When guests join a tour, they often have specific room preferences. Common examples include:
Solo Traveller Requesting a Private Room: A solo traveller who prefers a room by themselves, instead of sharing with another guest on the tour. This is commonly referred to as a single supplement booking.
Solo Traveller Open to Sharing: A solo traveller who is willing to share a room with another guest to avoid the single supplement fee.
Travellers Requesting Specific Roommates: Guests who want to share a room with specific people, such as friends or family members.
Bed Preferences: The preferred bed setup within a room, such as two single beds for friends or a queen bed for couples.
Best Practices for Managing Room Preferences
The way you reserve rooms determines how guest room preferences are managed. There are two scenarios to consider:
Scenario 1: Single Room Type at All Accommodation for the Tour
Scenario 2: Different Room Types at Some Accommodations on the Tour
This guide will help you manage these room preferences in Fieldbook, ensuring that your suppliers and guides are accurately informed before the tour departs.
Scenario 1: Single Room Type at All Accommodation for the Tour
In this scenario, all accommodation suppliers use the same room type. For example:
Supplier | Rooms | Room Details |
Harbourview Hotel | Standard Room | 2 guest capacity, Twin Share or Double Bed |
Seaside Resort | Premium Room | 2 guest capacity, Twin Share or Double Bed |
Banksia Lodge | Forest Room | 2 guest capacity, Twin Share or Double Bed |
Managing preferences is simpler here, as you can apply the same rules for all suppliers.
Managing Solo Travellers wanting a Private Room (Single Supplement)
When solo travellers prefer their own room, often referred to as a “single supplement” option.
Best Practice:
Set accommodation services as “non-shared”: Ensure all accommodation services are marked as “non-shared” so that solo travellers are automatically assigned their own room.
Tag single supplement booking: Add “(SNG)” to the booking name (e.g., B1003 (SNG)) to easily identify single travellers.
Review passenger assignments to ensure they are assigned to a private room: Since services are set as “non-shared,” solo travellers should automatically be assigned to their own room. Check that solo travellers are assigned to their own rooms across all accommodation services.
Managing Solo Travellers Open to Sharing a Room
Some solo travellers may prefer to share a room with another guest to avoid paying the single supplement fee.
Best Practices:
Manually pair solo travellers open to sharing: Assign solo travellers who are open to sharing with another solo guest across all relevant accommodation services.
Add a guide note: add a guide note to all accomodation services so guides and organisers know to keep them paired across all accomodation services (e.g. 'Room Pairing Notes: John paired with Jane')
Managing Travellers Requesting Specific Roommates
Friends, family members, or other guests may specifically request to share a room.
Best Practices:
Manually assign travellers together: Manually assign travellers who wish to share a room to the same room across all accommodation services.
Add a guide note: Specify in a guide note which guests are sharing a room to ensure their preferences are communicated (e.g. 'Roommates: John, Jane and James are rooming together')
Managing Bed Configurations
Couples or friends may have specific requests regarding bed configurations, such as wanting a double bed or two single beds.
Best Practices:
Add a supplier request note: For each accommodation service, include a supplier request note indicating the bed configuration (e.g., 'Bed Configuration: 2 x Twin Beds). This ensures the supplier is informed, and the request is included in the documents sent to them.
Scenario 2: Different Room Types at Some Accommodations on the Tour
In this scenario, different room types are booked at some accomodation on the tour, adding complexity. For example:
Supplier | Rooms | Room Details |
Harbourview Hotel | Standard Room | 2 guest capacity, Twin Share or Double Bed |
Seaside Resort | Premium Room | 2 guest capacity, Twin Share or Double Bed |
Mountainside Retreat | 1 x Cabin 2 x Lodge 1 x Guest House | Cabin: 4 guest capacity, 2 double beds Lodge: 3 guest capacity, 1 double bed, 1 single bed Guest House: 6 guest capacity, 3 double beds |
For all accommodation suppliers with a single room type, follow the guidelines in Scenario 1. For accommodations with multiple room types, such as Mountainside Retreat, follow the best practices below:
Using Package Options to Handle Different Room Types
To handle different room types effectively, we recommend creating package options that represent the different room types for these accommodations. For example, using our Scenario 2 example from above, a package option would look like this:
Package Option Name: Rooming at Mountainside Retreat
Type of Option: Mandatory
Choices:
Choice 1: Cabin (Limit 4 guests)
Choice 2: Lodge (Limit: 6 guests)
Choice 3: Guest House (Limit: 6 guests)
The limits ensure that the room capacity isn’t exceeded by guest selections.
Managing Solo Travellers wanting a Private Room (Single Supplement)
When solo travellers prefer their own room, often referred to as a “single supplement” option.
Best Practice:
Assign the solo traveller to the appropriate package option: Choose the correct room type for the solo traveller (e.g., Cabin, Lodge, Guest House) based on the package options you created.
Review passenger assignments: Ensure the solo traveller is assigned to their own room in the accommodation associated with their package option.
Managing Solo Travellers Open to Sharing a Room
Some solo travellers may prefer to share a room with another guest to avoid paying the single supplement fee.
Best Practices:
Assign the solo traveller to the appropriate package option: Choose the correct room option based on their sharing preference.
Manually pair solo travellers: Assign solo travellers who opted to share to the same room within the package option they selected.
Managing Travellers Requesting to Room Together
Friends, family members, or other guests may specifically request to share a room.
Best Practices:
Assign the traveller to the appropriate package option: Choose the correct room option based on their sharing preference.
Manually assign travellers together: Ensure they are paired in the same room within the accommodation services associated with their option.
Managing Bed Configurations
Couples or friends may have specific requests regarding bed configurations, such as wanting a double bed or two single beds.
Best Practices:
Add a supplier request note: For the room type the guest was assigned to, include a note indicating the requested bed configuration (e.g., double or twin beds). This will ensure the supplier is informed of the request and it appears in the documents sent to them.
Conclusion
Effectively managing room preferences ensures your guests’ needs are met and accurately communicated to both suppliers and guides. By following the best practices outlined in this article, you can handle both Scenario 1 (single room type at all accommodations) and Scenario 2 (different room types at some accommodations) with ease. Whether you’re managing single supplements, room sharing, or bed configurations, these steps will help you streamline the process and create a smooth, well-organised tour experience for your guests and team.