How to create an allowance in Mews Operations

Mews Operations

In Mews Operations, you can create an allowance to offer guests prepaid credit they can use on specific products or services during their stay. With allowances, guests pay a set amount in exchange for credit that the system applies automatically to eligible charges. This helps you promote upsells, build packages, or offer perks while keeping billing clear and automated.

You create allowances in the Services settings as part of your property configuration. Users with permission to manage products can create an allowance at any time. Allowances activate automatically when a guest checks in.

Create an allowance screen in Mews Operations

In this article you can learn about:

Step 1: Create an allowance
  1. In Mews Operations, go to the main menu Menu arrow right  > Settings > Services.
  2. Click to select the bookable service where you want to create your allowance.
  3. Click Products.
  4. Click + Create > Allowance.
  5. Complete all other relevant fields as explained in the table below.
  6. Click Create.

Field 

Description

Add translation 

In the dropdown, click to select the language you want to add. This creates duplicates of the fields listed below. You can then enter the information again in your selected language. 

Name* 

Enter a guest-facing name for the allowance, for example, 75 euro breakfast allowance. 

Short name 

Enter a short name for places in Mews Operations with limited space, such as in reports. 

External name 

Enter an external name for your product. This is visible to guests in the Mews Booking Engine and Mews Kiosk. 

Description 

Enter a description to detail the conditions of the allowance, such as any exclusions. 

Category 

Click to select the product category that the allowance belongs to, for example, Drinks or Restaurant. 

Ordering 

Enter a number to represent the order in which you want Mews to list your allowance. Note: Lower number positions are higher in the list. For example, 0 is higher than 1. 

Image 

Upload an image you want to display for this allowance. 

External identifier 

Enter a unique identification code to map the allowance with other systems. 

Price* 

Enter the price of the allowance, excluding currency symbols. Note: The price you set is also the total credit available to the guest. You cannot sell an allowance at a discounted price. For example, you cannot sell EUR 100 of credit for EUR 80. To sell an allowance at an effective discount, add a correction product with a negative price to the same product rule. The ability to sell allowances at a discounted price is planned for a future update. 

Currency* 

Click to select the currency for the price of this allowance. Note: You can only select your property’s default currency at the moment.   

VAT 

Click to select the VAT rate for any unspent allowance credit. Mews applies this rate to breakage, not to the allowance product itself. Note: VAT is not available in all regions and depends on your legal environment. 

Frequency* 

Click to select how frequently the system adds the allowance to reservations:

  • Once: Posts the allowance once on the arrival date.

  • Nightly: Posts the allowance once for each night of the stay. The allowance is not posted on the departure date, as the previous night's allowance remains active.

  • Per person: Posts the allowance once for each guest on the arrival date.

  • Per person Nightly: Posts the allowance once per guest for each night of the stay. The allowance is not posted on the departure date, as the previous night's allowance remains active.

Permitted consumption 

Click to select which accounting categories the allowance can be spent on. 

Product options 

Click to select the options you want to apply to this allowance: 

  • Bill as package: To bill the allowance and service it is attached to as a package. This displays the allowance as one line on the customer's bill but is expandable in internal reporting.
  • Exclude price from offer: To add the allowance price on top of the reservation cost after allowance consumption.
  • Offer to employee: To enable your employees to add the allowance to a guest’s bill.
  • Selected by default: To add the allowance to all reservations by default. 

Note: When you select the Offer to employee option for a Selected by default allowance, it shows the pre-selected allowance to the employee and gives them the option to remove it from the reservation.

 

ⓘNote: The following three fields set the accounting categories for the allowance lifecycle. Mews recommends creating a dedicated accounting category for each. Dedicated categories give you more detailed reporting on allowance activity.

Field 

Description

Allowance charge* 

The accounting category for the original purchase of the allowance. Mews uses this to track the full value of the allowance when it is added to a reservation. 

Consumption* 

The accounting category for discounts applied when a guest uses the allowance. Mews records a discount against this account each time it applies an allowance to an eligible charge. 

Breakage* 

The accounting category for any unspent allowance credit. Mews moves the remaining balance here when the allowance expires: at the end of each night for Nightly allowances, and at check-out for Once allowances. 

 

ⓘNote: The Promotions input has been removed from the Create allowance form. To manage when your allowances are offered, go to the main menu > Settings > Upsells.

    Step 2: Apply the allowance to a reservation

    To apply the allowance automatically, create a product rule. To add it to a specific reservation, follow the steps below:

    1. In Mews Operations, click + Reservation.
    2. Use the calendar to select the dates.
    3. Under Options > Products, click to select the allowance you want to apply.
    4. Click to select the space and rate you want to reserve and click Next.
    5. Enter the relevant guest details and click Book now.

    This adds the allowance to a new reservation.

    You can view the allowances in the Reservation management screen in the Items or Billing tabs.

     

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