We have launched an innovative new feature for our clients called Refundable Bookings, which enables your guests to select upgraded Refund Terms when making a booking without any risk to your business or revenue!

This is still in testing and will be rolled out over the next few weeks. Below is some details and FAQs to help you and your team get familiar with the new product. 

Direct booking path, how it will look? Once the guest has selected their room and any extras, Resly Direct will automatically calculate the cost of upgrading to a refundable booking (around 8% of the booking value) and display it as below. 

The booking will drop into Resly with all details including the refundable upgrade and associated costs. 1.5% of the booking value can be taken by the manager as a refundable upgrade service fee, while the balance of the upgrade cost will be paid to our partner, Protect Group.

• Full refunds - Guests receive 100% refund of their transaction (including any extras purchased in the booking)
• Increase guest booking confidence – Guests now have more confidence to book in advance knowing that they will receive a 100% refund if something unforeseen prevents them from attending their stay
• Refunds paid for you - Refunds paid entirely on your behalf; you keep the original payment & guests receive full refund
• Costless & Additional Revenue - All costs are passed onto the guest & you generate an additional 1.5% of each total Refundable Booking value
• Refund admin handled for you – All Refundable Refund Applications are handled entirely on your behalf through our administrators of the service who have a 4.7 star rating on Trustpilot. 
• Quick Refunds within 72 hours – Guests receive a superior guest experience during difficult circumstances with average refund processing time of 4 hours from application submission!
• Entirely optional to guests – Refundable Bookings are recommended as an option to guests and is not mandatory. 

Refundable Bookings helps your guests book confidently knowing that if an unforeseen circumstance affects the guest and prevents them from travelling, each guest will be eligible for a 100% refund of their entire transaction paid entirely for you by our administrators of this service. We include as many circumstances as possible within the Refundable T&Cs that may affect any guest, including the example scenarios below:

• COVID-19 Infection
• Illness (affecting the guest or their immediate family)
• Accident / Injury
• Pre-existing medical conditions
• Pregnancy Complications
• Death (including immediate family)
• Public Transport Failure (to their booking)
• Mechanical Breakdown of your vehicle (to their booking)
• Adverse Weather (to their booking)
• Home Emergency
• Theft of Documents
• Jury Service
• Court Summons
• Armed Forces & Emergency Services Recall
• Relocated for Work
• Changes to Examination Dates
• Full t&c's here and COVID t&c's here

FAQs

How does this benefit your property? Not only do Refundable Bookings ensure the guest has a more flexible cancellation policy in uncertain times, guests receive a superior customer experience all whilst you generate a lucrative revenue stream from this costless feature!

How much do the Refundable Bookings cost me? Nothing! All fees are paid for by the guest at the point of booking and you even generate an additional 1.5% of the total booking value for transactions that guests have opted-in to be Refundable. 

My guest can’t attend their Booking; how do they apply for a refund? Once the guest has made their payment, they will receive a booking confirmation email from you as normal which now contains an additional section about their Refundable booking. The guest then clicks the direct link to the dedicated online application form and uses their standard booking reference to open their refund application and complete.

When can the guest apply for a refund? The guest may apply for a refund via the online Refund Application Form any time up to the time of stay and even 60 days after, should the guest not have been able to attend.

How long does it take for the guest to receive their refund? Once the guest has submitted their refund application, the guest will receive confirmation of receipt from the dedicated Customer Experience team and if approved, the guest will receive their refund within 72 hours directly to their chosen bank account (average processing time is 4 hours!).

The booking has been cancelled by you (the hotel or resort), is this included in Refundable Bookings? Refundable T&Cs are only applicable for personal circumstances affecting the individual and therefore cancellation or delay by you is not included in the Refundable T&Cs. If their booking is cancelled you, the guest will follow your standard cancellation terms of sale.

What happens if the guest’s circumstance isn’t included in any of the Refundable Terms? If your guest feels their circumstance is “unforeseen” and/or classed as an “emergency” then we would recommend the guest to still apply through the online Refund Application Form as the circumstance will be considered by our consumer-centric Customer Experience team.

If you have any questions, please comment on this thread with your property name. We will hold an info session prior to the golive/roll out.