YHA Booking Conditions

I was at a presentation given by the head of YHA Marketing last weekend
( limited write-up of the event here:
http://www.yhagroup.org.uk/archives/coalport-report ) where he touched
upon the upcoming Orion booking system.

A lot of it is good news - for example: you'll be able to tell from the
website whether a particular hostel has spaces on a particular night,
just like you've been able to do in Scottish hostels for years.
However, one thing disturbed me - he said that wardens - sorry,
managers - would have to have more discipline in the way they took
bookings.

Now, what I think this means is that they'll have to stick to the
letter of the booking conditions and demand full payment for any hostel
stay two months in advance of arrival. My experience is that most
wardens are more flexible than that at the moment, and that independent
hostels certainly are. If the new system computerises what's *supposed*
to happen, rather than what *really* happens, it's heading for failure.

What's your experience? Do you pay in full 8 weeks early, or do you
stick a deposit down and pay the rest on arrival? What about any
independents you have used?

On 13 Nov 2006 10:02:25 -0800, "Chris Hunt"
<chris@leicesteryha.org.uk> wrote:
<SNIP>
>
>However, one thing disturbed me - he said that wardens - sorry,
>managers - would have to have more discipline in the way they took
>bookings.
>
>Now, what I think this means is that they'll have to stick to the
>letter of the booking conditions and demand full payment for any hostel
>stay two months in advance of arrival. My experience is that most
>wardens are more flexible than that at the moment, and that independent
>hostels certainly are. If the new system computerises what's *supposed*
>to happen, rather than what *really* happens, it's heading for failure.
>

All Orion will do is make it more obvious to managers that bookings
haven't yet been paid when they should have been. If a manager
chooses to ignore the reminders then that is down to them but as a
unpaid booking blocks other bookings for those beds being made because
the internet engine thinks those beds are taken then it's in the
hostels best interest to have those bookings confirmed asap.

In answer to other posters questions,

Orion will quite happily accept part payments for both
individual/family and group bookings.

Provisional arrival times are a matter for you, the customer, and the
manager, so if you know when you make the booking that the bus doesn't
get into town until 6-10 don't agree to a 6 pm 'hold' time but ask
for 6-30. Managers only go for early times so that they know sooner
rather than later if bookings are going to be taken up. At busy
periods hostels can get large numbers of calls wanting to know if
there are any beds for that night. Having loads of provisional
bookings makes it difficult to give informative answers to those
inquiries.

Nigel
replace SPAMHATER with n and t*sc*li with totalise

	#1
Chris Hunt	YHA Booking Conditions I was at a presentation given by the head of YHA Marketing last weekend ( limited write-up of the event here: http://www.yhagroup.org.uk/archives/coalport-report ) where he touched upon the upcoming Orion booking system. A lot of it is good news - for example: you'll be able to tell from the website whether a particular hostel has spaces on a particular night, just like you've been able to do in Scottish hostels for years. However, one thing disturbed me - he said that wardens - sorry, managers - would have to have more discipline in the way they took bookings. Now, what I think this means is that they'll have to stick to the letter of the booking conditions and demand full payment for any hostel stay two months in advance of arrival. My experience is that most wardens are more flexible than that at the moment, and that independent hostels certainly are. If the new system computerises what's supposed to happen, rather than what really happens, it's heading for failure. What's your experience? Do you pay in full 8 weeks early, or do you stick a deposit down and pay the rest on arrival? What about any independents you have used?

	#2
SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk	Re: YHA Booking Conditions On 13 Nov 2006 10:02:25 -0800, "Chris Hunt" <chris@leicesteryha.org.uk> wrote: <SNIP> > >However, one thing disturbed me - he said that wardens - sorry, >managers - would have to have more discipline in the way they took >bookings. > >Now, what I think this means is that they'll have to stick to the >letter of the booking conditions and demand full payment for any hostel >stay two months in advance of arrival. My experience is that most >wardens are more flexible than that at the moment, and that independent >hostels certainly are. If the new system computerises what's supposed >to happen, rather than what really happens, it's heading for failure. > All Orion will do is make it more obvious to managers that bookings haven't yet been paid when they should have been. If a manager chooses to ignore the reminders then that is down to them but as a unpaid booking blocks other bookings for those beds being made because the internet engine thinks those beds are taken then it's in the hostels best interest to have those bookings confirmed asap. In answer to other posters questions, Orion will quite happily accept part payments for both individual/family and group bookings. Provisional arrival times are a matter for you, the customer, and the manager, so if you know when you make the booking that the bus doesn't get into town until 6-10 don't agree to a 6 pm 'hold' time but ask for 6-30. Managers only go for early times so that they know sooner rather than later if bookings are going to be taken up. At busy periods hostels can get large numbers of calls wanting to know if there are any beds for that night. Having loads of provisional bookings makes it difficult to give informative answers to those inquiries. Nigel replace SPAMHATER with n and tscli with totalise