What guests see when they book on your website, from search to cancellation
By GuestChat Team ·
Setting up the website from the dashboard is half the job. The other half is knowing what the guest goes through when they book, because that's what they're going to ask you about. Here's the full journey, step by step, from their side.
1. They look at dates and prices
On the page for each property on your website there's a calendar with the open nights and their price. They only see whether a night is open or not, never why: whether it's booked or you blocked it yourself is your business information.
The price is the one in your calendar, night by night, plus any extra fees you've set up. If an automatic deal applies to them, they see it already applied; if they have a code, they type it in.
If you're not accepting bookings on the website yet, what they see is a button to message you, not one to book and pay.
2. They book and pay
They fill in their details and pay by card on Stripe's secure page. Before the pay button they see your cancellation policy and your booking conditions.
While they pay, their dates are held for 24 hours and also blocked on Airbnb and Booking.com. If they don't pay in time, the booking cancels itself and the nights go back on sale. And right before the booking is created, the system checks again that the nights are still open and that the price is the same one they saw: if anything changed, it asks them again before charging.
3. They get the confirmation
Once the payment goes through, they get a confirmation email with a link to view or cancel their booking. No account and no password: the link is their key.
Until they pay, they don't get any automated message, not even the door code. Once they pay, they enter the normal flow of your messages.
4. They check their booking
The page behind the link shows the reference, check-in, check-out, the guests, the status and the cancellation policy. If their rate is non-refundable, it tells them plainly.
5. If they want to cancel
Before they click anything, the page explains what would happen if they cancel now: whether they'd get a refund or not. Never as a surprise afterwards. Then they choose between Cancel my booking and Keep my booking.
- If a refund is due, it's made automatically in your Stripe account.
- The nights open up again on all your channels.
- If you have Let guests cancel online turned off, the page tells them to contact you directly.
6. If the link doesn't work
If the link has expired or isn't valid, the page asks them to open their most recent confirmation email. If they write to you saying they can't get in, that's your first answer.
What you see
- In the Calendar and in All bookings, the booking with its payment status.
- If it's canceled, it moves to the canceled tab.
- If you missed the notification for a booking from your website, its booking details have Email me this booking again.
Questions you'll get, and the answer
- "Where can I see my booking?" In the link in the confirmation email.
- "Will you refund me if I cancel?" Whatever the policy says, and the page shows them before they cancel.
- "I didn't get the door code." Have they paid? Without payment, it isn't sent.
- "Can I cancel an Airbnb booking from here?" No: bookings from booking sites are canceled on the booking site.