“Airline” rates scheme - base price (non-refundable) + insurance
The idea has been already verified in other areas, such as airlines or cruises. All rates would be non-refunduble by default. On top of each rate, the guest could purchase an additional product (something like an “insurance”) that would make the rate refundable; however, the “insurance” itself would not be refundable.
There could be more levels of “insurance” - e.g. “cancel up to 1 week prior to the arrival” and “cancel anytime”. The second option in this case should be obviously more pricey.
Generally speaking, the price of the “insurance” should always cover the costs of maintaining the empty room + some profit on top of that. The second option should cover 100 % of these things, the first option would take into account that the room can be still offered to another guest in that one week period before the cancelled stay.
After selecting the preferred option, the guest would be charged immediately.
Pros of this solution for the guest: transparent pricing, transparent cancellation policy, opt-in for the cancellation “insurance”
Pros of this solution for the hotel: improved cash flow, reduce missed revenue (the number of unpaid no-shows should be much lower), inventory control (overbooking prevention), full automation.
Hello from the Mews product team. Unfortunately, this request has not received the necessary upvotes to be added to the Mews development roadmap and is unlikely to be delivered. Thank you for sharing your suggestions.