Creating Reservations
Learn how to create reservations from phone calls, the booking engine, and OTA channels, including guest preferences and rate selection.
Every hotel stay begins with a reservation. Whether a guest calls the front desk, books through your website, or reserves through an online travel agency, the result is the same: a reservation record in Veridien that holds all the information needed to deliver a great stay. This guide walks you through each method of creating reservations and explains the key concepts that underpin the process.
Key concepts
Before you create your first reservation, make sure you understand these four building blocks. They appear on every reservation screen and determine how the system calculates pricing, assigns rooms, and tracks where the booking came from.
Room Type is the category of accommodation the guest is booking, not a specific room number. Examples include Standard Double, Deluxe King, or Junior Suite. When you create a reservation, you select a room type. The system checks availability for that type and reserves one unit from the pool. A specific room number is assigned later, typically at check-in, which gives the front desk flexibility to manage the physical inventory.
Rate Plan is the pricing structure attached to the reservation. A rate plan defines the nightly price, what is included (such as breakfast or airport transfers), and the cancellation and payment terms. A single room type can have many rate plans. For example, a Deluxe King might be available under a Best Available Rate, a Corporate Rate, and a Non-Refundable Advance Purchase rate, each with a different price and set of conditions.
Booking Source identifies where the reservation originated. Booking sources are configured in your property's database and can be customised to match the channels you work with. Tracking the booking source helps your revenue team understand which channels drive the most business and at what cost.
Confirmation Number is the unique identifier the system generates when a reservation is saved. This number appears on the confirmation email sent to the guest and is used to look up the reservation throughout its lifecycle. Guests will quote this number when they call to modify their booking or when they arrive at the front desk.
Standard reservation procedure
Use this procedure when a guest contacts you directly by phone, email, or in person and you need to enter the reservation manually.
Open the reservation form
Navigate to Front Desk > Reservations > New Reservation. The reservation form opens with today's date pre-filled in the Check-in field and tomorrow's date in the Check-out field. Adjust these to match the guest's requested dates. The Nights counter updates automatically.
Select the room type
Choose the desired room type from the Room Type dropdown. The system displays the number of available units for the selected dates. If availability is zero, the dropdown label turns red and you will not be able to proceed until you select a different type or adjust the dates.
Choose a rate plan
The Rate Plan dropdown shows only the rate plans that are valid for the selected room type and date range. Select the appropriate plan. The Nightly Rate and Total fields update to reflect the pricing. If the rate plan includes package components such as breakfast, these appear in the Inclusions panel below.
Set the number of guests
Enter the number of Adults and Children. Some rate plans charge differently based on occupancy, so the total may adjust when you change these values. If the guest count exceeds the maximum occupancy for the room type, the system displays a warning.
Attach or create the guest profile
Start typing the guest's name in the Guest field. If the guest has stayed before, their profile appears in the autocomplete list. Select it to pull in their contact details, ID information, and any stored preferences. If this is a new guest, click New Guest and fill in at least the name, email, and phone number.
Select the booking source
Choose the appropriate value from the Booking Source dropdown. For a direct phone call, select Direct Phone. For an email enquiry, select Direct Email. This field is required and cannot be left blank.
Add special requests and notes
Use the Special Requests text area to record anything the guest has asked for: a high floor, extra pillows, a cot for an infant, or a late check-out preference. These notes are visible to the front desk at check-in and to housekeeping when they prepare the room.
Confirm and save
Review all fields in the Summary panel on the right side of the screen. Verify the dates, room type, rate, total cost, and guest name. Click Confirm Reservation. The system generates a confirmation number and, if the guest's email is on file, sends a confirmation email automatically.
Deposit collection
If the rate plan requires a deposit or full prepayment, a Payment dialog appears after you click Confirm Reservation. You can process a credit card payment immediately or mark the reservation as Deposit Pending and follow up later.
Booking engine reservations
When a guest books through your hotel's website, the reservation is created automatically in Veridien. The booking engine handles date selection, room type choice, rate plan selection, and payment collection on the guest side. Once the booking is completed, a reservation record appears in Front Desk > Reservations with the booking source set to Website.
You do not need to manually re-enter these reservations. However, you should review them periodically to ensure guest details are complete and to check for any special requests that the guest typed into the free-text field on the booking engine. Some guests write detailed arrival instructions or accessibility requirements that the front desk needs to know about.
OTA reservations via channel manager
Reservations from online travel agencies such as Booking.com, Expedia, and Agoda flow into Veridien through the Channel Manager integration. When a guest books on an OTA, the channel manager receives the reservation data and creates a corresponding record in Veridien. The booking source is set automatically to the name of the OTA.
OTA reservations are typically marked as prepaid or pay at hotel depending on the OTA's payment model. Prepaid reservations include a virtual credit card number that you can use to charge the booking amount. Pay-at-hotel reservations require payment collection at check-in or checkout.
Do not modify OTA rates
Changing the rate on an OTA reservation inside Veridien does not update the OTA. The guest was charged (or quoted) the original rate on the OTA's platform. If you need to adjust an OTA reservation, make the change on the OTA's extranet and let the channel manager sync the update into Veridien.
Entering guest preferences
Guest preferences make the difference between a good stay and a memorable one. Veridien stores preferences at the profile level, meaning they persist across reservations. When a returning guest books again, their preferences are already attached.
Common preferences include room location (high floor, near the lift, away from the lift), pillow type (firm, soft, hypoallergenic), minibar setup (pre-stocked, empty, alcohol-free), and dietary requirements for any included meals. You can enter these in the Preferences tab of the guest profile, or add one-time preferences in the Special Requests field on the reservation itself.
Make it a habit to ask about preferences during direct bookings. A simple "Do you have any preferences for your room?" can surface information that the guest might not think to volunteer.
Scenario: phone reservation with rate comparison
A guest calls and says they would like to book a Deluxe King room for three nights starting next Friday. They mention they saw a rate of $180 per night on a travel website but want to check if the hotel can offer a better deal for booking directly.
You open Front Desk > Reservations > New Reservation, enter the dates, and select Deluxe King. The Rate Plan dropdown shows three options:
- Best Available Rate: $190 per night, includes breakfast, fully refundable up to 24 hours before arrival.
- Advance Purchase: $165 per night, includes breakfast, non-refundable.
- Room Only: $170 per night, no breakfast, refundable up to 48 hours before arrival.
You explain the options to the guest. The Best Available Rate is $10 more than the OTA price but includes breakfast (which the OTA rate does not) and has a flexible cancellation policy. The Advance Purchase rate is $15 cheaper than the OTA and also includes breakfast, but it is non-refundable.
The guest opts for the Advance Purchase rate. You complete the reservation, collect the full prepayment, and confirm the booking. The guest receives a confirmation email with the details and the confirmation number.
Scenario: corporate booking with special requirements
An executive assistant calls to book a Junior Suite for their CEO, arriving Monday and departing Thursday. The company has a corporate agreement with the hotel. The assistant requests a quiet room on a high floor, a fruit basket on arrival, and an ironing board in the room.
You search for the guest profile by name and find the CEO's record from a previous stay. You attach the profile to the reservation. In the Rate Plan dropdown, you select the Corporate - Acme Inc. plan, which applies the negotiated corporate rate. You enter the special requests: high floor, quiet room, fruit basket, ironing board. Because the fruit basket is a chargeable amenity, you add it as a Pre-arrival Charge on the folio, which the assistant confirms should be billed to the company master account.
Common mistakes to avoid
Forgetting to check availability before quoting. Always enter the dates and room type before telling a guest what is available. Quoting a rate for a room type that is sold out creates a frustrating callback.
Leaving the booking source as the default. The booking source defaults to Direct Phone. If the enquiry came by email or through a travel agent, change it. Inaccurate source data undermines your revenue reporting.
Skipping the guest profile search. If you create a new profile for a returning guest, you end up with duplicates. Always search first, even if the guest says they have never stayed before. They may have made a booking that was later cancelled, and a profile already exists.