Add a New Room Type – Seekom

Your Room Types are what your customer's choose from when making a booking.

You can have multiple Room Types in iBex and, if a PMS user, you assign your individual units to the Room Type(s) you wish to sell it as.

-PMS users can also set up Virtual Room Types where the same unit can be sold as multiple room types concurrently.

Example 1 - units 1 and 2 are both Standard rooms but have an interconnecting door so can be sold together as a Family room.

Example 2 - unit 3 has a spa bath and walk in shower and can be sold concurrently as a Spa Bath Suite, A Honeymoon Suite and an Access Suite.

To do this, just set up a new room type (for example, Family Room) following the instructions below.

All your room types are listed in your Room Types list on the Search Room Types screen.

From here you can amend a room type's details (such as a room type's description or photo) by clicking on the appropriate ID, set the order in which they are listed on your public booking screen, or create a new room type.

The information below will guide you through setting up a new room type or find where to amend any details or settings.

There are 4 steps when adding a new room type:

Step 1 - Add the new Room Type details (such as description, photo's, etc)

Add the new Room Type details

Select the Search Room Types option in the Room Types section in the menu
Select the New Room Type button
Fill out the Details for this room type using any on screen hover tips (by moving your mouse over the appropriate field) and the help below
Click the Save room type button
Once saved, iBex will refresh the screen and you will see additional tabs have been added to the screen to enable you to map units to the new room type (if a PMS user), aswell as your rates, selling groups and set the sell method.
Tip - You can open and close any sections within the tab by clicking the + or - sign at the end of each section...

GENERAL SECTION

Follow the hover tips by hovering over the information icon (i).

Marketing Groups will need to be set up first, before adding them to the Room Type details.

By default, iBex will label the rooms as 'rooms' on your website booking screens. Marketing Groups will allow you to change this to something more understandable for your guests, for example "beds" for dorm rooms, "sites" for campground sites, or "apartments" for your apartment complex. Please click here for more details about Marketing Groups.

FACILITIES SECTION

Standard bedding configuration - For example, is it usually a King bed, Queen Bed, Double Bed, etc. If it can be either a King or twin beds (as the beds can be split), enter King here.

Can this be changed to Twin Beds? - Select if the bed can be split into 2 single beds.

This will mean that anyone booking this room type online on your own public booking screen will be offered the option to request the beds to be separated for their stay. If they opt to have single beds, it will be notified in the Notes section of the booking so that you (PMS users only) can set a reminder to split the beds in your daily tasks and edit the room servicing if required.

Facilities Icons - If you want icons shown on your booking screen, select any applicable

Standard Inclusions - Add selling points (for example, Complimentary tea, coffee & milk provided, Complimentary Wifi, Your beds are made up with Egyptian Cotton sheets and duck feather pillows, Full use of all facilities, etc).

ADVANCED RULES SECTION

On Request Threshold

This can only be set once you have assigned units to this room type (PMS users) or set the allocation (Online Plus & Channel Manager users) so if you want to use this setting, you can only set it after you have completed setting up this room type.

Once set, this setting cannot be overridden on your Availability & Sell Method calendar - it can only be changed here.

Do you want all your units within this room type sold online with Instant Confirmation? iBex can automatically change the sell method for this room type to be on request once the threshold sethas been met.

For example, if you have 5 units within this room type and set the On Request Threshold to be 1, once 4 units have been sold, the last unit can only be requested if the booking is made online.

On Request Lead Time

Once set, this setting cannot be overridden on your Availability & Sell Method calendar - it can only be changed here.

Even if a room type has set to be sold with instant confirmation iBex can automatically change the sell method so that if an online booking is made within the number of days you have set, the room can only be requested and not booked with Instant Confirmation.

After Hours Cutoff

This can only be set if you have the PMS option “After Hours Cutoff” enabled and have no “On Request Lead Time” set.

Select a time of day from the dropdown box to switch the room type to “On Request” automatically.

Even if a room type has been set to be sold with instant confirmation iBex can automatically change the sell method so that if an online booking is made after the cutoff time you have set, the room can only be requested and not booked with Instant Confirmation.

The “On Request” status will go through to the channels as a Stop Sell/Unavailable.

Note: Updates to channels may not happen immediately. It is best to set the cutoff slightly earlier than needed as a buffer.

If no availability - Select whether or not you want this room type to show on your public booking screen as being unavailable when there are no units available for sale.

Include in Brochure - You can add this room type to your iBex property brochure if required. Just click the link to the property brochure to view.
Note: If you have a CMS Website hosted by Seekom, the option will also control whether or not the room type appears on the rooms page/s on your website.

ALLOCATION SECTION

Allocation (Online Plus and Channel Manager accounts only) - Online Plus and Channel Manager users must manually enter the maximum number of units that they have of this room type here. If you cannot set the full amount, your account will need to have total room count increased so please contact your support team for assistance.

Unit Controlled? (This is an optional additional function within the iBex PMS system so will not display in all accounts) - If you do not want iBex to allocate units to bookings for this room type, select no here. The availability will be controlled by the Allocation that you set and the number of bookings you have for this room type.

Externally Controlled (Online Plus and Channel Manager accounts only) - If you have a different PMS connected to your iBex system, select here if you want it to update iBex with the availability for this Room Type. If no is selected, you must manually update your room availability whenever it changes.

ROOM SERVICING SECTION

For PMS users only - click here for more details

Primary Room Servicing - You can set your room servicing rules here. This will determine when any units assigned to this room type are shown on the Room Servicing report and advise what type of service will need to be completed. Once set, the room service schedule is automatically applied when a guest checks in.

The 3 options are:

1. No Servicing - If set, no units assigned to this room type will show on your Room Servicing report (an example maybe if it is a Tent site)

2. Departure Only - If set, units assigned to this room type will only show that a Departure service is required on the Room Servicing report when the guest is departing

3. Scheduled & Departure - If set, units assigned to this room type will show on your room servicing report with the type of service necessary and on any given day that it is scheduled when your guest is checked in aswell as the Departure service when the guest is departing.

If you select the Scheduled & Departure option, a secondary service option can be added as Additional Room Servicing.

An example - you could select a Scheduled & Departure service in the Primary Room Servicing section and set a Daily service to happen everyday. In the Additional Room Servicing you could set a Full Clean on every 3rd day from arrival. This would mean that units assigned to this room type that had any stays longer than 3 days would show a Daily service for everyday except on every 3rd day, where a Full Clean would show, and on departure, where a Departure service would show.

The type of service (for example, Departure, Daily, Full Clean, etc) is simply a title for a service and is not pre-defined in it's definition. This is determined by you.

Once completed, click Save room type.

Once the screen refreshes, you will see that other tabs have been added to the screen allowing you to continue with the set up and set rates, etc for this room type. Before proceeding to Step 2 in the options above, you can scroll to the bottom of the Details screen and select the Add Photo's button to add any room photos for this room type to display on your public booking screen on your website and in your iBex property brochure.

Step 2 - Assign the units that should be allocated when this room type is booked (PMS users only)

Assign units to the new Room Type (PMS users only)

Select the Unit Mappings tab and a table will appear where you set the Unit to Room Type Mappings.

This is where you set which unit(s) are allocated to the booking when a customer books this room type online.

If you want all room types to show in the table, tick the 'Show all room types' option.

As instructed in iBex, enter the number in the cell that represents the unit that can be allocated to any booking for this room type. Enter the numbers in the order that you want that unit to be allocated.

An example:

Units 1, 2, 3 and 6 are all Standard Rooms.
Unit 2 has the best views so you want it used as your first preference whenever you receive a booking for a Standard Room.

To set this in iBex...

Enter 1 in the cell that represents unit 2 in the Standard room column
Enter 2 in the cell for unit 1, 3 in the cell for unit 3, and 4 in the cell for unit 6 (or vice versa depending on your preference).
Click the Save Mappings button

iBex will then automatically assign these units in this order of preference whenever you receive an online booking.

Once you have saved the unit to room type mappings, you can go back to set any On Request Threshold or Lead Time in the Advanced Rules section in the Details tab if required.

Something else to mention here is that you can determine what order you want this new room type displayed on your public booking screen. Simply press the Room Types Order button at the bottom of your screen and re-arrange the order as required.

Step 3 - Assign a rate that you want to charge for this room type and who can book and use this room type

Assign what rate you want to charge for this room type and which selling groups can book it

Once you have completed step 2, you need to set what rate to charge for it and which selling groups are allowed to book or use it.

Select the Rate / Selling Group Mappings tab
All the selling groups that you have set up in your account will be listed across the top row and all your rates (displayed with their iBex name) will be listed in the first column
Tick the appropriate cell that represents what rate you want to charge for this room type in each selling group's column that you want to be able to book and use it.
You can assign multiple rates to a room type and use the same rate (or a different one) for each selling group.
Click the Save Mapping button at the bottom of the screen

If you have not yet set up the rate that you want to use for this room type, you will need to set up a new rate. You can assign this room type to the rate once it has been created in the rates screen.

Step 4 - Update the sell method and the number of rooms available so that the new room type is available for sale

Update the Sell Method so that the new room type is for sale online

The final step is to make the new room type available for sale on your public booking screen as iBex automatically sets any new room type to Stop Sell so that it is not available for sale until you are ready to open it for online sales.

Information for Online Plus and Channel Manager users only:

If you do use an external PMS provider that is connected to your iBex system and you want them to automatically update your iBex system with this room type's availability, you will need to provide them with the ID for this room type before completing this step. This ID can be found in the General section in the Details tab.

Only after your PMS has sent through an update of your availability should you continue with this step

If you do not use an external PMS provider that is connected to your iBex system you will need to manually set the availability as well as the sell method. After setting the sell method, please select the Set Availability button on the pop up and then set the number of rooms available for sale for any specific date range or date.

Select the Availability tab
Check that the Set Sell Method - Long Term option is highlighted in green and that the availability is correct according to the number of units you have assigned or allocated

If correct, change the sell method to Instant Confirmation:

Ensure that the Set Sell Method - Long Term option is highlighted in green
Click on the cell that represents the number of rooms available and the date you want the room type to be first available for sale
A pop up will appear where you can enter the dates that you want this room type available for sale
Change the Sell Method accordingly (ie to Inst. Confirm)
Click the Set Sell Method button

iBex will then confirm that the Sell method have been updated so you can close the pop up and see that this room type is now available for sale.

Once you have completed the above steps, it is recommended that you check what it looks like on your public booking screen as this is how the room type is seen by your customers.

You can do this by selecting the My Booking Screen option in the Actions box on the right hand side of the screen.

If you want to change anything, simply go to the necessary tab and section, change it, and then Save the changes.
You can then re-open your booking screen to see any changes made.