .) Now , suppose the phone rings and it is an enquiry from Mr White – he and his teenage son would like a twin room for four nights from Thursday . The obvious or “ robotic ” answer would of course be no – I ’ m afraid we cannot do it . This is one of the most frustrating situations in the business : being faced with turning down a higher value booking ( in this case , four nights ) because a low-value existing booking is blocking it .

Here is where your skills in booking management come in . You need to be sharp and quick thinking . The last thing you will want to do is turn away White ’ s four nights because of Jones ’ s one night .

A ruthless option would be to take the White booking , then “ bounce ” the Jones booking – ie tell Jones you cannot now take her booking , giving a suitably plausible reason ( and having , with luck , already booked her a twin room provisionally nearby ). Many hoteliers would not think twice about doing this , and of course it is commercially justifiable on the face of it . However , that should always be an absolute last resort . Think harder – Room 1 is large enough to fit an extra folding bed , so why not put in the extra bed on Friday , move the Jones booking to Room 1 and accept the White booking in Room 2 ? You will have to give Ms Jones an explanation , of course – and perhaps even a discount or an added extra to make up – but that way you keep the Jones booking AND take the White booking .