1. Provisional v Confirmed Bookings - what's the difference?

All 'Bookings' made using our service are provisional - this means that you choose whether or not to accept the booking which you confirm or decline with your visitor.

2. Could a booking go missing?

No. As soon as the visitor presses the 'Book Accommodation now' button, the booking will be recorded in the system. At the same time the messaging (emails, sms, fax) are sent. As ever, there can be no guarantee that these messages will be delivered. For this reason we recommend to set up a back up alert such as a sms text or fax in case the email does not get delivered.

Please note that as the booking emails are systems generated, some email spam filters may not let them through. This is especially the case for Hotmail users.

You can check for the latest bookings by clicking on 'Bookings' on your admin page.

3. Adding a Booking - tell me more.

You have 3 different ways to add a weekly booking:

1) simplest - At Main admin page click on 'weekly rates and availability' and tick the week to make it unavailable.
2) At Main admin page click on 'Add Booking' and enter some details. (This way will enable you to manage visitors bookings).
3) book as if you are the visitor at your web site.

4. Week is not showing as available - please help.

Check to make sure that the week has not been blocked off at 'Main page/Weekly Rates and Availability'. Also check on the above page that the weekly price is entered. Please note that when making a week unavailable the price and price band colour will be lost. (The above procedure enables availability search listings to be correct.)

5. I'm going on holiday - what should I do?

Visitors booking appreciate a speedy confirmation. When on holiday you can continue to confirm bookings by using a local internet connection. This is helped when you receive booking alerts by sms.

Alternatively a friend could help out. To do this, on your admin page under 'Edit Your Personal Details' set the Email address to theirs. They will then get your booking emails ready for confirmation. Please remember that until you change the email address on your admin page back to yours, you will need to use their email address to log on to your admin page.

6. When should I activate next years weeks?

This is entirely up to you. Until this is done, next years availability calendar will show the weeks as 'unavailable'. As you only pay once for a yearly calendar, you can only benefit by activating next years weeks early on. Once activated, you will need to update the prices and on the same page 'unblock' the weeks by clicking on the tick to remove it.

7. Short Breaks - how do I set this up?

First select 'Weekly Rates and Availability' and tick the weeks (left hand column) for which you are happy to take Short Break bookings.

Then click on Advanced Options and select and adapt the following:

• Short Break Policy - This text is written as if the visitor is reading it and will appear on the availability page.
• Daily Rates % (Short Break) OR Fixed Rates (Short Break) and add your rates/prices accordingly.

8. Advanced Options - is this difficult to use?

No. We would encourage you to 'click around' and follow the links to improve the settings of your availability and booking pages.

9. Marketing - can you tell me some more.

Through using the just Booking assistant, your available weeks can be automatically advertised on availability search listings (such as at www.holiday-cottages.co.uk ). To get the most of this, make sure that your 'Area & Property Description' (see 'Edit Property / Unit Details' page) 'sells' that accommodation. Try to answer the questions 'Why stay here? What makes it special?' To further 'sell' the weeks, add appropriate comments in the comments column on the 'Weekly Rates and Availability' page. Try to answer the questions 'why stay this week? What is there to see and do?' This information is displayed on the availability search listings.

10. Multiple Properties or Units - any quick way of administering these?

Not really, as each property or unit is unique, each one tends to need a different setting. You will find a useful availability overview link which can be added to your web site on the Advanced Options page; select 'Check Availability URLS' and choose the one which suits you.

11. Management of Bookings

The just Booking assistant also gives you the ability to manage your bookings electronically. While this may not replace a paper based back up, it will allow you to have ready access to your booking details from any online computer (such as when you are away from the office). It will also allow you to search quickly for information such as information on a visitors previous stays.

12. How safe is my data?

We do daily backups of data which is given to no third party.