It would be great if the confirmed blocks are visible in the timeline as a provisional reservation.

This is so obvious.

Being able to see availability at a glance is vital for fast and efficient workflow.

Display availability blocks on timeline also assists other departments such as HSK, F&B & Kitchen with forward planning and rostering with a quick line of sight of upcoming stays

Being able to see blocks from the timeline leaves no room for error when checking availability. Its quicker, easy to read and you can clearly see your full availably at a glance. It takes 6 clicks to get to the availably screen for the dates you require, which is too long in our fast paced world.

A badge should show at the top of the timeline showing the total number of rooms on availability blocks not yet picked up (ie not yet showing on the room grid) - similar in style to the calendar events...

Makes customer experience much more enjoyable when we can quickly check availability for different rooms via the timeline and jump between dates. Makes it clearly visible for us

A badge should show at the top of the timeline showing the total number of rooms on availability blocks not yet picked up (ie not yet showing on the room grid) - similar in style to the calendar events...

Being able to see the block allows us to advise enquiries on the availability for their dates faster and prevents us from having to look at reports to determine why it is restricted

We are all using the timeline to have a look at availability as it is a much easier visual tool than always looking back and forth at the availability block. The blocked room should appear in dotted lines, same way as optional bookings

It would be helpful to see the group block with the dotted line as a feature in Timeline.
When the sales team on the phone we no longer have the ability to see where gaps are to fill the hotels.

There needs to be a dotted line indicating the availability block on the timeline. Or colour. But either way, the Front Desk team need to be able to see the block somehow otherwise they are going to do over bookings.

Availability blocks should be visible in timeline. When they are not visible, they are basically useless. it is too confusing for front desks for example, when they are not there.
Also for sales team it is very important to see the "whole picture" in the time line ( reservations, blocks...).

Hi

Still no progress re this much awaited improvement? Mews indicated in some webinar Q&A back in time, that this would happen.

Just to be 100% clear, it would indeed be nice to have then, Mews sticking to uniform terms (and colors?) re Availability blocks status being visible on Timeline vs the normal Timeline request/booking status.
I.e. terms/markings to mean the same in both Timeline and Availability Blocks =
“Picked-up” (Availability Blocks) VS
(i) “Inquired” (= not blocked (for any public reservations) but marked in Timeline);
(ii) “Optional” (= blocked);
(iii) “Confirmed” (= blocked (for a certain person) and legally binding). )

Yes, I had to stop using the availability blocks as our Front Desk and reservations teams would get so confused as to why it should plenty of rooms on the timeline and not on the availability screen.

Yes please, especially for availability blocks with status "confirmed". Blocks should have a dedicated color.

Availability Blocks:

1. Can these please - in some way - simply be visible in the Timeline?

2. Can this system please be adopted and clarified so that the terms - re e.g. which actor has responsibility/liability - become more understandable and consistent (re: free (or “Inquired”), “Picked-up”, “Optional” and “Confirmed” stages - respective “Guest”, “Companion”, “Customer”, “Company”, “Travel Agency”, “Booker” etc.)?

Background:

1. Hoteliers typically work with a timeline to get a quick clear overview re which rooms are:
(a) free (or merely “Inquired” = not blocked);
(b) “Optionally” booked (= blocked for public reservations);
(c) “Confirmed”.
Currently, only at the very late stage, merely when having been “Picked-up”, such reservations show in the Timeline (not shown at the “Optional” or even “Confirmed” stages). If only visible in the new, separate, “Availability Blocks” universe, viable overview will become impossible. The result will be confusion, double bookings etc. OR that the new system simply rather cannot be implemented.

2. The question is then to have an understandable terminology re the different:
(a) stages and (b) actors.

Three different typical group booking scenarios occur.

(i) The “Corporate” scenario:
A company is created. That company (legal entity, e.g. “ConfCo Ltd”) is RESPONSIBLE all the way through for the whole initial availability block, payment, cancellations etc. (i.e. regardless of if the MD or Donald Duck is entered as the contact person – him merely acting on behalf of ConfCo Ltd).

(ii) The “Private” scenario:
The initial Booker (often not a company but instead an individual e.g. a bridegroom) is merely responsible for creating a block in the system and maybe for rooming lists etc. Yet, it is then for each individual guest who reserves (“Picks up”) each particular room to be RESPONSIBLE for correctly selecting, paying, cancelling etc.

(iii) The “Agent” scenario:
This is very similar to the “Private” scenario. A travel agent or event agency (legal entity or individual) is registered in Mews and then merely responsible for creating a block in the system and maybe for rooming lists etc. Yet, it is then occasionally the principal among the guests (e.g. bridegroom) being responsible in some way, maybe for some deposit/minimum spend etc., but often simply for each individual guest who reserves (“Picks up”) each particular room to be RESPONSIBLE for correctly selecting, paying, cancelling etc.

The above, with merely the normal Timeline and Mews “manual”/old group booking methods, results in many different communication and interpretation issues. With the new special “Availability Blocks” system and terms, it become even more complex and confusing. Different methods are used to try to clarify to the different actors which responsibilities they have.
A general method concerning the STATUS of the rooms is to create a “cut-off” date. This would typically simple be a deadline for: 100% refund, payment and remaining rooms block release.
Then, concerning different actors’ RESPONSIBILITIES, there are also, even before now also introducing the “Picked-up” status etc. different concepts to try to clarify this. Below could be an example of the different actors’ responsibilities in an “Agent” scenario:
- Booker: notifies hotel per offer confirmation which guests shall have the Suites.
- Depositor: provides deposit, repayable per group check-out, presuming group stay exceeded deposit.
- Guest: reserves and pays each Room through direct hotel contact.

Not really clear why Mews now installed both “Optional” (why? understandably not possible to even create a Booking link or send a quote?) and “Confirmed” – whereby Confirmed is still for some reason not visible in Timeline – and then also the 3rd category “Picked up”.
We are then apparently forced to immediately create a “Confirmed” Availability Block to even be able to send a Booking Engine Link to the client company. Then those rooms are however not confirmed at all but merely optional, invisible in Timeline and available to be (individually) legally confirmed – which legal confirmation is now instead called “Picked up” (as opposed to normal Mews Timeline speech = “Confirmed”).
The fact that a company has agreed to block 10 rooms and then 1 room of that is “picked-up” by/for an individual, could hardly switch the initial legal obligation from a “Corporate” scenario; i.e. change the responsibility from the company to that individual. Alternatively, the new Mews Availability Blocks setup now intends to result in that each individual should opt (“pick”) each respective blocked room and thereby also be obliged to pay for it individually?
In other words, there are two different aspects there:
(a) “pick-up” (understandably meani