Rolling out now!

Get ready for a new booking engine that's more powerful than ever before. The New Booking Engine features a modern design, enhanced booking process, and a mobile-first experience to make your guests' online booking journey better than it's ever been.

Be on the lookout for emails about when these updates are coming to your Booking Engine.

Discover enhancements, FAQs, and the release timeline below.

What’s New

Better Experiences Ahead

We’ve redesigned our booking engine to help you drive more bookings while giving your guests a faster and more seamless way to book their stay.

Powerful upgrades to attract more guests 

• More direct bookings, less hassle – A streamlined process that highlights your rooms and rates better, reduces abandoned bookings, and makes payments easier than ever.
• A stunning new look – Showcase your brand with a sleek, modern design, eye-catching visuals, and easy-to-use customisation options that make a lasting impression.
• Better on mobile – Almost 70% of RMS online bookings happen on mobile, so we’ve made sure your guests get a smooth, fast, and hassle-free experience, no matter what device they’re using. 

Smart features to elevate the booking experience

• Highlight top room perks – Showcase the best features of each room, helping guests make confident choices.
• Clear availability display – Rooms that are not available are shown in a dedicated “Not Available” section, so guests can easily see all room options at a glance.
• Clear multi-night pricing – Reduce confusion with prominently displayed rates for extended stays.
• Only relevant rates shown – Guests see live, available rates—no outdated pricing or missed deals.
• Intuitive navigation – Optimise conversions with an intuitive, mobile-friendly booking flow that keeps guests engaged.

Prepare to take your property to the next level with a fast, modern, and intuitive new booking engine!

What do I need to do? 

Check these (4) items to ensure your new booking engine looks and operates just how you want

We've designed our next-generation booking engine to help accommodation providers capture more direct bookings, reduce reliance on third-party channels, and minimise revenue lost to abandoned carts. 

Watch the video below to learn how to optimise your booking engine and get more bookings. For a little extra help, keep reading this section for a how-to guide. 

1. RMS Vault as a Payment Gateway – Deposits No Longer Supported

For properties currently using RMS Vault as their payment gateway and accepting deposits, please note that the new Booking Engine will no longer support deposit collection.

Instead, guests will be prompted to enter their credit card details for authorisation only. A token will still be generated on the booking, as it does now, but no deposit will be charged.

If your property requires deposits to be taken at the time of booking, you will need to switch to RMS Pay or another supported payment gateway.

2. Custom colours - Only one colour can be assigned to the new booking engine, and this will be the 'Call to Action Button' Colour. 
In RMS 9+ Go to Setup > Online Bookings > Online Options 
or Search for "Online Options" in the Side Menu Search 

1. (Optional) Select Property
2. Go to Accent Theme
3. Select Custom Colours
4. Tick 'Call to Action Button'
5. Change the 'Background' colour (Font is optional).
   

3. Banner Image - Choose the Image that will be used as the Background image for your booking engine. This image is displayed on both the Desktop and Mobile booking engines. 

• Image Requirements: Files must be 5MB or smaller, with an optimal resolution of 1920px x 1080px for best display quality.
• Image orientation: Must be Landscape / Horizontal

In RMS 9+ Go to Setup > Online Bookings > Photos
or Search for "Photos" in the Side Menu Search 

1. (Optional) Select Property
2. Double-click/Edit the Image you wish to use as the Background Image. 
   Optional - Click on the Add + icon to add another image
   
    
3. Tick the Banner Image option. 
   No other options are required here.
4. Select Save/Exit.
   

4. Securely Encrypted URLs - IMPORTANT: Generate an encrypted booking engine URL. 

With the RMS booking engine, you can offer a secure, streamlined booking experience right from your website by generating an encrypted URL. 

If you haven't already, you need to generate an encrypted URL. Learn how by visiting our Help Centre article on this topic. Help Centre: RMS Booking Engines Encrypted URL

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

We’ve answered common questions here, but please contact support with any additional questions.

Do I need to do anything to make the switch?

• No, RMS will complete the migration. We will notify you before and after the migration is complete.

When will I see the New Booking Engine?

• The release schedule below indicates when the switchover will take place. You will not be migrated until both your payment gateway and the features you already use are released to the new booking engine.

Will I lose access to features when my engine is migrated?

• No, you won’t be migrated until the features you use are available in this version - see the release schedule in the next section.

Do I need to reconfigure any settings after the switch? 

• Depending on your property's setup, you may need to make minor readjustments. Jump to the section What do I need to do? above to learn more.

Is there an extra charge to use this version?

• No, there is no additional charge to use the new booking engine. Established fees apply.

What support is available to me?

• Your local RMS support team are here to help you! Submit a ticket from within your database and we'll be in touch.

Can I switch to the New Booking Engine early?

• Yes. If you are interested in joining early, please contact your local RMS support team. Early migration is only available if the property setup meets the features we have released – see the release schedule in the next section.

Can I delay my switchover?

• No, there will be set dates advised in advance of when the switches will be taking place – see the release schedule in the next section.

Does my booking URL change?

• Yes, but it will be a redirection from your current URL. No changes will need to be made to 'Book Now’ buttons.

Will we be able to personalise the payment processing language during checkout? 

• Not at this time.

For enterprise clients, can a guest book multiple properties?

• Not at this time.

Will your channel manager/IBE have Google Hotels integrated as part of your product offering?

• We currently have an integration with Google Ads - learn more here. 

Can we integrate the New Booking Engine into our website?

• As of now, you can place a 'Book Now' button on your website, or use URL modifiers to create your own widget, but widgets aren't available through RMS at this time. 

Can the New Booking Engine enable the guest to organize several reservations and make it become a master reservation? 

• This happens by default when multiple rooms are added to the cart, but the property has to allow group booking in online options. We don’t have a widget available at this time.

Does the New Booking Engine include Site Lock fees?

• The Interactive Map will be available on the new booking engine in Q3. That will bring forward the Site Lock fees. 

Can I split charges between guests, or is there a split at the time of checkout for payment receipts?

• Currently, the ability to split charges is controlled within RMS 9 Plus by a user and the guest can settle at the time of receipt or checkout. 

Can bed configuration be chosen in the New Booking Engine?

• Not currently as a filter, but this is on the roadmap.

Will there be increased customisation of fields in the New Booking Engine?

• Not currently - the 'Labels' in the top 4 fields are not customisable.

Any plans to enable mobile rates / mobile discounts so we can match the OTAs and are plans to distribute the New Booking Engine on metasearch platforms?

• Not currently, but this is a consideration on the roadmap.

Release Schedule

PLEASE NOTE: Timeline dates have been reviewed and updated on 23rd October 2025

 

The New Booking Engine Timeline

Below is a breakdown of all the capabilities of the existing booking engine, with details on if/when they’ll be available in the new booking engine.

We've added more detailed dates where possible - specifying month, rather than quarter. For some, we still need to confirm the technical approach before committing to a specific date. This page will be updated accordingly.

Overall Booking Engine Setup

Search Page & Search Related Capabilities

Booking Page

Extras Page

Separate URL links

We will maintain the current separate URL links with the existing experience

Guest Details & Payments Page

Payment Gateways 

Configuration Compatibility with the New Booking Engine

While most functionality remains the same, a small number of features are not included in the new Booking Engine. No action is required - this is provided for awareness only.

Online Options Settings

• Accent theme

  In the new Booking Engine, only one accent colour is supported. This colour is taken from the Call to Action setting in your Custom Colours configuration.

  Other colour options in your theme are still used across other platforms, but they do not apply to the Booking Engine.

• Auto Upgrade

  The Booking Engine does not support Auto Upgrade functionality.

• Map Upload/Link

  The Map Disclaimer setting is not currently implemented in the Booking Engine.

• Market Tracking

  The Cross Domain Tracking URL is a legacy field and has no effect on Google tracking.
  To enable cross-domain tracking, set it up in Google Tag Manager (GTM) instead.

• Notifications

  Send confirmation to the selected room type manager

  Redirect after stay complete

  Stay Request Confirmation (Facility & quote due to no availability)

• Page Settings

  Available Rate View

  Available Room Type View

  Rate View

  Rate Display

  Show sold as call

  Use availability calendar

  • This setting is standard for all properties and does not affect the Booking Engine.
    To show prices, properties should assign a Lead Rate Type.

Control Panel Settings

• Deposit Policy
• Sale