Avoid Costly Mistakes: How to Navigate OTA Payment Challenges for properties in Sri Lanka
What is an OTA: Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) provide users with the opportunity to book their holidays online.
Commonly Used OTAs in Sri Lanka:
- Booking.com: This platform accounts for the majority of bookings in Sri Lanka.
- Agoda
- Expedia
- CTrip
- Airbnb
Payment Processes for Each OTA:
CTrip: CTrip manages collections on behalf of the property, deducting their commission before sending the funds to your assigned bank account.
Airbnb: The payment process is also straightforward for Airbnb. They collect payments on behalf of the property, deduct their commission, and remit the remaining funds to your designated bank account.
Expedia: Expedia also collects payments on behalf of the property, but they utilise Virtual Credit Cards (VCC) for bookings. This process involves additional steps:
Please note that currently, Sri Lanka does not allow VCCs to be charged, despite having a POS machine only the bank can.
Agoda: Agoda also collects payments on behalf of the property, but they utilise Virtual Credit Cards (VCC) for bookings. Same procedure as the above.
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Booking.com: The process for Booking.com involves more steps, as they do not collect payments on behalf of properties in Sri Lanka:
?? - Upon receiving a booking, thank the guest in the chat.
?? - If a phone number is available and the booking is within the cancellation policy, send them a payment link for a 50% deposit and the remaining 50% due either on arrival or via a payment link before arrival.
?? - If the client fails to pay or if the booking appears to be a spam, you should change the payment status in the client chat to "Did Not Pay." Additionally, message the guest in the extranet chat to indicate that the deposit has not been received or if they did not arrival, no-show the booking and message on the extranet guest chat stating they did not arrive.
Effective communication throughout this process is crucial. Any correspondence regarding payment links, client contact ability, or payment status should be documented in the extranet guest chat always.
It's important to note that if the client has not paid or if the booking is suspected to be spam, you canceling is not an option as Booking.com will charge you the commission regardless.
For assistance, please contact +94 (11) 217 6421, the Sri Lankan property call centre number, and ensure to follow up as necessary.
As a property, you are responsible for collecting payments for Booking.com and remitting the commission to them.
I hope the information I provided regarding OTA payment methods in Sri Lanka was helpful. This is based on the insights I have gathered and applied throughout my experience.
Cheers!
Liswith