RMS Booking Engine - Overview, Features, and Configuration Checklist

Overview

The RMS Booking Engine is an online reservation system that allows guests to book rooms directly from your website. It displays live availability, rates, and property information in real-time, enabling direct bookings without third-party intermediaries.

The RMS Booking Engine works seamlessly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices, giving your guests a consistent booking experience across all platforms.

Using the RMS Booking Engine helps you:

• Reduce commission fees by capturing direct bookings
• Control your brand experience with customizable colours, logos, and messaging
• Display accurate live rates and availability from your RMS system
• Collect guest information and add-on purchases at the point of booking

Customisation Options

The Booking Engine can be tailored to match your property's brand and guest expectations:

• Colour Theme and Logo: Apply your property colours and logo to maintain brand consistency
• Photos: Display property images, category (room type) photos, and photos for add-ons
• Search Options: Choose which filters guests use (e.g., check-in/check-out dates, number of guests, room type)
• Rate and Availability View: Decide how rates and availability are displayed (by category, nightly, or total stay)
• Category Information: Show room class, dwelling options, descriptions, and amenities
• Add-On Services: Offer breakfast, late checkout, parking, and other revenue-generating services
• Requirements: Collect mandatory guest information (e.g., guest name, contact details)
• Terms and Conditions: Display custom T&Cs before checkout

Pending Pencil Reservations

When a guest adds an Area to their cart in the RMS Booking Engine, RMS automatically creates a Pencil Reservation.

A Pencil Reservation is a temporary placeholder reservation with "IBE Pending" status that holds inventory for the guest while they complete the booking process.

Here's how Pencil Reservations work:

1. Cart Added: Guest selects a room category and adds it to their cart. A Pencil Reservation with "IBE Pending" status is created in your RMS system.
2. Checkout Completed: Guest completes payment and booking details. The Pencil Reservation status updates to "Confirmed" and becomes a real reservation.
3. Abandoned Cart: If the guest removes the room from their cart or does not complete checkout within 10 minutes, the Pencil Reservation is automatically cancelled and the room becomes available again.

To view Pencil Reservations and track status changes, check the Audit Trail in your RMS system. The Audit Trail shows all changes to the reservation, including when it moved from "IBE Pending" to "Confirmed" status.

Availability Messaging - "X Areas Left"

When availability for a Category falls to 3 rooms or fewer, the RMS Booking Engine displays a banner with "X Areas Left" messaging. This creates urgency and encourages guests to complete their booking.

Same-Day Arrival Notifications

If a guest completes a booking with a same-day arrival date, the Message Centre sends a notification alert to your team. This allows your front desk to prepare for the guest's arrival with minimal notice.

Taxes and Fees

The RMS Booking Engine displays taxes and fees to guests during the checkout process. How taxes appear depends on your RMS tax configuration.

Tax Display Setting

To configure how taxes are shown in the RMS Booking Engine, follow these steps:

In the side menu of RMS, go to Setup > Online Bookings > Channel Management.

1. Select the RMS Book Now Button > Edit.
2. On the Options tab, Show Net Rate can be selected if required.
3. Select Save/Exit.
   

Fee Breakdown

Additional fees (e.g., resort fees, booking fees) are displayed AFTER the guest adds items to their cart.

Hovering over the tooltip icon shows a detailed breakdown of all fees and taxes applied to the booking.

Configuration Checklist

Before launching your RMS Booking Engine, complete these 9 configuration steps in order. Each step builds on the previous one to ensure your Booking Engine functions correctly and displays all required information to guests.

Attributes

Attributes are features and amenities that guests use to filter room searches (e.g., "Sea View", "Non-Smoking", "Wheelchair Accessible"). They help guests find the exact room that matches their needs.

Configure attributes by assigning them to room categories in RMS. Attributes appear as filter options in the RMS Booking Engine's search form.

Category Information

Categories are room types available at your property (e.g., "Deluxe Double", "Standard Twin", "Suite"). Category Information is what guests see when browsing available rooms in the RMS Booking Engine.

For each category, configure:

• Class: Room classification (e.g., "Standard", "Deluxe", "Premium")
• Dwelling Options: Room variants (e.g., "1 Double Bed", "2 Single Beds")
• Long Description: Detailed description of the room, amenities, and features
• Occupancy: Number of guests the room can accommodate
• Amenities: List of included features (e.g., WiFi, TV, Air Conditioning)
  

Rates

Rates are the nightly prices guests see in the RMS Booking Engine. Configure pricing based on:

• Date: Different rates for different days of the week or seasons
• Number of Guests: Rates that increase based on occupancy
• Length of Stay: Discounts for longer stays
• Derived Rates: Rates automatically calculated based on a base rate
• Rate Deposits: Set the deposit amount required per booking
• Promo Codes: Create discount codes guests can enter at checkout

Rates are managed in RMS under Charts > Rates Manager. The RMS Booking Engine displays rates in real-time, pulling directly from your RMS rate setup.

Deposits

Deposits are the payment amounts required from guests at the time of booking. 

Properties connected to a Payment Gateway can choose either the Online Deposit or Rate Deposit option to determine the payment taken at the time of reservation.

• The Online Deposit option can be used to apply the same deposit rules to all Rate Types on the RMS Booking Engine.
• The Rate Deposit - $0.00 = Full Deposit option can be used to set variable deposit amounts on the Rate Type or Rate Table with full payment required on any Rate Type where no deposit has been setup.
• The Rate Deposit - $0.00 = No Deposit option can be used to set variable deposit amounts on the Rate Type or Rate Table with no payment required on any Rate Type where no deposit has been setup.
• The 'No Deposit' option can be used by properties that are not connected to a Payment Gateway to enable Guests to complete the reservation with no payment required.

Requirements

Requirements are mandatory add-on services that guests can purchase during checkout. Common requirements include:

• Breakfast (included or optional)
• Late checkout (e.g., 2:00 PM instead of 11:00 AM)
• Parking (on-site or nearby)
• Airport transfers
• Any other upsell services your property offers

Requirements are configured in RMS and appear to guests in the RMS Booking Engine as purchasable options during checkout.

Photos

Photos are the visual assets guests see in the Booking Engine. Upload and assign photos to:

• Property Photos: Images of your property (lobby, exterior, common areas)
• Category Photos: Images of each room type
• Requirement Photos: Images for add-on services (e.g., breakfast spread, parking)
• Banner Image: Image displayed at the top of the RMS Booking Engine
  

Online Options

Online Options control the look, feel, and functionality of your Booking Engine. Configure:

• Page Settings: Meta tags, title, description for SEO
• Colour Theme and Logo: Brand colours, logo placement, button colours
• Rate and Availability View: How rates and availability are displayed (per night, per stay, etc.)
• Category View: How room types are displayed (grid, list, or carousel)
• Extra Information: Custom text sections (welcome message, house rules, policies)
• Terms and Conditions: Your booking T&Cs that guests must accept
• Contact and Notifications: Email address for booking confirmations and inquiry emails

Channel Management

Channel Management connects your RMS Booking Engine to your RMS system, ensuring live rates and availability are always displayed to guests.

Configure:

• Channel Connection: Enable the connection between RMS and your Booking Engine
• Booking Engine URL: Your unique Booking Engine web address
• Book Now Button URL: Add this URL to your website's "Book Now" button so guests link directly to your Booking Engine
• URL Modifiers: Optional parameters for the booking experience

Add the RMS Booking Engine to the Website

After all configuration steps are complete, add the RMS Booking Engine URL to the Property website so guests can make reservations.

Next Steps

After completing your configuration checklist, test your Booking Engine by:

1. Visiting your Booking Engine URL
2. Searching for available rooms
3. Adding a room to your cart
4. Checking that rates, taxes, and fees display correctly
5. Verifying that add-ons and requirements appear as configured
6. Confirming that all photos and descriptions match your setup
7. Testing on mobile and tablet devices to ensure responsive design
8. Placing a test booking to verify the checkout process and Pencil Reservation creation

Cookie Concent

The Internet Booking Engine (IBE) displays a cookie consent banner to ensure compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR and ePrivacy in jurisdictions where consent is legally required. 

This banner is a mandatory compliance feature and cannot be removed or disabled.