What would you suggest?

[nataliebee]

Has anyone taken advantage of OTA bookings where the guest would not fill in the credit card details? It seems any time we don't take the credit card info (especially on walk ins) we spend half the night worrying that this is the guest that may break something, etc. 100% of the direct bookings we get, a credit card number is captured. This should be the norm online as well? I have never booked a hotel without a credit card.
It took all of that to ask: Does anyone see an increase in bookings when guests have the option?
I'm just looking through B.C.'s marketing opportunities and thought I'd ask!

 

[Morticia]

Don't believe their 'opportunities'. Follow your own reasoned plan - get the card! What you get without the card are a lot of people who don't show up because they have no skin in the game.
Also, if you think you're going to run someone's card for damages after they've checked out, think again. You need their signature. Credit card companies are notorious for taking that money back from you if the guest complains to them.
OTOH, if it would make you sleep better, you may be able to access the credit card number thru your online merchant account.
Or, get one of those old timey sliders and make an imprint of the card.
Don't miss out on your beauty sleep worrying about things you can't control.

 

[nataliebee]

Don't believe their 'opportunities'. Follow your own reasoned plan - get the card! What you get without the card are a lot of people who don't show up because they have no skin in the game.
Also, if you think you're going to run someone's card for damages after they've checked out, think again. You need their signature. Credit card companies are notorious for taking that money back from you if the guest complains to them.
OTOH, if it would make you sleep better, you may be able to access the credit card number thru your online merchant account.
Or, get one of those old timey sliders and make an imprint of the card.
Don't miss out on your beauty sleep worrying about things you can't control..

Good advice! I really don't see the advantage of not having a credit card on file!

 

[gillumhouse]

It was because of the late cancels and no-shows in 2010 that B & Bs For Vets started taking the rez like any other. On arrival showing ID eliminates the charge for that night - made the no-shows and late cancels all but disappear when they are told they WILL be charged in those instances. The policies of the individual B & B apply.

 

[Jcam]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night.

 

[nataliebee]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

 

[Morticia]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
.

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

I would be a very unhappy guest to find out you had my credit card info written down in a book. That book must then be locked up at all times it is not in use. (Like the online rez system is secured with a password.)
We erase all cc info at checkout. You call next week for another rez and you have to give the info again. We don't store it.
If I write a cc# down because the online system is down, that info gets run thru the shredder after it is input.

 

[nataliebee]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
.

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

I would be a very unhappy guest to find out you had my credit card info written down in a book. That book must then be locked up at all times it is not in use. (Like the online rez system is secured with a password.)
We erase all cc info at checkout. You call next week for another rez and you have to give the info again. We don't store it.
If I write a cc# down because the online system is down, that info gets run thru the shredder after it is input.
.

As it happens, nobody is. Using an online rez system is not our call...

 

[nataliebee]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
.

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

I would be a very unhappy guest to find out you had my credit card info written down in a book. That book must then be locked up at all times it is not in use. (Like the online rez system is secured with a password.)
We erase all cc info at checkout. You call next week for another rez and you have to give the info again. We don't store it.
If I write a cc# down because the online system is down, that info gets run thru the shredder after it is input.
.

Also, and I'm asking purely out of curiosity, how were reservations taken and credit cards kept (at least until the end of the stay?) before online rez systems?
Asking because the Owner isn't sold on the computerized management system yet; we have a few staff trained to do phones but a lot of hands in a computer system is a recipe for disaster. I'm all for streamlining but haven't found one that matches our needs with our budget.

 

[gillumhouse]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
.

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

I would be a very unhappy guest to find out you had my credit card info written down in a book. That book must then be locked up at all times it is not in use. (Like the online rez system is secured with a password.)
We erase all cc info at checkout. You call next week for another rez and you have to give the info again. We don't store it.
If I write a cc# down because the online system is down, that info gets run thru the shredder after it is input.
.

Also, and I'm asking purely out of curiosity, how were reservations taken and credit cards kept (at least until the end of the stay?) before online rez systems?
Asking because the Owner isn't sold on the computerized management system yet; we have a few staff trained to do phones but a lot of hands in a computer system is a recipe for disaster. I'm all for streamlining but haven't found one that matches our needs with our budget.
.

Phone or online I copy the info to a 3x5 index card. Credit card number on the bottom so it can be cut off. This goes into a card box and put away securely. If I have a crash or a power failure, I have the info.
If the credit card number is written down, it MUST be secured so no one can access it.

 

[JBloggs]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
.

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

Hard cold truth about to be spoken:
Listen if you are not going to be up to date like just about every other lodging choice, mom and pop's included, then guests will leave thinking they have paid, they are not trying to walk out on their bill.
There is nothing naive about paying at the end of your stay, we have been doing that for over 12 years, and it has worked absolutely fine. Every hotel/motel takes an imprint of the card, ie enters the cc number in their system for incidentals. Without having a cc on file you are asking for problems. Many take that and put a hold on the card for that amount, ensuring payment when they check out.
If you are not taking online reservations, which is an amenity for guests to book any time any where then you may be missing the boat. It is hard to believe we have this conversation here in the year 2016 (nearly 2017). You have NO IDEA how many guests and how much revenue you are LOSING by not offering this, yes, offering it. Don't make things difficult, no one wants to plan a trip on a "sorta" reservation. Everyone is used to giving their credit cards to reserve hotels and flights, it is what we do now. And it is peace of mind for you.
Not trying to be harsh, not sure where you are, how many rooms, how many staff etc. But someone needs to step up and get this sorted out - you can have better guests and more of them.
Here is a word for the boss (owner) or whoever calls the shots there "You can't afford to NOT have online reservations"

 

[Morticia]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
.

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

I would be a very unhappy guest to find out you had my credit card info written down in a book. That book must then be locked up at all times it is not in use. (Like the online rez system is secured with a password.)
We erase all cc info at checkout. You call next week for another rez and you have to give the info again. We don't store it.
If I write a cc# down because the online system is down, that info gets run thru the shredder after it is input.
.

Also, and I'm asking purely out of curiosity, how were reservations taken and credit cards kept (at least until the end of the stay?) before online rez systems?
Asking because the Owner isn't sold on the computerized management system yet; we have a few staff trained to do phones but a lot of hands in a computer system is a recipe for disaster. I'm all for streamlining but haven't found one that matches our needs with our budget.
.

We inherited hundreds of 3x5 cards with all that data on them. Or, the old cc receipts with the number printed on them. We went thru and blacked out all the cc info.
If I need to write stuff down to later enter in the computer I then shred the cards.
However, a lot of small businesses didn't even take credit cards or write down the cc info until just a few years ago. So there may not be an extensive data base of valid cc info floating around.
How many people take reservations at your place? I thought you were a small place with just two people on staff. Don't know why I thought that, but I did.

 

[EmptyNest]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
.

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

Hard cold truth about to be spoken:
Listen if you are not going to be up to date like just about every other lodging choice, mom and pop's included, then guests will leave thinking they have paid, they are not trying to walk out on their bill.
There is nothing naive about paying at the end of your stay, we have been doing that for over 12 years, and it has worked absolutely fine. Every hotel/motel takes an imprint of the card, ie enters the cc number in their system for incidentals. Without having a cc on file you are asking for problems. Many take that and put a hold on the card for that amount, ensuring payment when they check out.
If you are not taking online reservations, which is an amenity for guests to book any time any where then you may be missing the boat. It is hard to believe we have this conversation here in the year 2016 (nearly 2017). You have NO IDEA how many guests and how much revenue you are LOSING by not offering this, yes, offering it. Don't make things difficult, no one wants to plan a trip on a "sorta" reservation. Everyone is used to giving their credit cards to reserve hotels and flights, it is what we do now. And it is peace of mind for you.
Not trying to be harsh, not sure where you are, how many rooms, how many staff etc. But someone needs to step up and get this sorted out - you can have better guests and more of them.
Here is a word for the boss (owner) or whoever calls the shots there "You can't afford to NOT have online reservations"
.

Hard cold truth about to be spoken:
Listen if you are not going to be up to date like just about every other lodging choice, mom and pop's included, then guests will leave thinking they have paid, they are not trying to walk out on their bill.
There is nothing naive about paying at the end of your stay, we have been doing that for over 12 years, and it has worked absolutely fine. Every hotel/motel takes an imprint of the card, ie enters the cc number in their system for incidentals. Without having a cc on file you are asking for problems. Many take that and put a hold on the card for that amount, ensuring payment when they check out.
If you are not taking online reservations, which is an amenity for guests to book any time any where then you may be missing the boat. It is hard to believe we have this conversation here in the year 2016 (nearly 2017). You have NO IDEA how many guests and how much revenue you are LOSING by not offering this, yes, offering it. Don't make things difficult, no one wants to plan a trip on a "sorta" reservation. Everyone is used to giving their credit cards to reserve hotels and flights, it is what we do now. And it is peace of mind for you.
Not trying to be harsh, not sure where you are, how many rooms, how many staff etc. But someone needs to step up and get this sorted out - you can have better guests and more of them.
Here is a word for the boss (owner) or whoever calls the shots there "You can't afford to NOT have online reservations"

EVERYTHING JB SAYS!!! Get with the program. I would never book a place that didn't have on line reservations. I don't want to talk to anyone!

 

[Morticia]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
.

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

Hard cold truth about to be spoken:
Listen if you are not going to be up to date like just about every other lodging choice, mom and pop's included, then guests will leave thinking they have paid, they are not trying to walk out on their bill.
There is nothing naive about paying at the end of your stay, we have been doing that for over 12 years, and it has worked absolutely fine. Every hotel/motel takes an imprint of the card, ie enters the cc number in their system for incidentals. Without having a cc on file you are asking for problems. Many take that and put a hold on the card for that amount, ensuring payment when they check out.
If you are not taking online reservations, which is an amenity for guests to book any time any where then you may be missing the boat. It is hard to believe we have this conversation here in the year 2016 (nearly 2017). You have NO IDEA how many guests and how much revenue you are LOSING by not offering this, yes, offering it. Don't make things difficult, no one wants to plan a trip on a "sorta" reservation. Everyone is used to giving their credit cards to reserve hotels and flights, it is what we do now. And it is peace of mind for you.
Not trying to be harsh, not sure where you are, how many rooms, how many staff etc. But someone needs to step up and get this sorted out - you can have better guests and more of them.
Here is a word for the boss (owner) or whoever calls the shots there "You can't afford to NOT have online reservations"
.

Here is a word for the boss (owner) or whoever calls the shots there "You can't afford to NOT have online reservations"

What JB said.
We pay $70/month for our online rez system. We could pay more or less depending on the company.
$70 is half of one night's fee for staying here. Less than half in peak season. 50% of my reservations are online. (Yes, I still talk with 50% of my guests advance, we're odd way out here at the end of the country.)
If I lost ONE of those online reservations every month because it was 'too much trouble to call' that would more than offset the outlay to have the system. I'd be losing money on lost reservations rather than 'losing ' money having the system.
$70 is negligible in a month like August. It doesn't even register as a %.
If your owner can afford to hire you and your spouse and other people they can certainly afford to buy something that brings in more income.

 

[gillumhouse]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
.

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

Hard cold truth about to be spoken:
Listen if you are not going to be up to date like just about every other lodging choice, mom and pop's included, then guests will leave thinking they have paid, they are not trying to walk out on their bill.
There is nothing naive about paying at the end of your stay, we have been doing that for over 12 years, and it has worked absolutely fine. Every hotel/motel takes an imprint of the card, ie enters the cc number in their system for incidentals. Without having a cc on file you are asking for problems. Many take that and put a hold on the card for that amount, ensuring payment when they check out.
If you are not taking online reservations, which is an amenity for guests to book any time any where then you may be missing the boat. It is hard to believe we have this conversation here in the year 2016 (nearly 2017). You have NO IDEA how many guests and how much revenue you are LOSING by not offering this, yes, offering it. Don't make things difficult, no one wants to plan a trip on a "sorta" reservation. Everyone is used to giving their credit cards to reserve hotels and flights, it is what we do now. And it is peace of mind for you.
Not trying to be harsh, not sure where you are, how many rooms, how many staff etc. But someone needs to step up and get this sorted out - you can have better guests and more of them.
Here is a word for the boss (owner) or whoever calls the shots there "You can't afford to NOT have online reservations"
.

Online reservations do 2 things for you.#1 - they must check the box agreeing to your policies (if they do not read hem it is not your problem) and #2 - they can make that reservation 24 hours a day (yes, you can actually be asleep when they make that reservation).
Now $ COST $ - cost is negligible depending on what system you use. Mort has explained hers and her why. I use ReservationKey and my ANNUAL cost is less than 2 nights in my best room. It you have 5 to 10 rooms it is $25 per month (4 or less is $20), 11 to 20 it is $30 per month. It has all the bells and whistles and reports I could ever want.
I have 3 rooms and I guarantee you that I will not be without online reservations.

 

[Lee2014]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
.

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

I would be a very unhappy guest to find out you had my credit card info written down in a book. That book must then be locked up at all times it is not in use. (Like the online rez system is secured with a password.)
We erase all cc info at checkout. You call next week for another rez and you have to give the info again. We don't store it.
If I write a cc# down because the online system is down, that info gets run thru the shredder after it is input.
.

Also, and I'm asking purely out of curiosity, how were reservations taken and credit cards kept (at least until the end of the stay?) before online rez systems?
Asking because the Owner isn't sold on the computerized management system yet; we have a few staff trained to do phones but a lot of hands in a computer system is a recipe for disaster. I'm all for streamlining but haven't found one that matches our needs with our budget.
.

Phone or online I copy the info to a 3x5 index card. Credit card number on the bottom so it can be cut off. This goes into a card box and put away securely. If I have a crash or a power failure, I have the info.
If the credit card number is written down, it MUST be secured so no one can access it.
.

If I have a crash or a power failure, I have the info.

Same here….

 

[2cat_lady]

Listen to the voices of experience.
I am busier than I ever expected I would be after only three seasons under my belt. I don't know where we'd be if I didn't listen to all these wonderful, experienced people here. Yes, I still take phone calls, but it's fantastic to wake up in the morning and see 10 reservations from people that you didn't even have to explain anything to! With their CC info (encoded) and your confirmation emails all sent out automatically. Just even think of it as a time saver. Think of how much time it would take to talk to each and everyone of those guests when they could do it all themselves!!

 

[nataliebee]

Listen to the voices of experience.
I am busier than I ever expected I would be after only three seasons under my belt. I don't know where we'd be if I didn't listen to all these wonderful, experienced people here. Yes, I still take phone calls, but it's fantastic to wake up in the morning and see 10 reservations from people that you didn't even have to explain anything to! With their CC info (encoded) and your confirmation emails all sent out automatically. Just even think of it as a time saver. Think of how much time it would take to talk to each and everyone of those guests when they could do it all themselves!!.

About 85% of our revenue is from online bookers... I was online looking through opportunities on our Booking.com main page and wondered if that would ramp things up even more... I'm just not sure I was clear enough! Loving all the advice we receive, I call Innkeeping a "beautiful challenge" and the last month of reading through the posts have been truly inspiring!
The only thing we don't have right now is automatic e-mails; I either have a template on Booking.com or attach a personalized little note with our confirmation template if booking direct. I love little administrative tasks like that; I also love the near-perfect accuracy of a computerized system...

 

[nataliebee]

Not being funny but you don't make walk in's pay on arrival? they are the least reliable! also we only take cards for walk in's and I want the name on the card to match the name given - my tv is worth a lot more than your 1 night..

We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.
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We take the payment with any guest; walk ins included. BUT, we rarely take down the credit card number; we have a ledger book and don't feel comfortable hauling it out and writing it down in front of them.
The naive "us" from a year ago who let a guest pay at the end of the stay really paid the price, because the guest ended up leaving without paying, and no credit card was taken.
I always train our staff to take credit card numbers at the office no matter what, but I'm guilty of sometimes skipping that step.

Hard cold truth about to be spoken:
Listen if you are not going to be up to date like just about every other lodging choice, mom and pop's included, then guests will leave thinking they have paid, they are not trying to walk out on their bill.
There is nothing naive about paying at the end of your stay, we have been doing that for over 12 years, and it has worked absolutely fine. Every hotel/motel takes an imprint of the card, ie enters the cc number in their system for incidentals. Without having a cc on file you are asking for problems. Many take that and put a hold on the card for that amount, ensuring payment when they check out.
If you are not taking online reservations, which is an amenity for guests to book any time any where then you may be missing the boat. It is hard to believe we have this conversation here in the year 2016 (nearly 2017). You have NO IDEA how many guests and how much revenue you are LOSING by not offering this, yes, offering it. Don't make things difficult, no one wants to plan a trip on a "sorta" reservation. Everyone is used to giving their credit cards to reserve hotels and flights, it is what we do now. And it is peace of mind for you.
Not trying to be harsh, not sure where you are, how many rooms, how many staff etc. But someone needs to step up and get this sorted out - you can have better guests and more of them.
Here is a word for the boss (owner) or whoever calls the shots there "You can't afford to NOT have online reservations"
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We do have online reservations.

 

[nataliebee]

Edit: Guys, we take online reservations. I was asking about the online-booking option where the customer has the option of not entering their CC # while booking, thus making it an extra step when they get here. We often don't take down the credit card details of walk ins, but everyone pays up front. I didn't mean to make this sound as if it happens as a policy, heck no!