Overview

Gift Cards let a property sell digital gift vouchers online, which guests can then put towards a future stay. A guest buys a Gift Card through your website or Guest Portal, gets it by email, and contacts you directly when they're ready to book; you apply the value to their reservation on their behalf.

Gift Cards are a popular way to bring in revenue outside your usual booking channels for birthdays, holidays, or anyone who wants to give the gift of a stay without picking exact dates. They can be sold for one property, or across your whole enterprise so guests can use them at any of your properties.

How It Works

1. A guest buys a Gift Card on your website. They choose an amount (or a preset value you've configured) and pay by card.
2. RMS emails the Gift Card to the recipient, with its value and expiry date.
3. When the recipient is ready to book, they contact your property directly - Gift Cards can't be redeemed online.
4. Your team looks up the Gift Card in RMS and applies its value to their reservation.

Important! Gift Cards can still be purchased through the link and used onsite at the property, but they cannot currently be redeemed through the Booking Engine itself.

A Few Things to Know Upfront

• Gift Cards are digital only; there's no physical card to send out.
• Guests can't buy a Gift Card by phone. If someone calls wanting one, point them to your website.
• Payment is only accepted through RMS Pay or Windcave.

Please Note! RMS is highly configurable. Some Terminology, User Access & Permissions, Images, Labels, and Functions used in these articles may differ from your setup.

Setup & Configuration

There are two parts to setting up Gift Cards: getting the Gift Card Portal ready to sell them, and deciding what should happen once a Gift Card's credit expires. It's worth doing both together, so nothing gets missed.

Before You Begin

Make sure you have the following ready:

• A Payment Gateway - RMS Pay or Windcave. No other gateway works with the Gift Card Portal.
• If your RMS Booking Engine is already set-up the Gift Card Portal uses the same Photos and Colours, so it looks best if this is done first.
• Setup a Form Letter that includes the merge field <<GiftCard_Table>>.
• Gift Card Portal Access enabled on your Security Profile, see the table below:

Tip! Once you've updated a Security Profile, log out of RMS and log back in to see the changes take effect.

Setting Up the Gift Card Portal

This is where you switch Gift Cards on and decide how they'll look and work for your guests.

In the side menu of RMS, go to Setup > Portal Access > Gift Cards.

1. Select General Options tab
2. Select Enable Gift Card Sale.
3. (Optional) Select Expose option for Gift Cards on the IBE if you'd like guests to also be able to buy a Gift Card through the Guest Portal.
4. (Optional) Select Allow a message to be added for the recipient, so the person buying the Gift Card can add a personal note.
5. Enter your Gift Card Amounts - up to four preset values - and choose which one shows as the Default.
6. (Optional) Select Enable Custom Amount Option if you'd like guests to enter their own amount, and set a Minimum value.
7. Select and enter the Gift Card Expiry Period (in days, weeks, or years). This only applies to Gift Cards bought from this point forward - it won't change the expiry on any Gift Card already sold.
8. Enter your Payment Confirmation Text, shown to the guest once payment goes through.
9. Select the Form Letter to use as the Gift Card itself - it needs to include the merge field <<GiftCard_Table>> so the Gift Card details populate correctly.
10. Select the Copy URL icon to get the link you'll use to sell Gift Cards from your website.
11. Select Save.
    
     

Optional Extras

Add a Banner Image

1. Navigate to the 'Banner Image' tab.
2. Select 'Add'.
3. Select an Image and choose 'Open'.
4. Select 'Save'.
   

Tip! For an optimal display, we recommend the image to be 170px in height and 1200px in width.

Add Terms & Conditions

1. Navigate to the 'Terms & Conditions' tab.
2. Enter the Gift Card Terms & Conditions.
3. Select Save/Exit.
   
    

Gift Card Expiry

A Gift Card doesn't stop working just because it's passed its expiry date. The credit stays on the guest's account and remains redeemable until you decide otherwise. If you'd rather RMS closed it out automatically once it expires, turn on Client Credit. From there, you can set:

• How many days after the credit is issued it should be treated as expired (Credit Expire After).
• Which Sundry Charge RMS should use to close it out it needs to be a standard Sundry Charge, not a Credit Note.
• Whether the credit belongs to just this property, or your whole enterprise (Account to Apply Credit).

Please Note! If you skip this setting, an expired Gift Card's credit doesn't get closed out automatically it just stays on the guest's account, still redeemable, until someone closes it out manually.

Credit Expiry Options - Setup

In the side menu of RMS, go to Setup > Accounting > Accounting Options

1. Select Account Defaults.
2. Transfer Credit to Primary Guest Account when Credit Exists on Res Depart
   When turned on, any credit balance remaining on a reservation account is automatically transferred to the guest's account when the reservation departs.
3. Credit Expire After [ ] Days
   How many days after the credit is created before RMS treats it as expired.
4. Sundry Charge 
   The Sundry Charge RMS posts to the Guest Account to close out the credit once it reaches its expiry date. It must be a standard Sundry Charge, not a Credit Note.
5. Account to Apply Credit
   Decides which properties can use the credit:
   1. Property account
      Only the property where the credit was created can access it.
   2. Enterprise account
      Any property in the enterprise can access it.

Please Note! The Credit Expiry can be manually updated on the Guest Account by users with Security Profile access.

Please Note! Gift Card credits use this same Credit Expiry mechanism, but a Gift Card's expiry date itself cannot be manually updated, unlike other Guest Account credits. See Gift Card Expiry Dates for how to extend an individual guest's access.

Redeeming a Gift Card

Redemption is always a manual process, completed by a User within RMS - the recipient cannot redeem a Gift Card online. They must contact the property to make a booking.

How to Redeem

When a Gift Card holder contacts the property, confirm the Gift Card details they provide (such as the Gift Card number, recipient name, or email).

In the side menu of RMS, go to Accounting > Gift Cards.

1. Select the Date Range of purchase.
2. Select the Search Filter.
3. Enter the text to Search.
4. Click Search.
   
    
5. Select the required Gift Card record.
6. Select Add Reservation.
   
    
7. Enter the required Guest Details.
8. Complete the Reservation Details.
9. Select Save.
   
    
10. Click the Guest Account icon.
    
     
11. Select Transfer.
12. Select Balance Transfer.
    
     
13. Select or enter the Destination Account.
14. Enter the Amount to Transfer.
15. Select the Destination Account.
16. Select Transfer.
    

The entered amount is transferred to the selected account, ready to be applied against the reservation's charges.

Reporting

Two reports and one screen cover Gift Cards. Use the right one for what you need; none of them shows everything.

Gift Card Search Screen

Accounting > Gift Cards is the only screen that shows an individual Gift Card's expiry date, and the only place to filter by Active or Expired status. Select Print on a search result for a PDF copy.

Gift Card Report

This report exports to CSV only; there's no on-screen table view. 

For more information on this report, including the full column list and navigation steps, see Gift Card Report.

Guest Credits Expiry Report

This report shows any Guest Account credit including Gift Card credits approaching or past its expiry date. It only returns results if Client Credit is configured (see the Setup tab above), and it exports to CSV only there's no on-screen table view. 

For more information on this report, including the full column list and navigation steps, see Guest Credits Expiry Report.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Gift Card's expiry date be extended?

Not by editing the date itself. The stored expiry date on an already-issued Gift Card cannot be changed. However, a property can give an individual guest continued access to the credit by managing the Sundry Charge that closes it out. See Gift Card Expiry Dates for the full explanation.

Can I extend the expiry on all my existing Gift Cards at once?

No. Extending expiry across a batch of already-issued Gift Cards is not available.

What happens if a guest tries to use a Gift Card after it has expired?

If Client Credit is configured, RMS closes out the credit automatically via a Sundry Charge once it expires. If Client Credit is not configured, nothing happens automatically. The credit stays on the Guest Account and remains redeemable until a User manually closes it out.

Can a guest buy a Gift Card by calling the property?

No. A property cannot create a Gift Card directly inside RMS. Redirect the guest to the property's website or Guest Portal to purchase it online.

Can Gift Cards be redeemed online by the recipient?

No. The recipient must contact the property to make a booking. A User then redeems the Gift Card manually within RMS.

Which payment gateways support Gift Card sales?

Only RMS Pay or Windcave. No other gateway is compatible with the Gift Card Portal.

Where can I see every Gift Card that has been sold?

Accounting > Gift Cards. This is also the only screen that shows expiry dates and lets you filter by Active or Expired status.