Adding the Mews Booking Engine to your property’s website allows guests to make online reservations at your property. It is essential that you set up and configure the Mews Booking Engine, so you can:

• enhance your guests' online experience,
• provide guests with the best possible stay options, and
• make a favourable impression about your property even before their actual stay begins.

In this article, you can learn about how to set up and configure the Mews Booking Engine in the following steps:

• Step 1: Mews Booking Engine configuration
• Step 2: Connect the Mews Booking Engine to your property's website
• Step 3: Add images to your Mews Booking Engine
• Step 4: Map your space categories
• Step 5: Map your rates
• Step 6: Set up stay products and rates
• Step 7: Set up your guest-facing documents

Step 1: Mews Booking Engine configuration

The booking engine configuration lets you connect the Mews Booking Engine to your property. Once you have created your configuration, you can verify the look by clicking Preview. To create your configuration: 

1. In Mews Operations, go to the main menu  > Settings > Services. 
2. Click on a bookable service, for example, Stay.  
3. Click on Booking engines. Then click Booking engine to add a booking engine.  
4. Update all relevant fields. Note: For more detailed explanation on the fields click here.   
5. Click Create.  

Note: You can create multiple configurations by creating multiple booking engines.  

 

Step 2: Connect the Mews Booking Engine to your property's website

Step 3: Add images for your Mews Booking Engine

You can choose your property’s Sign-in image for your Mews Booking Engine. You can also add multiple images for your space categories and products in the Mews Booking Engine and choose the order in which they appear. 

Mews supports JPEG and PNG image formats. For best results, use images with a resolution of at least 1920×1080. 

Note: Once you upload a Sign-in image you cannot delete it, but you can replace it using the same steps. 

To upload a Sign-in image: 

1. In Mews Operations, go to the main menu  > Settings > Property. 
2. Under Sign-in image, click on the grey box to select an image file from your computer. Note: Mews supports only JPEG and PNG file formats. 
3. Click Change.

 

Step 4: Map your space categories

Mews automatically maps your space categories; you can remove any you do not wish to send. If you want to add more, you can manually map them. When you add new space categories, you can preview them to check how your categories appear. 
Note:

• Category mapping is available for all subscription packages. 
• Rate mapping is only available for Pro and Enterprise subscriptions. 

When mapping newly created space categories:

1. In Mews Operations, go to the main menu  > Settings > Services > Stay. 
2. Click Booking Engines, then select your booking engine. 
3. Click Category mappings, then click the + button. 
4. Under Category, select the space category you want to map. 
5. In the Ordering field, enter the order in which you want to list your space categories. 
6. Click Create. 

Make sure you update the following fields for every space category listed in the booking engine: 

• Image 
• Description 
• Capacity 
• Extra capacity 
• Order email template

 

 Step 5: Map your rates 

Step 6: Set up stay products and rates

To list products in the Mews Booking Engine, attach them to your stay service with the Offer to customers option enabled in the product's settings. To make products and rates available in the Mews Booking Engine:

• Complete details such as name, description of your product and rates, so that your guests can understand them clearly. For example, choose names such as “Room only” or "Bed and Breakfast rate”, and make sure to mention the products and services included in the rate as well as its cancellation policy. 
• Add an image to your products to showcase them. For example, you might want to offer guests your hotel's dinner specialty. Note: You can add only one image per product. 
• Ensure your rates are Enabled and Public. Mews lists only the lowest rates from each rate group in the booking engine.  

• To display more than one rate, for example, "Room only" and a "Bed and Breakfast rate", you need to set them up in different rate groups. 
• Guests cannot book Private rates through the Mews Booking Engine unless the rate is connected to a voucher. You can learn more about this here. 
• When you map a specific rate in the Mews Booking Engine, it displays only that rate. You can map rates in the booking engine to only allow bookings with specific rates. 

• Make sure you complete the following fields for every public rate and every product attached to your stay service:
  • Name
  • Description
  • External name

Note: Only the cheapest rates from each rate group are listed in the booking engine.

 

Step 7: Set up your guest-facing documents

Before you start using the Mews Booking Engine, you need to complete your guest-facing documents, for example your property's terms and conditions, House rules, Privacy policy, Check-out statement, etc., in order to be compliant with requirements from your payment gateway provider, like Adyen or Stripe.

You can also set up and test your terms & conditions within the Mews Booking Engine. You can provide your T&Cs in the form of a URL, which links to the terms and conditions page on your website, or you can write them yourself and format them with HTML.

 

It is important to update all information as you would like it to appear to your guests. Also, make sure to review the booking engine after making any modifications to your settings. You can click on Preview to review.

Click here to view your guest's journey when they book a reservation at your property through the Mews Booking Engine. 

To learn more about how to let travel agencies book through your Mews Booking Engine, click here.