Questions and Answers
Beds24 is a cost-effective self-service system offering powerful online booking engines for your own website property management and optional channel management.
Contents
- 1 Bookings
- 2 Channel Manager
- 3 Currencies
- 4 Payment Collection and Payment Gateways
- 5 Documentation
- 6 Email Address
- 7 Fees
- 8 Facebook
- 9 Forum
- 10 Free Trial
- 11 Guest Login
- 12 Google Analytics / Tracking
- 13 Help / Training
- 14 Import Data / Connect to other Systems /API
- 15 Icons
- 16 Languages
- 17 Messaging and Notifications
- 18 Mailings
- 19 Mobile
- 20 Multiple Properties / Agency Functions
- 21 Multiple Users
- 22 Pictures
- 23 Private Label
- 24 Rates/Prices
- 25 Reports
- 26 Setup and Customisation
- 27 System Status
- 28 Support
- 29 Web site integration and Widgets
- 30 Where is your office?
- 31 Wordpress
- 32 Cancel Account
1 Bookings
Beds24 shows real-time availability. Bookings can be instant (auto confirmed) or on request (manually confirmed or declined).
Can bookings be moved between rooms?
Yes, Bookings can be changed or moved to another room if required.
Can I (owner) cancel bookings?
Yes, you can change the status of bookings within Beds24.com. Bookings from Channels should be cancelled within the Channel and modifications/cancellations will then be imported into Beds24.
Can guests cancel bookings?
Yes, you can provide guests the option to view and cancel bookings but not change them.
Can bookings be grouped together?
If your guests book multiple rooms, you can 'Group' the bookings together, you will see the list of 'grouped' bookings when you open any one of the bookings in the Group.
What information is gathered during the booking process?
You can set which information you require your guest to enter when they make a booking. You can set optional/mandatory information, additionally you can set Custom Questions (if required).
2 Channel Manager
We have two way XML connections with major booking channels so Beds24.com can export inventory and prices and import bookings and modifications to bookings.
What is the difference between XML Connection and iCal Connection?
XML - Beds24.com can export inventory and prices and import bookings and modifications to bookings.To some channels we can also send pictures and descriptions.
iCal - Beds24.com can export availability and blocked dates, import bookings (summary information), the capabilities of the connection depend on the channel.
You can find details for each connected channel here.
How does the Channel Manager work?
This page explains in detail how the channel manager works.
Can I setup different prices for each Channel?
Yes, if required you can set different rates for your own website and booking channel(s). You can set different prices for each Channel, check the Channel Help page for the requirements and options.
Can I send a surcharge to a Channel?
Yes, you can setup different rates for a Channel and/or you can use a Price Multiplier to change your Rates/Daily Price for a Channel. The price can be increased/decreased. Check the HELP page for the Channel for more information.
3 Currencies
Can I use multiple currencies in Beds24?
You can set the system to use one master currency.
What if the Booking Channel use a different currency than my currency, can I convert the currency in Beds24?
Yes, the new responsive version of the booking page allows you to use a currency converter.
When you are using booking channels which require a different currency than your standard currency you can add a multiplier to prices to convert to a different currency.
If you are using multiple properties you can set a different currency for each.
Your account fees are billed in € but you can pay in any mayor currency according to the current exchange rate.
We currently use live data from the europeanexchange.org.
4 Payment Collection and Payment Gateways
Can I collect payments from my Guests?
You can use Beds24 to receive deposit payments with the booking or collect credit card details. Integrated payment gateways are Paypal (which also allows credit card payments), Stripe, Realex, Authorize.Net, Paymill, asiapay, pesopay, siampay, paydollar, and Bitpay. All later payments have to be processed outside the Beds24 system. Beds24 does not handle money. All payments go directly into your account with the payment gateway.
To use this service you will need an account with the payment gateway you want to use. Beds24 charges a small per transaction fee and the payment gateway will charge their fees.
All the payment gateways we connect to are fully PCI DSS compliant.
Alternatively you can securely collect credit card details and process the payment through your own bank or merchant account.
Beds24 is not involved in deposit collections for bookings from booking channels. Each booking channel handles them according to their rules/your account settings. If you use Stripe as payment gateway you can choose to send credit cards supplied by all channels directly to Stripe where the cards can be validated and charged.
The payment collection fee's only apply to payment collection from guests using the direct booking page.
Can I send a payment request to my guests
Yes, you can setup an automated email to your guests requesting payment for their bookings.
5 Documentation
Is there documentation in Beds24?
The start page of the support wiki has links to many common questions: https://wiki.beds24.com/index.php/Main_Page
There is also a search function which can be used to search for other topics.
When you click on the FUNCTIONS button in the top left you will find links to commonly used functions.
Beds24 has setup wizards: https:/www.beds24.com/wizard/index.php?lang=en
They are designed to introduce the system and guide you through the setup process. The wizards open your control panel and booking page in wizard mode. Login with your username and password and follow the steps.
There are also tutorials and videos showing you how to do the set up: https:/wiki.beds24.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
6 Email Address
How can I change my email address?
You can change your Administrator Email Address by going to Settings > Account > Account Access.
You can change your Property Email Address by going to Property Email Address in Settings > Properties > Description > Email.
7 Fees
What are the fees for using Beds24?
With Beds24 you only pay for what you use. There is a basic fee for the use of the system which is based on the number of rooms set up plus fees for the services which are used.
You can find detailed information and a calculator on our website to calculate the monthly fee for your set up.
Where can I see my fees?'
Login in to the system and go to Account > Billing
Are there charges for payment collections?
Yes, please see the section on Payment Collection/Payment Gateways.
8 Facebook
Can Beds24 connect to Facebook?
Yes, Beds24 provides a Facebook app to accept bookings directly from a facebook page.
9 Forum
Beds24.com has a forum used by other Beds24.com users (http://forum.beds24.com)
10 Free Trial
Do I have full access to Beds24 with the Free Trial?
Yes, signing up for the free trial opens a fully functional account.
You may use this account to test all the functionality of the system for free. The trial period is 14 days, after this period expires, a payment is required to continue using the account.
11 Guest Login
Can Guests login to Beds24 to see their bookings?
Yes, you can give guests the option to view and cancel bookings but not change them.
Can guests make payments for the bookings?
Yes, you can send an email with a link to their bookings, for your guests to make a payment.
12 Google Analytics / Tracking
Can Google Analytics be installed on Beds24?
Yes, you can install Google Analytics on you booking page.
Beds24 also has a built in logging system which will give you information on the activities on your booking page and where a booking originated from.
13 Help / Training
Does Beds24.com provide training?
Beds24.com has extensive training/help, you can access the relevant HELP for each area of BEDS24.com by clicking the HELP button in the top right menu. Where you see (?) for a setting, click (?) for context help.
There is setup wizards that you can access from this page: https://www.beds24.com/wizard/index.php?lang=en
They are designed to introduce the system and guide you through the setup process. The wizards open your control panel and booking page in wizard mode.
There are also tutorials and videos showing you how to do the set up: https://wiki.beds24.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
When you click on the FUNCTIONS button in the top left you will find links to commonly used functions.
You can also use the forum, use the button in the top left menu or this page: http://forum.beds24.com or create a ticket via the support button at the top of the Beds24 control panel.
14 Import Data / Connect to other Systems /API
Can I import bookings from another system?
If you need to import bookings into Beds24 you can use a csv via our API (https://www.beds24.com/api/). For some channels we can try to import bookings.
The API can also be used to import/export other data, connect to third party systems or to build your own application.
Can I import bookings from the Booking Channels/OTAs?
Yes, once mapped to Beds24.com, some booking channels provide access to 'Import existing bookings' if your OTA does not provide this option then you can use the CSV API to import existing bookings. Please check the HELP page for the Booking Channel to see the Capabilities.
15 Icons
Can I add icons to the Booking Page?
Yes, you can add icons to your booking page, from the Main Page wiki, go to the Developers section for more information.
16 Languages
What languages does Beds24.com support?
The backend is English, German partially in Spanish, and we can offer customer support in English and German.
The booking page where guest can make their bookings is available in 31 languages (Arabic, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Mongolian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish). If the booking page does not currently support your language we can look into adding it if you help us with the translation.
Hosts can choose to activate one or more languages to give guests the option to book in their own language.
What languages does Beds24.com provide for customer support?
We can offer customer support in English and German.
Is it possible to add languages to the Booking Page?
If the booking page does not currently support your language we can look into adding it if you help us with the translation.
17 Messaging and Notifications
E-Mail You can set up template Emails to manually or auto send to guest e.g. x days before arrival/departure, based on origin of the booking etc. You can export all bookings and process the data e.g. add to your mailing lists.
Bookings through OTA´s will be confirmed directly through the OTA not from Beds24.
18 Mailings
Guest information and contact details can be downloaded to be imported into external mailing lists.
19 Mobile
The design of the control panel is responsive meaning it adjusts to the size of the screen. This allows you to perform all actions from your smart phone or tablet it you need to. You have the option to set up a special dashboard to use from mobile devices.
The booking page is mobile friendly. It detects which device the guest uses and adjusts the view accordingly.
20 Multiple Properties / Agency Functions
With Beds24 you can manage multiple properties in one account. You have the option to create subaccounts with individual logins for each property. The subaccounts can have their own login with full access (read and write) or limited access (read only).
The agency search page allows guests to search for availability by criteria you define and book directly online. For a simple example please look here: https://www.beds24.com/demo/agency-online-reservation-system.htm
We do not have a way to automatically split payments or calculate commission. You could collect the deposit from the guest (your commission) and the property collects the balance when the guest arrives.
21 Multiple Users
You can create sub accounts with full or limited access rights. Choose from default roles (e.g. admin, backoffice, reception, cleaner) or create you rown roles.
22 Pictures
The new responsive booking page allows up to 5 pictures per property plus up to five pictures per room and offer.
By default the adaptive version of the booking page allows for one picture per unit but you can add a Woo slider which will let you display multiple pictures. If you are comfortable working with HTML you can also add multiple pictures directly.
Can we add pictures/images to Upsell Items?
Yes, please go to SETTINGS -> PROPERTIES -> UPSELL ITEMS, and click HELP (top right menu) for the instructions.
23 Private Label
The private label option allows you to use your own subdomain for your booking page (bookings.mywebsite.com).
24 Rates/Prices
You can set a simple or refined rate structure based for example on seasons, occupancies, minimum/maximum stays, time of booking (e.g. last minute).
For help, with setting prices please go to the Prices section: https://wiki.beds24.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
25 Reports
The system includes a range of predefined reports including revenue reports, arrivals, departures, invoices, occupancy and current guests. You also have the option to create custom reports. All reports can be saved as .csv files. Custom reports are also available for download as Excel or pdf files.
26 Setup and Customisation
Beds24 is a self service system. Set up is free of charge and you do it yourself. We have setup wizards which introduce the system and guide you through the setup process.
Almost all elements on the booking page and invoice have classes and you can apply custom CSS to customise them. You or your web designer can use Firebug or a similar tool to look up the classes.
27 System Status
We do have a public monitoring system. Even though our service is very reliable there will be occasional short outages due to necessary maintenance. Also we cannot except acts of God.
28 Support
Beds24 is designed as a self-service system. Beds24 information and free support is available via following channels:
- Beds24 Forum
- Beds24 Support Wiki
- Context sensitive help - click on HELP at the top right of any page for information about the page. A click on the ? icons next to each setting opens context help with information about the setting.
- Ticket support system. We can see your settings so you do not need to send us screenshots. If you want to send a screenshot you can use a tool like this: http://pasteboard.co to send us a link.
For users who prefer phone support we cooperate with partners who offer professional help for a fee. For a list please have a look here:
29 Web site integration and Widgets
Beds24 can be integrated into any website. Adding a booking widget to a website requires pasting some html code we provide to the source code. This will work with any system as long as you can access the source code.
The Beds24 booking page is fully customisable. The innovative design of the new responsive version lets you not only change colors but also define which content you want to display where on the form.
30 Where is your office?
Our company is in Berlin, Germany.
31 Wordpress
Beds24 provides a Wordpress plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/beds24-online-booking/) which makes it easy to add booking technology to any Wordpress site via shortcodes. The actual management of bookings and inventory is done directly in the Beds24 control panel.
32 Cancel Account
You can cancel your account in Settings > Account > Billing.
