I have just had a thorough look at how Stayz books. It isn’t one we use for our own business, but is has similarities with other booking platforms.
Stayz, if one does a basic search, will present the minimum nightly rate with the included number of guests (usually 1 or 2). This will be the base room rate for that particular accommodation. For Stayz.com.au, the shown total booking amount based on the days selected including a Service Charge (or cleaning fee where they apply), this is a example:
Most accommodation providers charge extra per night per guest. If the number of guests (inc. children) aren’t selected such as that in a basic search, the basic search pricing won’t reflect the total number of guests included in the booking. If one does a detailed search, the price in the booking summary will show the total booking amount based on the number of guests staying. Here is another example using the same accommodation used for for the basic search:
Think of a basic search like shopping online for a pair of socks. A basic search will show the price of a pair of socks (just like on Stayz where the basic search defaults to the included number of guests for the minimum room rate). The price won’t be reflective if one plans to buy 3 pairs and postage. If one wants 3 pair, then 3 pair needs to be included before checkout to ensure that the purchase number is correct (just like Stayz where number of guests can be included in searches and/or at checkout).
It is often asked why if a place can sleep 6, why the nightly rate isn’t for the whole place including sleeping up to 6. The reason why is the cost of laundry and cleaning. Each bed slept on and towels etc can cost an accommodation provider in the order of $20-40 if the laundry is sent out to a commercial laundry for washing and drying. If the accommodation price included up to 6, then this would disadvantage couples as they would be paying for bedding/towels etc that they aren’t using. This is why accommodation providers usually have 1-2 guests included in the base rates. It is up to the booker to nominate the number of guests when searching/at checkout to ensure that the total booking amount covers the number of guests staying.
In relation to cleaning and service fees, in Australia these are shown in searches and also in the booking amount (as shown above for the service fees). I haven’t checked every other country, but it may be possible that the way Stayz manages pricing differs slightly between countries based on the requirements of a particular country.
In relation to cancellations, this is presented and based on the cancellation policy of the accommodation provider - within the constraints set up by the booking platform, in this case Stayz. As shown above, this information is included in the booking amount which can be checked before committing to a booking.
Something that Stayz does differently to some other platforms is they charge the booker a service fee. Some other platforms, the service fee or commissions are charged to the accommodation provider and indirectly included in the room rates. This could be done by Stayz to try and make accommodation advertised on their platform look ‘cheaper’ when high level searches are done when doing an internet search rather than through the booking platform itself. I haven’t done high level internet searches to see if this is the case.
