Double booking: causes and solutions
Definition : A double booking (overbooking) happens when two guests book the same unit for the same dates, most often on two different platforms.
A double booking, or overbooking, happens when two guests have booked the same unit for the same nights. In short-term rental it is almost always an accident: two platforms sold the same calendar.
Not to be confused with the deliberate overbooking some hotels practise, selling more rooms than they have and counting on cancellations. Here it is a synchronisation error, and it can be prevented.
Why double bookings happen
The most common causes:
- Calendars kept by hand, platform by platform
- A direct booking (phone, WhatsApp) not copied everywhere
- A delay between a booking and the update of the other calendars, especially with iCal sync
- A data-entry mistake: wrong dates, wrong unit
The consequences
A guest has to be relocated or refunded, which costs time and sometimes money. Depending on each platform’s rules, a cancellation from your side can also affect your ranking or reviews. Above all, it damages the guest’s trust.
How to avoid it
Four simple rules:
- One calendar is the truth: every booking goes into it, wherever it comes from
- A channel manager connected to the platforms, rather than periodic sync
- Every direct booking is entered in the tool straight away
- Dates you don’t want to sell (personal use, works) are closed everywhere
What to do if one happens
Contact both guests straight away. Keep the earlier booking, offer the other guest an alternative (another unit, other dates), then cancel on the platform following its rules. Write down what happened: the cause will tell you which link in the chain to fix.
How Hosteo prevents them
In Hosteo, every booking, whether from a platform, your booking website or your team, feeds the same calendar. A unit that is already taken can’t be booked on the same dates, and availability is sent back automatically to Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and Vrbo.
- Bookings, changes and cancellations imported automatically
- iCal calendars to import any other platform
- Alert on overlap
Frequently asked questions
Are overbooking and double booking the same thing?
In short-term rental, most often yes. In hotels, overbooking can also be deliberate: the hotel sells more rooms than it has, counting on cancellations.
Is iCal enough to avoid double bookings?
It helps, but it syncs at regular intervals: between two syncs, the same night can be sold twice. A direct connection through a channel manager reduces that risk.
What should I do with a direct booking taken by phone?
Enter it in your tool immediately, so the dates are closed on every platform.
Does Hosteo replace my channel manager?
Yes. The channel manager is built into Hosteo and imports bookings and cancellations into your timeline automatically.
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General information, as of the publication date.
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