When taking a customer reservation directly on the phone, once the availability is checked and the name is taken, one can set the reservation as optional (so it appears as non confimed in dotted lines in the calendar) and send the quotation email from the same screen. Very nice.
The problem is that the customer can simply click confirm on the email and automatically receive back another automated email from MEWS saying the reservation is confirmed. In the calendar, it is changed as confirmed and we have no easy way to spot the missing card details information unless we do some systematic checks.
Customer is thus free to cancel the day before or not come to the hotel and we have no way to secure the payment. For that we would need to send another email for card payment method demand, which would have to be tracked and followed up manually separately. Not automated… Not linked to the reservation…
OK, there might be the option not to use the quotation email but rather send the payment email only. But then how can the collection of that information automatically change the reservation to “confirmed” when the demand is not linked to a reservation on one hand and the user did not necessarily confirm on the other hand.
I can’t remember having made any hotel reservation anywhere in the word without providing my card details. So I am really surprised this basic process is not natively included in MEWS.
Alternative: is there a way of personalizing some of the emails to get closer to an automated process?
Thanks for your thoughts and experience on this process.
