ThinkReservations currently supports two methods to adding and charging pets. Both options only allow you to add pets to rooms you specify, so they won't be able to add pets to a non-pet-friendly room. Method 1 is great for properties that charge a per pet, per night fee, while method 2 is great for those that charge a fee per stay.
Method 1: Room Type's Built-in Support for Pets
The first method is for use when you charge a per pet, per night fee. This option does not currently support a per pet, per stay. If you require a per pet, per stay fee, use Method 2. Method 1 is the default built-in pet functionality. Configuring this is done at the room level. Inside the settings page for a room or unit are several options to configure:
- Number of pets allowed
- Pet Fee (per pet, per night)
- Taxes for Pet Fees
- Revenue Account for Pet Fees
Set Up:
Configuration is very easy. Navigate to Settings > Rooms > then click on the pet-friendly room you wish to configure. Scroll to where you can indicate how many pets are allowed into this room type. Then a little below you can specify the pet fee to be charged, per pet, per night. You can choose which taxes should be applied to the pet fee, and which revenue account.
In the online ThinkReservations booking engine, guests can indicate how many pets they are bringing. Only room types you have configured to allow pets will have this option, and the guest can only specify multiple if your room type is configured for more than one pet.
Booking Engine Experience:
If the guest adds one or more pets to the room they book, the cart on the right ("Your Reservation") will show a line item for the pet fee.
The corresponding reservation bill in ThinkReservations will show the line item for the Pet, and also an indicator that there is in our example, 1 pet. Because we are using the built-in pet functionality, the number of pets also shows on the occupancy reports.
Method 2: Upsell Item Pet Fee
This method allows you to offer a per pet, per stay fee. This method uses an item that is then upsold to guests in the booking engine for room types you indicate are pet-friendly. Note we don't recommend using both methods simultaneously for the same room types. When using Method 2, all rooms (even pet-friendly rooms) should say the number of pets allowed in the room is 0. This prevents guests from getting confused on the pricing or having to indicate twice they are bringing pets.
Set up:
Configuration is very easy. Navigate to Settings > Items. If you don't already have a Pet Fee or similar item, use the New button on the top right to create a new one. Give your item an appropriate name, description, and price. Check the boxes for any taxes that might apply. Then check the box to "Upsell to Customer who are making a reservation online".
The UPSELL POLICY allows you to specify which rooms are pet-friendly and how many pets can be added.
Because this is an upsell item, it allows you a bit more control to specify your own name for the pet fee, a description with support for bold and italics, and a photo.
Booking Engine Experience:
After the guest chooses an eligible room type that you've indicated with the Upsell Policy, the guest will be presented with the Pet Fee option. Here is what our sample item looks like on the booking engine.
The reservation bill will show the line item for the pet fee, but the number of pets will stay zero as this is only for use with Method 1.
If you have any questions, please submit a ticket or reach out to support!