'Request First' versus 'Online' Inventory
When a supplier loads inventory into the system, one of the options presented is the ability to specify the inventory's booking status as either 'Online' or 'Verify First'.
When Online is selected, once the inventory load process has been completed, the inventory can be booked by customers without any further intervention of AUI's or the Supplier’s staff. In other words, the inventory is "live" and the customer can complete the booking process completely online.
With 'Verify First' inventory, upon selection by a customer for booking, the customer will be informed that we must first check availability with the supplier; and, that there is a maximum of 24 hours before they will receive notification if they choose to proceed. If the customer elects to continue, the inventory is put on hold, and an email is automatically sent to the supplier with the details of the request, and the ability to approve or decline the request from the email (alternatively, the supplier can login and complete the request from the Dashboard). The email will go to the primary user that was designated for the supplier, as well as any other users that have the 'Inventory Authorization' box checked.
It is important to note that the 'Verify First' option is to only be used by suppliers who can meet the requirements to answer requests within the 24-hour period. Additionally, this option is intended to be used in scenarios where availability may be unpredictable and not as a means to test pricing or to limit responsibility for managing inventory availability. It is therefore our expectations that the majority of inventory requests will be approved by the supplier.
When the supplier responds with an approval or decline, this automatically triggers the appropriate response to the potential customer. For declines, the inventory is marked as ‘Returned’ to the supplier and the customer notified that it is not available. For approvals, the customer is notified that it is approved, and the hold is extended for 24 hours to allow time for booking. In the event the customer does not book the inventory, it returns to its open status.
We have tried to make Resort Week Manager as flexible as possible for our supplier partners and hope that this feature will help you maximize your rental revenue.
Resort Incentives
A feature of Resort Week Manger is the ability for suppliers to create incentives and assign them to specify inventory. A valid incentive is one that has actual value, relative to a retail customer, and is accessible at the resort. Incentives are associated with a specific resort, and when created include a description, estimated value, and disclosures that must include how the customer redeems the incentive. An incentive can be specified when inventory is loaded, or added later to unbooked inventory
Typical examples of these are a discount, either a percentage or set amount, off of a resort amenity such as a restaurant, spa, golf course, etc.
Incentives are promoted with an inventive icon that displays when an inventory listing is returned from a customer search. When an inventory record is selected from a search result, the detail record will include the name and estimated value of the incentive.
Upon booking inventory that included an incentive, the name, estimated value, and disclosure information will display on the customer's confirmation notice.
Incentives are easy to create and a great way to differentiate your inventory and generate more bookings. Don’t hesitate to inquire about incentives and how to put them to work for you.
Resort & Specific Inventory Confirmation Information
Resort Week Manager allows suppliers to distribute inventory for multiple resorts. Whenever a supplier initiates the loading of inventory for a Resort, that Resort become associated with the supplier and available for selection with the ‘My Resorts’ button.
For every supplier resort, the supplier has the ability to specify two types of “default” information that can be included with every piece of inventory loaded for the resort.
The first type is information that the supplier wants AUI staff to know about the inventory from this resort. An example of this may be if there are any special instructions that AUI needs to follow after this inventory has been booked by a customer.
The second type is information that will be displayed to a potential customer during the booking process, and printed on their confirmation notice sent upon completion of a booking. Examples of this could include, late check in instructions, minimum age requirements, notice of a resort fee due upon arrival, etc.
As you will see when loading inventory, this “default” information can be changed, amended, or eliminated for any particular piece of inventory loaded in the system. Additionally, once inventory has been loaded, the supplier retains the ability to modify or delete this from any unbooked inventory.
Upon becoming a Resort Week Manager supplier, our staff will cover these issues in more detail and provide any needed assistance in setting this up.
Keeping Inventory Reconciled with Internal Systems
We recognize that inventory committed to the Resort Week Manager system also resides in a resort level system. Whether your system manages based on specific inventory records or availabilities based on unit type, we have included some features to help you keep inventory reconciled between our system and yours.
When loading inventory, there are two attributes of a created inventory record that you can specify (these can also be added or changed after loading as well).
The ‘Source ID’ field, allows you to associate an identifier with the inventory. This can best be used in scenarios where the inventory you are loading in Resort Week Manager can be tied to a specific piece of inventory in your system. This field accepts alphanumeric values, is searchable, and will display on a customer inventory requests, and confirmation notice. It also displays as a column on your ‘Arrivals’ listing that is available off of the Dashboard which displays your booked inventory (based on any timeframe you specify).
The second attribute is the Unit Number field. This field accepts alphanumeric values available and can be specified upon the loading of inventory, as well as by updating unbooked inventory existing in the system. If the supplier does not utilize this field, the default is TBA (To Be Assigned). This field appears on the customer confirmation notice and as a column on your ‘Arrival’ listing. It can be utilized broadly or specifically depending on the needs of the supplier and their approach to managing inventory.
Upon becoming a Resort Week Manager supplier, our staff will cover these issues in more detail and provide any needed assistance in setting this up.