Expedia Hotel Collect, Expedia Collect and Package rate plans

Expedia sells the same room under three different rate plan types, and which one a booking arrives on determines who collects payment from the guest, what rate amount lands in RMS, and how commission must be set up.

Hotel Collect, Expedia Collect and Package are the three payment models Expedia uses to sell a property's rooms. Every Expedia rate plan uses one of them. The model is set on Expedia's side and travels with the booking. It is not something configured in RMS, but it changes what RMS needs to do with the reservation when it arrives.

Understanding which model each of your Expedia rate plans uses matters for two reasons. It determines whether the rate amount delivered to RMS is the full amount the guest paid or the amount after Expedia's commission, and it determines the Collect Type your commission setup needs. Setting the wrong Collect Type is the most common cause of Expedia guests being charged the wrong amount.

The sections below explain the three models, how to identify which one a rate plan uses, how to map each type in Channel Management, and how to configure commission correctly for each. For the data exchanged between Expedia and RMS, see Expedia: Channel Information.

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.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure the following are in place:

A connected Expedia channel under Setup > Online Bookings > Channel Management.
Access to the Expedia extranet at Expedia Partner Central, so you can export your rate plan list.
User permission to edit Channel Management, typically a System Administrator Security Profile.
A Sundry Charge created to record channel commission, if you are setting up commission for the first time.
At least one Rate Type using the OTA Rate Structure. Only Rate Types built on the OTA Rate Structure can be mapped to a channel.

The Three Rate Plan Types

Each Expedia rate plan uses one payment model. A property can run all three at the same time on the same room.

Hotel Collect

The guest pays the property directly. Expedia sends the reservation with the Gross Rate, also known as the sell or retail rate, which is the full amount the guest agreed to pay. The property charges the guest in full, and Expedia invoices the property for commission separately.

Hotel Collect rate plans are the ones RMS sends rates and availability to.

Expedia Collect

The guest pays Expedia at the time of booking. Expedia then pays the property, usually by virtual credit card. Under the original standard, the reservation arrives in RMS with the Net Rate and the Total Rate amount is overridden to reflect what Expedia will pay the property after its commission. See the New Expedia Collect Standard section below for how this is changing.

Expedia Collect rate plans normally have No Update selected in RMS because their pricing and availability are derived from a parent rate plan inside the Expedia extranet.

Package

Package rate plans are the rates Expedia uses to sell the room as part of a bundle, for example accommodation combined with a flight. The traveller pays Expedia for the whole package, so RMS treats a Package booking the same way as an Expedia Collect booking: the reservation notes carry "Payment Taken by Expedia" and the deposit is set to the rate. Like Expedia Collect, Package rate plans are normally derived from a parent rate plan in the Expedia extranet and have No Update selected in RMS.

In markets on Expedia's updated Expedia Collect model, which include Australia and New Zealand, a Package booking arrives in RMS at the full room amount the traveller paid, exactly as other Expedia Collect bookings do. In other markets it arrives at the net amount. Use Collect Type Agent for the Rate Type a Package rate plan maps to, because Expedia has collected the payment.

The package discount is part of the package rate plan on Expedia's side. Expedia derives the package rate from the parent rate plan and applies the discount before the booking is created, so the amount RMS receives is already the discounted package rate, and any RMS commission is calculated on that amount. Nothing in the RMS commission setup represents the package discount itself.

Comparison

Behaviour	Hotel Collect	Expedia Collect	Package
Who collects payment from the guest	The property	Expedia	Expedia
Rate amount delivered to RMS	Gross Rate	Full (sell) amount under updated Expedia Collect; Net Rate under the original model	Same as Expedia Collect
How the property is paid	Guest pays at the property	Expedia remits, usually by virtual credit card	Expedia remits
How commission is settled	Expedia invoices the property	Deducted from the virtual card (net remittance) or invoiced by Expedia (gross remittance)	Same as Expedia Collect
Collect Type in RMS	Property	Agent	Agent
Expedia Rate Plan Code ends with	A	A number	Shown as (Package) in the RMS mapping list
RMS sends rates and availability	Yes	Normally No Update	Normally No Update

How to Identify Which Model a Rate Plan Uses

The payment model is carried by the Expedia Rate Plan Code attached to the booking. It is not set by how the rate is mapped in RMS, so a rate plan mapped to a Rate Type you think of as Hotel Collect can still deliver Expedia Collect bookings if that is what its rate plan code says.

To list your rate plans and their codes:

In Expedia Partner Central, select Rooms and Rates, then Room types and rate plans.
Select Export CSV.
Open the exported spreadsheet and read Column N, Expedia Rate Plan Code. A code ending in the letter A is Hotel Collect. A code ending in a number is Expedia Collect.

The same spreadsheet tells you which rate plans RMS should be sending rates to. A rate plan needs updates from RMS when all three of the following are true:

Column	Field	Required value
M	Rate Plan Status	Active
P	Interface Rate	Yes
S	Parent Rate Plan	Empty

Every other rate plan should have No Update selected in the RMS mapping grid.

Tip! If you are unsure which model a specific booking used, the Expedia Rate Plan Code on the booking is the authoritative answer. Expedia also sends payment instructions with every booking, and RMS copies them into the OTA Notes on the reservation, so the notes state whether payment was taken by Expedia and how the property is remitted. Contact Expedia at hothelp@expedia.com if you cannot locate it.

The New Expedia Collect Standard (Updated Expedia Collect)

Expedia has introduced a new standard for Expedia Collect reservations, which Expedia calls updated Expedia Collect. It replaces the net rate in the booking data with the full reservation amount the traveller paid, whatever remittance type the property is on. Expedia's connectivity documentation lists the markets where it is live; the list includes Australia and New Zealand, along with much of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, and Expedia adds markets over time. The United Kingdom, the United States and Canada were not on the list at the time of writing.

Behaviour	Original standard	New Expedia Collect Standard
Total amount on the Expedia reservation	Net	Sell
Total amount on the reservation in RMS	Net	Sell
Funds available to charge on the virtual card	Net	Depends on your remittance type with Expedia: the full amount under gross remittance, the net amount under net remittance
Expedia commission	Already held by Expedia	Invoiced periodically under gross remittance; deducted from the virtual card under net remittance

Important! Which standard and remittance type your property is on is set by Expedia and is not a setting in RMS. The payment instructions Expedia sends with each booking, copied into the OTA Notes on the reservation, state how that booking is remitted. If Expedia bookings are arriving at an amount you do not expect, confirm your standard with Expedia before changing any RMS setup.

Mapping

Mapping is completed at Setup > Online Bookings > Channel Management. Change Channel Connection Status from Connected to All, then double-click Expedia to open the channel setup screen.

Connection Information

In the Connection Information section, set Ref No to your Expedia Hotel ID.

Set the Pricing Model to match the model configured on the Expedia extranet. The available options are Occupancy-Based Pricing, Per Day Pricing, and Full Pattern Length of Stay. See Channel Pricing Models for what each model does.

Important! The Pricing Model in RMS and the pricing model on the Expedia extranet must match. A mismatch produces error 3090 in the channel logs and causes rate amounts to arrive incorrectly.

If you are set up for Occupancy-Based Pricing, the maximum occupancy configured in RMS must also match the occupancy configured on the extranet. A mismatch here returns errors and causes availability, rate, and inventory differences between the two systems.

Mapping every rate plan

All Expedia rate plans must be mapped, whether they are Hotel Collect, Expedia Collect, or Package. This is required for reservation delivery. Rate plans RMS should not send rates to are still mapped, with No Update selected against the row.

Each row in the mapping grid pairs one of Expedia's room and rate combinations, shown in the Retail Web Site Category column, with an RMS Category and Rate Type.

Important! Do not remove a mapping row to stop rates being sent. No Update stops RMS sending rates and availability, but reservations still arrive on the mapped Category and Rate Type. With no mapping row at all, a reservation for that rate plan is placed on the channel's default room type if one is set, or it fails and RMS emails the property.

What No Update does, and what it does not do

No Update stops RMS sending rates and availability for that row. It does not cause the rate plan to take its price from another rate plan.

RMS can also tick No Update for you. If Expedia rejects a rate update for a rate plan because its rate acquisition type does not accept the rate RMS sends (error 3142 in the channel Log), RMS ticks No Update on that mapping row and raises an "Expedia - Critical Configuration Issues" alert in the Message Centre listing the rows it changed. Check the rate plan against the export before unticking it.

Rate plan derivation is configured on Expedia's side. When Expedia has linked a child rate plan to a parent rate plan, Expedia calculates the child's rate from that link, and RMS only needs to update the parent. That is why Expedia Collect and Package rate plans work correctly with No Update selected: Expedia is deriving them from the Hotel Collect rate plan.

Important! A rate plan that Expedia has not linked to a parent will show no rates at all if you select No Update in RMS, because nothing is sending it a price. If you add a new rate plan and it shows no rates on Expedia, check Column S, Parent Rate Plan, in the extranet export before changing the RMS mapping.

One row per Category and Rate Type

Only one row per Category, Rate Type, and Area combination may send updates. Because a Rate Type carries only one Collect Type, running Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect on the same room needs two separate Rate Types.

If you map both to the same Rate Type, RMS will not save the mapping and will show a message telling you the combination must be unique. A Derived Rate Type is the quickest way to create the second Rate Type, provided it is derived from a Rate Type that already uses the OTA Rate Structure.

Refreshing the mapping

The mapping screen loads the most recently saved mapping data rather than calling Expedia every time it is opened. Select Refresh to pull the current room and rate combinations from Expedia.

Please Note! If mapping is incomplete when you refresh, RMS removes the incomplete mapping unless No Update is selected against the row.

Multiple Expedia accounts

A property can configure more than one Expedia account while mapping by Property. Use the Account Label field to give each account a unique, descriptive name. The Account Label is used only inside RMS and is not sent to Expedia.

Please Note! An Expedia Hotel ID is assigned to a single Property and cannot be shared across multiple Properties or Expedia accounts. The one row per Category and Rate Type rule applies across all accounts on the channel, so a row sending updates on one account clashes with the same Category and Rate Type sending on another.

Commission Setup

Commission for Expedia is configured against the channel itself, not against a Travel Agent record. Use Channel Agent Commission Setup on a Channel Management Connection for the full procedure. The Travel Agent commission setup article covers agents added manually under Setup > Travel Agent, which is a different screen for a different purpose.

The commission grid is at Setup > Online Bookings > Channel Management > Expedia > Edit > Connection Information > Travel Agent Information > Agent Commission Setup.

Please Note! If you reach Expedia through another channel manager such as SiteMinder rather than through a direct Expedia connection, the payment model still applies. An Expedia Collect booking delivered through SiteMinder still needs a Collect Type of Agent.

Please Note! RMS applies one commission rule to a reservation, in this order: a commission entered manually on the reservation itself, otherwise the channel's Agent Commission Setup row for the property (or property group, or the Default row) and the reservation's Rate Type, otherwise the commission held on the Travel Agent record. Commission set on both the channel and the Travel Agent record is therefore not deducted twice. Editing the Default row changes the commission for every property on the channel, so add a property-specific row when only one property should change.

Choosing the Collect Type

Collect Type is set per Rate Type on the Agent Commission Setup grid, and it is the setting that tells RMS who has already taken the guest's money.

Collect Type	Use for	What RMS does to the reservation account
Property	Hotel Collect rate plans	Leaves the guest owing the full rate. The commission is recorded so it can be reconciled against the invoice Expedia sends you later.
Agent	Expedia Collect rate plans	Records the commission as a credit, so the account reflects the amount Expedia will remit to the property rather than the amount the guest paid.

Important! A Rate Type carries one Collect Type only. If a room is sold under both Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect rate plans, each needs its own Rate Type with its own Collect Type.

Completing the commission row

In the Agent Commission Setup grid, choose Add.
Select the Property the commission applies to.
Choose the Type of commission: Commission %, Daily Amount, or Total Amount. A new row defaults to No Commission, which calculates nothing.
Select the Sundry charge the commission will be recorded against on the reservation account.
For each Rate Type, set the Collect Type, then enter the Commission value, an optional No Greater Than cap, and a NET Booking Multiplier if you use one.
Choose Save/Exit.

Tip! Use a Sundry Charge created specifically for channel commission, for example "Channel Commission", so it can be reported on separately and reconciled against your Expedia statements.

The NET Booking Multiplier

Use the NET Booking Multiplier when Expedia sends the Net Rate and the Gross Rate needs to be calculated in RMS. See OTA Commission with a NET Multiplier and Net Multiplier Examples for worked examples.

Common Setup Mistakes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Commission is credited off a Hotel Collect guest's account, so the guest is undercharged	The Collect Type on that Rate Type is set to Agent	Add a commission row for the Hotel Collect Rate Type with Collect Type set to Property, then void or reverse the incorrect commission credits already posted
Expedia bookings arrive at less than your rate, for example 85.00 against a rate of 100.00	Expedia is sending the Net Rate and no commission is configured in RMS to account for the difference	Either align the Pricing Model so the Gross Rate is sent, coordinating the change with Expedia, or configure commission so RMS recognises the deduction
No commission calculates at all	The Type field is still No Commission, or the Commission value is 0.00	Set the Type and enter a Commission value against every mapped Rate Type
A new rate plan shows no rates on Expedia	No Update is selected in RMS and Expedia has not linked the rate plan to a parent rate plan	Check Column S of the extranet export. If Parent Rate Plan is empty, the rate plan needs updates from RMS, so clear No Update and map it to its own Rate Type
No Update has become ticked on a row you did not tick, and a Critical Configuration Issues alert has arrived in the Message Centre	Expedia rejected the rate RMS sent for that rate plan with error 3142, because the rate plan's rate acquisition type does not accept it, and RMS ticked No Update itself	Check the rate plan in the export. If it should not receive updates, leave No Update ticked. If it should, ask your Expedia market manager to change its rate acquisition type, then untick No Update and run a Manual OTA Resync
Commission appears to be deducted twice on an Expedia Collect booking, leaving a credit balance on the account	The booking arrived at the net amount, with Expedia's commission already withheld, and RMS also posted commission because the Rate Type fell back to a Default commission row	Add a property-specific commission row and set the Collect Type for the Expedia Collect Rate Type to Agent, then reverse the duplicate commission posting. Under updated Expedia Collect, leave the booking at the sell rate and let the commission calculate instead
Accommodation revenue on the History & Forecast report and the other Operational Revenue reports is lower than the sell rate for Expedia Collect bookings	The bookings arrived at the net rate, or were manually reduced to it, so the accommodation charges posted at the net amount	For net-rate bookings, use the NET Booking Multiplier so the reservation holds the sell value and commission is recorded separately. Under updated Expedia Collect, leave the booking at the sell rate
RMS will not save the mapping and reports that the combination must be unique	Two rows send updates for the same Category and Rate Type	Select No Update on one row, or create a second Rate Type and map the second row to it

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I tell whether a booking was Hotel Collect, Expedia Collect, or Package?

Check the Expedia Rate Plan Code on the booking. A code ending in the letter A is Hotel Collect, and a code ending in a number is Expedia Collect. The rate plan code is the authoritative source, not the RMS mapping.

Do I need to map Expedia Collect and Package rate plans if RMS does not send rates to them?

Yes. All rate plans must be mapped so reservations can be delivered to the correct Category and Rate Type. Map them and select No Update against the row.

Why has commission been credited off a Hotel Collect guest's account?

The Collect Type for that Rate Type is set to Agent, which tells RMS that Expedia has already collected payment. Hotel Collect rate plans need Collect Type set to Property so the guest is charged in full.

Why is there no CVV in RMS Vault for an Expedia Collect booking?

CVV information is not provided to RMS with Expedia Collect reservations. To obtain it, refer to the Expedia confirmation email.

Expedia told me my business model has changed. What do I need to do in RMS?

Expedia supplies a mapping file with the new room type and rate plan IDs. The Expedia channel mapping in RMS needs to be updated to match, the Pricing Model needs to be confirmed against the extranet, and a full rate and availability refresh needs to be sent. Contact the RMS Support team with the file.

Why are my Expedia Collect bookings now arriving at the full amount instead of the net amount?

Your market has moved to Expedia's updated Expedia Collect model, which sends the full amount the traveller paid. Leave the booking at that rate and let the channel commission calculate; the payment instructions in the OTA Notes on the reservation state how Expedia remits the money. See The New Expedia Collect Standard above.

Why did inventory reopen on Expedia after a cancellation?

Expedia reopens inventory for a category automatically once it processes a cancellation. The feature is called Auto Replenishment, it is managed by Expedia, and it cannot be deactivated by RMS. Expedia calculates available inventory outside the updates RMS provides, so contact your Expedia market manager for any enquiries about it. See Expedia: Channel Information for how Auto Replenishment interacts with Oversell Allotments.

My rates are not reaching Expedia. What should I check?

Confirm the Pricing Model matches the extranet, confirm the rate plan is not set to No Update in error, and confirm your rates are loaded far enough ahead in Rate Manager. See Troubleshooting: Rates or Availability Not Updating on a Channel.

Related to:

How can we help?