Documentation - BNBForms

Quick start guide

Ann Taylor — Thu, 26 May 2022 22:35:40 +0000

If you’ve just registered an account with BNBForms, this guide will help you set up the system.

Go to Accommodation > Accommodation Types.
Here you will see one or several accommodation types that were created for you as a demo. You can edit or remove these accommodation types according to your needs. Each accommodation type has its name, description, images, amenities, parameters and services.

If you edit demo accommodation types, make sure that the number of physical accommodations of each type is correct. You can see and edit physical accommodations at Accommodation > Accommodations.
Go to Accommodation > Add Accommodation type to add new Accommodation type.
Add a property name, description, images, amenities and optional services available (click +Add New Service if your list is empty). Here you can also add property amenities (free in-room facilities; click +Add New Amenity if your list is empty), bed types (click Set bed types list in settings if your list is empty), view, categories, and other details of a property type.

Navigate to the Generate accommodations menu to automatically add the desired number of physical accommodations of the same type.
Go to Accommodation > Services.
Here you can optionally add and customize a list of extra services you want to offer at checkout.
Go to Accommodation > Seasons.
Add any time periods that will be different in pricing.
Go to Accommodation > Rates.
Add pricing rates based on different pricing rules (e.g. breakfast included, refundable, non-refundable).
Go to Accommodation > Settings.
When you create an account, all system pages, such as Search Results, Search Availability, Complete Booking, Booking Confirmation, Booking Cancellation pages should be installed automatically.

Go through the reset of the configuration menus to set up your preferences. Make sure to set up Payment Gateways if you want to accept online payments.
Go to Bookings > Booking rules.
Set up the rules, such as minimum/maximum days to stay, add booking buffers, etc.
Go to Bookings > Taxes & Fees.
Optionally add obligatory taxes and fees that will be added to the base property rate.
Go to Bookings > Coupons.
Optionally create coupon codes. To make them work on your site, go to Settings > Misc > Enable the use of coupons.
Go to Accommodation > Attributes.
Add custom extra fields / filters to the booking widget.
Go to Appearance > Customize > Colors.
Optionally change the color scheme of your BNBForms booking widget.
Go to Appearance > Customize > Menus.
Here you can change the order of the menus / their labels that appear at the bottom of the booking widget.
Go to BNBForms dashboard > Widget script.
Copy the script and paste it to your website according to your CMS (find tutorials for different platforms in the same menu). Enable Test Mode if you want to temporarily hide the booking widget while customizing and testing it on your up-and-running website.

To manage your bookings, payments and customers go to the Bookings menu.

BNBForms Beginner’s Guide – Watch the Video

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Embed the booking widget to an individual page (iFrame)

Ann Taylor — Thu, 26 May 2022 23:24:41 +0000

To make the BNBForms booking widget appear on the individual site page, you can embed it as an iFrame.

To find the code for embedding, go to your BNBForms dashboard > Widget Script scroll down to “3. You can alternately embed booking widget on a single page” and copy the code.

Then go to your website and paste this code to the page. A typical website builder will have a Code / iFrame / HTML block / widget for rendering the BNBForms code. For example:

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Customize the Book Now button and form colors

Ann Taylor — Thu, 26 May 2022 23:17:19 +0000

You can customize the default Book Now button, for example, its color and text, or completely hide it if you want clients to open the booking widget by clicking on your custom button.

To customize the Book Now button, go to the Widget Script:

# Book Now button parameters

The default Book Now button parameters are as the following:

button: {
   bgColor:"#1F4ACE",    // background color
   text:"Book Now",      // text
   position:"top-right", // position
   tOffset:"100px"       // top offset
}

You can customize them:

bgColor – to change the background color, copy the needed code color and paste it: Hex Colors.
text – optionally replace the “Book Now” button text with your custom one.
position – change the button position using the top-right or top-left parameters.
tOffset – the space between the button and the upper part of the site. If not set, 100px is default.

Just open the code script via Widget Script and replace default parameters with your custom ones.

# Book Now button styles

You can also add custom CSS code to style the “Book Now” button. You can add this code either in your website styles or right after the script code. Here is an example of how to add styles after the widget script code:

# How to hide the Book Now button

You might want to hide the Book Now button in case, for example, you want to use any other website button for opening the Book Now widget by BNBForms.

You might hide the button using null or undefined parameter.

Example 1.

window.$bnbFormsBookingWidget || (
   function(d,s){
      window.$bnbBookingWidgetConfig = {
         uid:"123123",
         src:"https://bnbforms.com/example",
         lang:"en_US",
         button: null
      };
      ...
   }
)(document,"script");

Example 2.

window.$bnbFormsBookingWidget || (
   function(d,s){
      window.$bnbBookingWidgetConfig = {
         uid:"123123",
         src:"https://bnbforms.com/example",
         lang:"en_US",
         button: undefined
      };
      ...
   }
)(document,"script");

# How to customize widget colors

To customize colors of specific parts of the widget, go to Appearance > Customize > Colors in your BNBForms dashboard.

Here are a few examples:

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Rent out single or multiple accommodations

Ann Taylor — Thu, 26 May 2022 22:38:27 +0000

When you start with BNBForms, you’ll be asked to choose whether you are going to work with a single or multiple accommodations. Depending on your choice, default booking widget parameters will be set automatically.

If you need to switch your account from one to multiple accommodations or vise versa, the further recommendations for manual settings should come in handy.

How to add a new accommodation

To add a new accommodation type, go to Accommodation > Add Accommodation types.

Fill in the data (capacity, amenities, photos, view, bed types, etc.) to present your accommodations.

Click +Add New Service / +Add New Amenity / etc. if your list is empty.

You can have multiple accommodations of the same accommodation type. This is especially relevant for hotels that might have many rooms of the same kind. To easily copy the data of one accommodation type, choose the Generate Accommodations menu, set the preferred number in the drop-down menu.

If you rent out a single accommodation

If you rent out a single accommodation, you might want to disable unneeded booking widget fields and leave only the arrival/departure fields. This will speed up and simplify the booking process for your guests.

For this, go to Accommodation > Settings > Search options > Guest management:

Check the ‘Skip Search Results’ checkbox.
Select Disable “adults” and “children” options for my website.

Then scroll down to Misc > uncheck the “Enable search form to recommend the best set of accommodations according to a number of guests.”

Scroll down to save the changes.

Then go to Pages > All Pages > find the Front page > open it.

Make sure to add the Booking form block to the page (hit + and scroll down to Hotel Booking > Add the Booking form block to the page).

Make sure to designate the ID of your property and click Save/Update the page.

To find out the ID of a property, go to Accommodation > Accommodation types > hover over the property to see its ID.

This will allow guests to check only the available dates and book a property directly.

If you rent out multiple accommodations

For multiple accommodations, make sure that the Availability Search form block is added to the page.

It must be added to the Front page:

We’d also recommend you to turn on the “Enable search form to recommend the best set of accommodations according to a number of guests.” option that will help guests choose the best options from multiple accommodations.

Display price along with the availability

Go to Accommodation > Settings > Search options > Direct Booking Form.

No matter whether you rent out one or many accommodations, this menu will help you decide whether to display the property price for the chosen dates next to the information about its availability or not.

Note: You configure this for bookings on the individual property page (on a single accommodation type page).

Default – it will only show if an accommodation is available.
Show price for selected period – it will show the rate for chosen dates along with the availability.
Show price together with adults and children fields – it will show the rate for chosen dates along with the availability and form fields.

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How to sync with Airbnb, Booking.com, and other travel platforms via iCal

Ann Taylor — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 07:39:38 +0000

You can sync the availability and bookings you receive via the BNBForms widget with external OTAs, such as Airbnb, Booking.com, etc.

This is a two-way process, namely, you can import as well as export the data across the websites automatically.

Requirements

In order to sync the availability, the platform you use must support the iCal file format. The sync process is done by the file exchange process (import and export of the events). Make sure to check if the file is supported in your account before you can proceed.

Find the URLs for import and export of iCals

How to import and export Calendars on Booking.com
How to import and export Airbnb calendars
How to import and export VRBO/HomeAway calendars
How to import and export TripAdvisor calendars
How to import and export Expedia calendars

Export calendars to external platforms

Go to BNBForms > Bookings > Sync Calendars.
To further add the calendar to the external platforms, you’ll need to copy the calendar URL and paste it into the appropriate section in a chosen OTA.

Please note: Some OTAs might not accept the iCal URL if there is no booking in it. In this case, you should add at least one booking for the accommodation and try importing the link again.

Import calendars to BNBForms

Go to BNBForms > Bookings > Sync Calendars.
Hover your mouse over the needed accommodation and click ‘Edit’.
Click ‘Add new calendar’ and insert the calendar URL from an external platform for the respective accommodations > click ‘Update’.

Once all the import and export calendars are added, you can proceed to manual or automatic calendars synchronization.

Calendars synchronization

The calendars synchronization can be configured in either automatic or manual mode, providing flexibility in managing updates and ensuring seamless coordination.

Under calendar synchronization, we refer to the process of loading data into the BNBForms account from all external platforms. External platforms download booking information from your BNBForms based on their internal schedules.

Manual synchronization

To synchronize all calendars for all accommodations:

Open Bookings > Sync Calendars.
Click on the ‘Sync All External Calendars’ button.

Once done, you’ll see the result for all accommodations that have both (import and export) URLs.

In the Bookings section, you’ll see whether you received new bookings.

Automatic synchronization

For the automatic sync, you need to configure your sync frequency schedule.

Go to Accommodation > Settings > scroll down to Calendar Synchronization scheduler.
Check ‘Enable automatic external calendars synchronization’.
Set up how often the sync process must be performed automatically.

Note: All external platforms download information on bookings from your BNBForms account by the exported links with the frequency of their own internal schedules.

Download or Upload calendars

You may also manually download calendars from your site to your device or upload external ones. Use ‘Import’ and ‘Download’ buttons.

Watch: How to Sync BNBForms with Airbnb, Booking.com, and Other Travel Platforms

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Customize the search availability form

Ann Taylor — Thu, 26 May 2022 22:47:22 +0000

You can customize the Search Availability Form fields, for example, add or remove search filters.

Customize default fields

If you want to enable guests to designate the number of people in the search form, you can tailor these fields via Accommodation > Settings > Search options > Guest management > choose your preferences.

Enable “adults” and “children” options for my website (default). – Choose this option if you want to allow guests to select both the number of adults and children.
Disable “children” option for my website (hide “children” field and use Guests label instead). – Choose this option if you don’t want to differentiate adults and children and wish to use one common field for the number of people instead.

Disable “adults” and “children” options for my website. – Enable this field if you want to leave only the arrival and departure fields.
Hide “adults” and “children” fields within search availability forms. – This option allows you to hide the “adults” and “children” fields even if you set them for accommodations.

If you want to publicly display the age of children in the “Children” field, set this information in the Age of Child field in the same menu.

Add more fields / filters

To add custom extra features to the widget, go to Accommodation > Attributes > Add New.

Give a name to your custom attribute, for example, Location.
Set the preferable settings, for example, you can choose to “Display the attribute in details section of an accommodation type” and this attribute will be shown in the property details.
Click Publish and then Configure terms.

Click Configure Terms and add all the possible terms for this attribute, e.g. North West, Yorkshire, West Midlands. While adding the terms, you need to fill in at least the Name field and click Add New. You are not limited to the number of terms you can create.

Go to the property you want this attribute to be associated with and check the needed buttons.

Add the needed attribute to the search form (simply copy and paste the name of the term). Go to the front page > click on the Property search block > add attribute.

When you’ll add the booking widget, the form will also display all the added attributes.

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How to add BNBForms widget in WordPress

Ann Taylor — Tue, 24 May 2022 16:12:56 +0000

In WordPress, you can add a booking widget script to the header or footer areas of your site. To ease the process, we recommend using a dedicated assistant free plugin.

Install and activate a free Head & Footer code or any other plugin.
Go to BNBForms dashboard > Widget Script > copy the script.
Go to your WordPress site > Tools > Head & Footer code > Embed the copied code script into the HEAD code part and save the changes.

Visit your live site, the Book Now button should appear according to your BNBForms settings.

Click on the Book Now button to open the BNBForms booking widget.

Watch: Add BNBForms to WordPress

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How to sync bookings with Google and Apple calendars

admin — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 19:19:15 +0000

Note: This tutorial was written early 2024, and all screenshots and instructions remain accurate as of that period.

This document outlines the process of syncing booking information between BNBForms with Google Calendar and Apple Calendar via iCal.

iCal (iCalendar) is a standardized data format designed for storing and exchanging calendar events, including bookings of rental properties.

Many popular property management platforms and calendar applications support iCal synchronization, including:

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs): Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, etc.
Personal calendars: Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, etc.

BNBForms supports two-way synchronization, where updates made in any connected calendar are reflected in all others.

The specific steps for setting up iCal synchronization will vary depending on the calendar application you’re using. Below you’ll find step-by-step guides for Google Calendar & Apple Calendar.

How to sync bookings with Google Calendar

1. Locate your calendar URLs.

All calendar URLs associated with your rental properties can be found via Dashboard > Bookings > Sync Calendars.

2. Copy your calendar URL.

Copy your calendar URL located in the “Export” column.

3. Open your Google Calendar.

Navigate to https://calendar.google.com/ in your browser.

4. In the Other Calendars menu, press the plus icon and choose ‘From URL’.

5. Paste the link of your property calendar that you copied earlier into the designated field, then click the ‘Add calendar’ button.

The calendar will appear in the list on the left side and Google will try to fetch all bookings of this property made on your website. You can click on the calendar and assign it a descriptive name for easier reference.

6. Go back to the main screen to review imported bookings.

You can click on a booking to view additional information.

7. Create a new calendar to export bookings.

While the “From URL” calendar is read-only, which means you can only import bookings from your website, to create new bookings in Google Calendar and export them back to your website (BNBForms account), you must create a new calendar.

8. Click on the gear icon and choose Settings.

9. In the Settings menu, navigate to Add calendar > Create new calendar.

Give it a name, choose the appropriate time zone, and then click the ‘Create calendar’ button.

10. Choose the calendar, scroll to the bottom of the page, and copy the Secret address.

11. Navigate to BNBForms Dashboard > Bookings > Sync Calendars, and click the ‘Edit button’ under your property.

12. Click the ‘Add New Calendar’ button and paste the Secret address of your Google calendar. Click the ‘Update’ button.

13. Navigate to Dashboard > Bookings > Sync Calendars and click the ‘Sync All External Calendars’ button.

After clicking, you will be redirected to the Calendars Synchronization Status page where you can view a log of the synchronization process that includes the number of created bookings.

Imported bookings can be accessed from both the Bookings and Calendar pages.

14. Enable automatic external calendars synchronization.

Navigate to Dashboard > Accommodation > Settings and scroll down to the Calendars Synchronization Scheduler section.

Select “Enable automatic external calendars synchronization” to enable automatic synchronization with external calendars.

This option enables your BNBForms account to load external calendars according to a set schedule. However, this option doesn’t control how frequently external platforms will load calendars from your BNBForms account.

Note: According to Google documentation, it might take up to 24 hours or longer for changes to reflect in your Google Calendar.

15. Create a booking or block time in your Google Calendar.

In Google Calendar, switch to the Month view and select the dates you would like to mark as booked or blocked.

Note: Ensure you select full days of stay. Do not include the check-out date in your selection.

In the opened popup, add the title, description and choose a calendar associated with your property. We created this calendar earlier in this tutorial. Click ‘Save’.

If you’ve enabled automatic calendar synchronization, you can either wait for the automatic synchronization process or navigate to Dashboard > Bookings > Sync Calendars and click the ‘Sync All External Calendars’ button to synchronize immediately.

Navigate to Dashboard > Bookings > Calendar. If synchronization was successful, you will find a new booking imported from your Google Calendar. Hover over or click on it to see details.

How to sync bookings with Apple Calendar

1. Locate your calendar URLs.

All calendar URLs associated with your rental properties can be found via Dashboard > Bookings > Sync Calendars.

2. Copy your calendar URL.

Copy your calendar URL located in the “Export” column.

3. Open Apple Calendar on your MacBook.

We’ll provide you with examples from Calendar version 11.0.

4. Click File > New Calendar Subscription.

5. Paste the previously copied link in the dialog box.

In the dialog box, paste the previously copied link of your property calendar into the provided field and click the ‘Subscribe’ button.

6. Add a calendar name and choose how often to refresh the calendar.

Unlike Google Calendar, you can control synchronization intervals.

Note: If you noticed that your bookings are not syncing with your Apple Calendar, try changing the calendar Location from “iCloud” to “On My Mac” on your laptop.

7. Apple Calendar will try to fetch all bookings made for this property on your website and display them.

You can click on a booking to view its details.

8. Create a new calendar to export bookings.

While the “Calendar Subscription” is read-only, which means you can only import bookings from your website, to create new bookings in Apple Calendar and export them back to your website (BNBForms account), you must create a new calendar.

9. Click File > New Calendar.

The new calendar will appear on the left side of the screen. Give it a name.

10. Share the calendar.

Right-click on the created calendar, then choose ‘Share Calendar’.

11. Make the calendar public.

In the dialog box, choose ‘Public Calendar’ and click ‘Done’.

12. Right-click on the created calendar and choose ‘Get Info’.

13. Copy the calendar URL.

In the dialog box, copy the calendar URL.

14. Navigate to Dashboard > Bookings > Sync Calendars and click the ‘Edit button’ under chosen property.

15. Click the ‘Add New Calendar’ button and paste the calendar URL of your Apple Calendar.

Note: Please make sure to manually change the link protocol from webcal to https.

Click the ‘Update’ button.

16. Create a booking or time blocking in your Apple Calendar.

In Apple Calendar, switch to the Month view and select dates you would like to mark as booked or blocked.

Note: Ensure you select full days of stay. Do not include the check-out date in your selection.

In the opened popup, add the title, description, and choose a calendar associated with your property. We created this calendar earlier in this tutorial.

Navigate to Dashboard > Bookings > Calendar. If synchronization was successful, you will find a new booking imported from your Apple Calendar. Hover over or click on it to see details.

To enable automatic external calendars synchronization, navigate to Dashboard > Accommodation > Settings and scroll down to the Calendars Synchronization Scheduler section.

How to force Google Calendar to update a subscribed Calendar

Note: The following instructions require technical skills.

Google Calendar’s iCal sync can be slow, with updates taking up to 48 hours, according to their documentation. For faster refreshes, consider Google Apps Script (by @derekantrican) which allows automatic sync every N minutes for any given subscribed calendar.

https://github.com/derekantrican/GAS-ICS-Sync

Follow these steps to run the script:

1. Navigate to following URL

https://script.google.com/d/1BOk8MDLbLaHh6SwG1M1tsgNXjkcC-79LE0QoipRuTDxbO3fMVvqoROQD/edit?newcopy=true

2. On the left-hand side of the screen, choose the Overview menu.

3. Click the “Copy” icon on the top right.

4. Scroll down to the line #28 and replace iCal URLs with your data.

Example:

[
    "https://bnbforms.com/100011/?feed=mphb.ics&accommodation_id=22",
    "BNBForms"
]

, where

https://bnbforms.com/100011/?feed=mphb.ics&accommodation_id=22 – is the iCal URL of a calendar;
BNBForms – is the name of a calendar in the Google Calendar.

5. Click the ‘Save’ button on the top panel.

6. Make sure your toolbar says “Install” to the right of “Debug”, then click “Run”.

7. You will be prompted to authorize the program and will need to click “Advanced” > “Go to GAS-ICS-Sync (unsafe)”.

8. You can check script executions and logs of synchronization following this URL

https://script.google.com/home/executions

On the image below, you will see that the script executes with the default 15-minute interval.

9. To stop the script (optional).

To stop the script, open it from your account at https://script.google.com/home/, change the dropdown to the right of “Debug” from “Install” to “Uninstall”, then click Run.

10. Result.

If you check your Google Calendar after the script execution, you will find two calendars with the name “BNBForms” in our case.

This is because the script doesn’t actually force Google to update your external calendar created following this tutorial. It creates a new calendar and processes the calendar feed separately.

The post How to sync bookings with Google and Apple calendars appeared first on BNBForms.

How to master booking inquiries: admin approval for hosts

admin — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 21:45:19 +0000

In response to some recent queries about booking inquiries, we thought it would be helpful to shed some light on the process and provide guidance for a smoother reservation experience.

Booking inquiries are essential for effective communication in various scenarios. They assist in accommodating special requests, addressing group needs, and clarifying property policies.

Understanding Confirmation by Admin mode

BNBForms offer the option of “confirmation by admin mode.” This means that your valued guests can send you a reservation request, putting you in control to either approve or decline it.

How to manage booking inquiries

Receive Reservation Request.
Your guests will initiate the booking process by sending a reservation request through our user-friendly booking form.
Review Reservation Request.
As the admin, you can access the reservation details and make an informed decision.
Choose Approval or Decline.
Based on your availability and preferences, you have the flexibility to approve or decline the reservation request.
Communicate with Guests.
Utilize our platform’s communication features to interact with guests, seek additional information if needed, or simply confirm the booking details.

We understand the importance of a hassle-free reservation process for both hosts and guests. By having the ability to review and confirm bookings, you can ensure that your property or service aligns perfectly with your guests’ expectations.

The post How to master booking inquiries: admin approval for hosts appeared first on BNBForms.

How to open the booking widget by any website button or link

admin — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 22:47:42 +0000

You have several options to open the booking widget using custom buttons, links, or the menu on your website. Additionally, you can navigate to a specific page within the booking widget to book a particular accommodation.

# Open booking widget via Hyperlink

To open the booking widget using a hyperlink:

Go to the BNBForms dashboard > Widget script, copy the script, and add it to your website according to your CMS, if you haven’t already done this.

To hide the default floating button, make sure to modify the code as described in the tutorial.
Add a link to your account on any button, link, or menu on your website.

An example of the account link is: https://bnbforms.com/100112/

Create a Wix hyperlink to open the booking widget

Now, every time a guest clicks the link on your website, the booking widget will appear.

Watch how to add the Booking Widget to your site menu

# Open booking widget via Custom CSS Class

To open the booking widget using a custom CSS class:

Go to the BNBForms dashboard > Widget script, copy the script, and add it to your website according to your CMS, if you haven’t already done this.

You might want to hide the Book Now button in case, for example, you want to use any other website button for opening the Book Now widget by BNBForms.
Add the custom CSS class bnbforms-bookingwidget-button to the preferable button or link on your website.

For example: by clicking on this button with the custom class added, the booking widget will be opened.

Add custom CSS class to open the booking widget

# Open a certain page in the booking widget

To allow site visitors to access a specific page within the booking widget by clicking a link on your website, you need to set the href attribute as the URL from your BNBForms account page.

Go to the BNBForms dashboard > Widget script, copy the script, and add it to your website according to your CMS, if you haven’t already done this.

To hide the default floating button, make sure to modify the code as described in the tutorial.
Add a link to a specific page in your account.

Example for opening the Comfort Triple Room accommodation details:
```
href="https://bnbforms.com/100112/accommodation/comfort-triple-room/">Book Now
```

Data-attribute is also supported. You may add data-bnbforms-src attribute to open a certain page. Example:

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