Allocation v Indicated Availability

Each business needs to decide whether to use allocated or indicated availability for its rooms or units.

When you are updating, if you mark your rooms or units as allocated then confirmed bookings can be made online and by TICs or contact centres for those rooms or units. However, if you wish to make a booking to an allocated room or unit, you MUST first close the allocation before booking - just in case a customer is trying to book it at the same time that you are!

Customers can make confirmed booking against the allocated rooms, but only a request booking can be made against a room set with indicated availability. Those bookings are only provisional and must be directly confirmed to the customer, via email or telephone, by the establishment.

Some establishments choose allocation for all their rooms or units, others choose to sell some as allocation and some as indicated. Some providers just choose to use allocation while they are away on holiday themselves, so that future bookings can continue to be made in their absence.