This article explains why reservations from connected Online Travel Agent (OTA) channels arrive in RMS without an Area assigned, how that affects availability and overbookings, and how to clear a backlog of unallocated reservations.

Why Channel Reservations Arrive Without an Area

Connected channels sell Category availability, not Area availability. Online Travel Agents, distributors and channel managers only see how many Areas are free in a Category. They don't select an individual Area such as "Room 101" or "Site 42". RMS decides which Area the reservation goes into, if any, when the booking arrives.

Two outcomes look the same at a glance, because both show a reservation with no Area. They mean different things and need different action.

Important! Quote Reservations do not deduct from availability. Until a Quote reservation is placed in an Area and changed to Unconfirmed or Confirmed, the nights it covers stay on sale across every connected channel, so the same dates can be sold twice.

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

Quick Checks

Run through these first. They identify the cause in most cases.

1. Check the Message Centre. An online reservation that could not be placed in an Area raises an alert to indicate action is required.
2. Check the reservation status. Unconfirmed or Confirmed with no Area is normal. Quote means RMS could not place the booking.
3. Check whether the Category is set to Book by Category in Setup > Category/Area.
4. Turn on Show Unallocated Reservation in Booking Chart Options so unallocated reservations display under the Areas of each Category.
5. Compare the Booking Chart against the Availability Chart for the affected dates. A mismatch usually points to unallocated reservations.

Possible Causes

Cause 1: The Category is set to Book by Category

This is the most common reason and it is not a fault. Book by Category allows a reservation to be created against a Category without allocating a specific Area at the time of booking. Category availability determines whether the reservation is accepted, and the Area is chosen at any point between reservation creation and arrival. Because every connected channel books against Category availability, a property using Book by Category receives channel reservations with no Area as a matter of course.

Fix: No fix is required, but an Area must be assigned before the reservation can be changed to Arrived at check-in. Work through Clear a Backlog of Unallocated Reservations below.

Cause 2: Category availability is spread across several Areas

The Category shows availability on every night of the stay, but no single Area is free for the whole stay. The channel only sees the Category total, so it sells the booking. RMS cannot place it in one Area and delivers it as a Quote reservation with an alert in the Message Centre.

For example, a three-night booking arrives for 2 to 4 January. The Category has one Area free on each of those nights, but the free night on 2 January is in Area 101 while the free nights on 3 and 4 January are in Area 102. The Category looks available for all three nights, and no single Area covers the full stay.

Fix:

1. Open the Booking Chart for the affected dates.
2. Move existing reservations between Areas to close the gaps, so one Area is free for consecutive nights.
3. Place the Quote reservation into the freed Area.
4. Change the reservation status from Quote to Unconfirmed or Confirmed so that availability is deducted.

Tip! Reallocating reservations on the Booking Chart regularly keeps Area availability aligned with Category availability and reduces how often Quote reservations are created. See Area Availability vs Category Availability.

Cause 3: No buffer is held back from online channels

Without a buffer, multiple channels may sell the last Area in a Category simultaneously, even when RMS has no single Area available for the entire stay.

Fix:

1. In the side menu of RMS, go to Setup > Online Bookings > Online Options > Category Setup.
2. Enter the number of Hold Back Areas for the Category.
3. Select Save/Exit.

Online availability then shows as less than the physical total, while the held back Area can still be sold in-house. See Hold back areas from the Booking Engine.

Cause 4: Channel mapping is set to No Update

Selecting No Update in Channel Mapping stops RMS sending rate and availability updates for that Category and Rate Type combination. The channel keeps selling against the inventory it last received, which produces bookings RMS cannot place.

Fix: Go to Setup > Online Bookings > Channel Management, select the affected connection, select Edit, and clear No Update on any Room/Rate Mapping row that should be receiving updates. If availability still does not reach the channel, follow Troubleshooting: Rates or Availability Not Updating on a Channel.

How Unallocated Reservations Affect Availability and Overbookings

The Booking Chart and the Availability Chart stop matching

The Booking Chart shows Area availability based on allocated reservations, while the Availability Chart uses Category availability. A reservation with no Area is not visible on the Booking Chart, so the Booking Chart can show more Areas free than the Availability Chart for the same date, and staff working from it can sell a night that is already committed. See Availability Discrepancies.

Quote reservations create genuine oversell risk

A Quote reservation does not deduct from availability, so its nights stay sellable on every connected channel until it is placed in an Area and its status is changed. Treat a Quote reservation from a channel as an unresolved booking, not as one that is safely held.

Overbooking protections depend on Book by Category

Do Not Overbook Property and Category Overbooking are only available when a Category is set up as Book by Category. If some Categories at the property are not using it, overbooking protection will not apply consistently across all of them.

Clear a Backlog of Unallocated Reservations

Step 1 - Find the unallocated reservations

Use any of the following to build the list:

• Select Options on the Booking Chart and enable Show Unallocated Reservation to display them under the Areas of each Category.
• Generate the Reservation List report for the date range and Category, then look for reservations with no Area assigned.
• Go to Reservations > In/Out Movements and look for No Area in the Area column.

Step 2 - Allocate individual reservations

An Area can be allocated directly on the reservation, on the Booking Chart, or on In/Out Movements. On In/Out Movements, set a Date Range and a View, select No Area in the Area column, choose an available Area, then select Save/Exit.

Step 3 - Resolve Quote reservations separately

Quote reservations are the priority in any backlog, because they are the only unallocated reservations that are not holding their inventory. For each one, free up an Area for the full stay as described in Cause 2, place the reservation in that Area, then change the status from Quote to Unconfirmed or Confirmed so that availability is deducted.

Important! An Area must be assigned before a reservation can be changed to Arrived at check-in. Clear unallocated reservations ahead of the arrival date rather than at the front desk.

When Troubleshooting Does Not Resolve the Problem

Contact RMS Support with the following details:

• The channel name and the Online Confirmation Number.
• The reservation number and its current status.
• The Category and the stay dates affected.
• Any alert shown in the Message Centre for the reservation.
• Whether the Category is set up as Book by Category.

Related Articles

• Book by Category
• Auto Area Allocation
• Availability Discrepancies
• Troubleshooting Overbookings
• Why am I getting quote reservations from the Booking Engine?

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