Onboarding - Connecting existing properties already on Booking.com

This article will inform you on the process where you as an accommodation partner can connect existing properties from the Booking.com platform to our channel manager.

When you join NextPax channel manager as an accommodation partner, while you were already working with Booking.com it's likely that you already have an agreement with them and also properties listed on Booking.com already. In order for you to connect those properties with NextPax we have a special flow, but first why do you want to connect existing properties:

• You can keep your property reviews, ranking placement and advertisement details
• You can import all reservations in the future, this so you can service them still.
• We can enrich the content, meaning if you have ticked amenities on Booking.com, but not yet in our solution, we can automatically import those. (images excluded)
• We can match already built room types, rate-plans and cancellation policies - with what we have in the channel manager. 

Let's look at the pre-requisites for connecting the existing properties from Booking.com.
1. First the accommodations need to be build in our channel management solution in Core.

2. The account settings need to be completed.

3. Your existing legal entity ID/contract needs to be imported in NextPax.

3. The channel settings need to be completed.

Once all pre-requisites are met by the accommodation partner, they can start with connecting existing properties on the Booking.com Extranet towards us as a channel manager. This is a two-step approach:

1. Connect via the Booking.com Quick Connect Extranet Widget available in NextPax Core.
2. Complete the connection flow via 'Connect Properties'.

Using the Quick Connect Extranet Widget

Available in the Channel Settings for Booking.com is the Quick Connect Extranet Widget. In there you can start the process.

Once you click 'Connect Properties' you'll be taken to the Booking.com Extranet, to login and from there you are immediately taken to this page.

As accommodation partner you'll notice that this process entails 4 steps, step (1) Select Provider, this is already taken care off (2) Selecting the connection types (2) Selecting the Booking.com extranet properties to connect (3) review and action.

On this page (step 2) you need to identify which connection types/api's NextPax is allowed to manage for your accommodations. Since NextPax is an all-in provider, please provide access to all, and provide us acces to the properties Extranet (we as NextPax have our own Extranet Accounts, but need Access Permission). 

After all boxes have been ticked kindly move forward to "Select Properties" 

Within the properties selection there are two types of properties

1. Eligible properties for connecting with NextPax.

2. Properties not affected - these properties - are already connected to NextPax.

Within the eligible properties, please select the properties that you wish to connect and then proceed to review changes.

Once you as an accommodation partner are satisfied with the selection of properties and summary provided, hit the blue button 'Apply Change'

The changes are then applied, when in-progress this screen will pop-up, and when completed the status will change to completed and is green.

Please then also verify on property level, especially if you are connecting multiple ones, that each property is succesfull, before continuing. You can do that by clicking on the blue link that indicates properties changed.

You have now finalised the connection process to NextPax in the Booking.com Extranet and now can go to Connect Properties in Core, in order to finalise the connection process of existing properties on Booking.com with NextPax.

Complete Connection via Connect Properties 

Now that all the work in the Booking.com Extranet has been completed, the properties are in 'pending connection' status, which we can convert into 'XML connected' via NextPax Core, under Connect Properties, part of the Channels Menu.

Under Channels, Connect Properties we can continue the activation of properties from the Booking.com Extranet towards NextPax. For this to start, kindly click the Booking.com tile.

it will open-up the Booking.com Connect Properties screen, where the user again is made aware of the prerequisites mentioned earlier in this article. The user can start by clicking Connect Properties, this action will start to search for all properties that you have selected to connect in the Booking.com Extranet.

The first part is about matching the properties, for single-unit properties (villa, apartment, holiday home etc.), you will only have to match the hotel ID with property at our end. For Multi-Unit properties (hotels, resorts, holiday parks etc.) you will need to match the hotel ID to a certain multi-unit on our side, and then to connect the room ID's from Booking.com with the respective Unit-Types at our end.

Multi-Unit Matching Rules

Booking.com Hotel ID <-> NextPax - Multi-Unit Property ID

Booking.com Room ID('s) <-> NextPax - Unit Type Property ID's

Single Unit Matching Rules

Booking.com Hotel ID <-> NextPax - Single Unit Property ID

See a result of a potential mapping below, according to the matching rules above:

Once the matching is approved at the bottom the following screen is appearing, please check the checkmark to also manage the content moving forward and then Confirm Connection, which triggers a pop-up with a reconfirmation button.

Once that button, is clicked, we will showcase this message.

And once connected you can see this in the Connected Properties overview, including a timestamp. Also you can view the details of what's being connected.

One step of the whole process is to also sync all reservations for future dates arrival (beyond connection day) into our system. These will after this process be visible in the reservations overview, as imported for connectivity switch. This we put in the additional customer request element of the reservation.

The process of connecting existing accommodations from the Booking.com Extranet towards NextPax has now been concluded and the properties are fully operational via our channel manager.