If some bookings can go in either of two room types, set up a virtual room with dependencies so Beds24 places them in whichever type is available. For example, doubles that can be sold as twins, or singles that can go in a double when no single is left.
Warning: Test your dependencies thoroughly. Connecting one physical room more than once to a booking channel risks overbookings. See How to setup Room Linking and Dependencies.
Table of Contents
- Example 1: Doubles that can be sold as twins
- Example 2: Singles placed in doubles when singles are sold out
- Example 3: Twins sold as twins, singles or doubles
- Example 4: Triple sold as a double when the doubles are sold
- Example 5: One villa in two properties
In every example, create the rooms in Settings > Properties > Rooms, set them up in Settings > Properties > Rooms > Setup (use the context help (?) for further setup instructions) and set the dependencies in Settings > Properties > Rooms > Dependencies.
Example 1: Doubles that can be sold as twins
A hotel has double rooms that can be sold as twins. This works for any room types where one can be used as the other.
Step 1: Create the real room
Name the room "Double", set Quantity = the number of rooms and Overbooking Protection = Property.
Step 2: Create the virtual room
Name the room "Twin", set Quantity = the same quantity as the Double room, and give all other settings the same characteristics as the real room.
Step 3: Set the dependencies
| Setting | Double (real room) | Twin (virtual room) |
|---|---|---|
| Requires Availability in | Leave blank | Leave blank |
| Combination Logic | Sum of all bookings | Sum of all bookings |
| Dependency Level | Ignore Sub Dependencies | Ignore Sub Dependencies |
| Assign Bookings to | This Room | This Room |
| Include Bookings from | Twin | Double |
Note: Include Bookings from mirrors the bookings of the real room into the virtual room. The unit allocation within the units of the virtual room doesn't work in this case. See Booking copies.
Example 2: Singles placed in doubles when singles are sold out
A hotel has double rooms and single rooms. Single guests can be placed in a double room if no single room is available. This works for any room types where one can be used as the other but not the other way round: a single booking can go in a double room, but a double booking can't go in a single room.
Step 1: Create the real rooms
- Double: set Quantity = the number of rooms and Overbooking Protection = Property.
- Single: set Quantity = the number of rooms and hide it from the booking page with Sell Priority = Hide.
Note: If you hide rooms, adjust the overbooking protection in Settings > Properties > Rooms > Setup. The context help next to the setting has the instructions.
Step 2: Create the virtual room
Create a Singles room. Set Quantity = the maximum number of singles you can theoretically sell, which is the quantity of doubles plus the quantity of singles. Set Overbooking Protection = Property.
Step 3: Set the dependencies
For the virtual Singles room:
- Requires Availability in = first the Single, second the Double.
- Assign Bookings to = First Available Dependency Room.
Note: If you add bookings manually, place single bookings in the Single or Double room as appropriate, not in the virtual room.
Example 3: Twins sold as twins, singles or doubles
A B&B has five twin rooms that can be sold as twins, singles or doubles.
- Create a Twin room with Quantity = 5.
- Create a virtual Double room with Quantity = 5.
- Create a virtual Single room with Quantity = 5.
- Set the dependencies:
| Setting | Single | Double | Twin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requires Availability in | Twin | Twin | Default |
| Combination Logic | Sum of all bookings | Sum of all bookings | Default |
| Dependency Level | Ignore Sub Dependencies | Ignore Sub Dependencies | Ignore Sub Dependencies |
| Assign Bookings to | This Room | This Room | Default |
| Include Bookings from | Default | Default | Single, Double |
Example 4: Triple sold as a double when the doubles are sold
A hotel has three double rooms and one triple room that can also be sold as a double if all other doubles are sold.
- Create a Double room with Quantity = 3 and Sell Priority = Hide.
- Create a virtual Double room with Quantity = 4.
- Create a Triple room with Quantity = 1.
- For the virtual Double, set:
- Requires Availability in = 1. Double, 2. Triple.
- Combination Logic = Sum of all bookings.
- Assign Bookings to = First Available Dependency Room.
Example 5: One villa in two properties
A villa is set up in two different properties. One offers the villa as accommodation only (room name "villa only"), the other as part of a package (room name "package"). As it's the same villa, a booking for "package" makes "villa only" unavailable and the other way round.
For the room "package", set:
- Requires Availability in = villa only.
- Assign Bookings to = This Room.
- Assign a Copy Booking to = villa only.
Leave all other settings at the defaults. To link rooms in different properties, see Link rooms across properties and accounts.