How to Avoid Double Bookings - A Property Manager Nightmare

“Double bookings? What do I do now? I’m finished.”

If you are one of the vacation rental managers and have got double bookings, you are likely to be worried.

Double booking is not just a nightmare for managers or homeowners but vacationers too. Imagine two families lock their horns on the doorstep of your vacation home rental, desperately waiting to get the key. This is horrifying when you - as an owner or manager – don’t have an alternative property available.

How can you get rid of this situation without creating a problem for anyone?

How to avoid double bookings? Before you go ahead with the solution, make sure you know the “double booking main causes”.

Factors That Cause Double Bookings

Currently, the travel industry has reached its zenith. People from all walks of life, no matter what, dare to travel so that they can spend quality time with families and loved ones. This, ultimately, has led many to choose vacation rentals – as they want a home-like place to stay and relax. Thus, the short term rental industry is experiencing robust growth. Since there’s been an influx of tourists looking for the best vacation home rentals, many property managers commit mistakes (over-enthusiastically) by receiving multiple bookings without paying much heed.

One of the major reasons that result in double bookings is poor bookkeeping. Let’s say, you are outside with colleagues or dining with family and you receive a potential booking from a guest. In a hurry, you scribble down the dates on a piece of paper, which you eventually leave it on the dining table. What next then?

Some of the most common causes of double bookings are –

• Allowing multiple guests to book your rental for the same night
• Not updating your calendar regularly
• Maybe, you have an obsolete platform to manage bookings
• Failing to sync between different selling platforms
• No coordination between different listing platforms
• Error in calendar

How to Avoid Double Bookings

Though this is a serious concern, a nightmare for a property manager, the problem can be avoided by following the expert tips. Here are a few important, unavoidable points every homeowner or property manager should look forward to.

1. Manage Your Calendar or Keep Records in One Place: You have tried and tested a dozen ways and have failed in it. You need professional help. Shed some light on using professional calendar management software or tool before you get another panic attack. The booking management system should have everything, a record of every bit of information including details about the guests, payment details, security deposit, lease, dates, etc. Ensure the calendar is updated automatically. If it doesn’t, don’t use it.

If you are using one CMS (calendar management system), it should cover the following points –

• Calendar Sync
• Accurate Availability
• Manual Bookings and Blocked Dates
• Import & Export Dates
• Real-time Updates

2. Be an Immediate Respondent: Sometimes acknowledging the email is not enough when it is more important to communicate on a regular basis to keep things crystal clear. When you receive a booking, ask the guests to provide all details such as the arrival, departure, total number of guests, pet, etc. These details should be well-communicated and you have them on your email. You are advised to contact the tenant again a few days before their trip. This keeps things clear and hassle-free.
3. Create Accurate Property Listing: The vacation home rental industry is growing, which enables homeowners to advertise their property on various platforms. No matter how many websites you use to advertise your home rental, ensure the rental property listing is correct and up-to-date. What happens when you have different listings on different websites, a gap pervades. This is called a lack of synchronization. This creates confusion. This creates a double booking. Tell the listing company to keep synced and the calendar is well-updated.
4. Cross-check before Going Live: Renowned vacation rental marketplace like Search Florida Rentals has industry-trained professionals to check every detail before they make the property live online. As a sensible owner or manager, you should cross-check the property details once. This will not create any further confusion.
5. Plan B – A Back-up Rental: Okay, you have done everything that you could. You have updated the calendar, check every detail about the guest, about the property, etc. What if, due to something, you have double bookings for the same night? It isn’t a great idea to send away your guests, which will only propagate negativity. So, what we suggest you, to befriend with other vacation rentals in the locality and make a deal to help each other out in such unforeseen circumstances.

Still, worried about double bookings? Why not assign this task to SFR and relax? At Search Florida Rentals, we take care of all your worries and sorrows. Not only do we take time to create your perfect listing, but also we boast a dedicated booking system to handle reservations. We can further let you know about the back-up property in a particular region.

What are you waiting for? Get in touch with us today and enjoy a seamless business experience.

Houses Condos Apartments Villas