Booking.com Integration

Introduction

After connecting your Booking.com account to the GuestWisely Channel Manager, you can map new or existing listings (individual rooms/units) and fully synchronize availability, pricing, cancellation policies, photos and guest messaging or limit the sync to only availability, pricing, cancellation policies. Each Booking.com room/unit is handled as a separate property, so the connection process is repeated for every listing you want to manage centrally in GuestWisely.

This guide walks you through the complete setup: assigning GuestWisely as your connectivity provider, retrieving the necessary IDs, adding and configuring each property, handling existing bookings (especially important when switching from another channel manager) and final best practices to avoid issues like double bookings.

Quick checklist before connecting

• Active access to both Booking.com extranet and GuestWisely

• Cancellation policies already set in GuestWisely (they will sync automatically)

• Optional: Decide on a markup % (e.g. 10–22%) if you want higher prices on Booking.com

• If switching from another channel manager or iCal: existing bookings will need support to run a mapping script afterwards.

• If you have never used Booking.com before, please start by creating an account using the following link: https://join.booking.com/ .

Please note that the connection to this channel is exclusive to enable the instant bookings feature.

Follow the steps below carefully - once finished, GuestWisely becomes your single source of truth for Booking.com. 

Complete these steps to prevent common sync problems

• Log into both your Booking.com extranet and GuestWisely account (keep both tabs/windows open during the process).

• Go to GuestWisely > Payment Policies and confirm / configure the exact cancellation policy you want pushed to Booking.com.

• Decide on your markup percentage (commonly 10–22%) - this makes the price shown on Booking.com higher than your base rate in GuestWisely (you can change it later).

• If switching from another channel manager (e.g. Rentals United) or from iCal sync only: after the connection is done, you must contact GuestWisely support to run a booking mapping script (takes just a few minutes).

• If you currently have an active iCal export link in Booking.com, please plan to remove it once the direct channel connection is live, as keeping both may cause sync conflicts.

Now proceed with the connection steps below.

Assign GuestWisely as the Connectivity Provider in Booking.com (per property)

This step tells Booking.com that GuestWisely is allowed to manage your listing - it must be done individually for each unit.

1. Log in to the Booking.com extranet.

2. Select the specific property/unit you want to connect.

3. In the top-right corner, click Account > Connectivity provider > Search.

4. Search for and select GuestWisely.

5. Review the proposed connections, then click Confirm / Confirm Connections. This only authorizes the connection; actual data syncing happens in later phases.

Retrieve Required IDs from Booking.com

Booking.com uses two key identifiers - one for the overall account and one for each individual room/unit - that you will enter into GuestWisely.

A. Legal Entity ID (account-level, needed only once)

1. At the top of any Booking.com page, click the property name in the top-left dropdown menu.

2. Look at the bottom of the property overview section and copy the Legal Entity ID (typically a number starting with 9, e.g., 9701234…). Use the copy icon if available.
   
   
   
   

B. Room ID and Hotel ID (required for each unit)

1. From the property menu, navigate to Property → Room details.

2. Find the Room ID for the specific unit (a longer number, e.g., 135884502). Copy it.

3. Calculate the Hotel ID by removing the last two digits from the Room ID (e.g., 135884502 → 1358845).

Connect the Account and Property in GuestWisely

Here you link the overall Booking.com account once, then add and configure each individual property/unit.

1. In GuestWisely, open the Channel Manager section (usually found in the left sidebar) and select Booking.com.

2. Click the Connect to Booking.com  button.

3. Paste the Legal Entity ID and confirm the account-level connection.  This step is performed only once per Booking.com account.

Mapping Properties

1. Click Add Property+. When prompted “Is the property already on Booking.com?”, choose Yes.
   
   
   
   

2. Complete the required fields:

• Booking.com Hotel ID: Paste the derived Hotel ID (Room ID minus last two digits).

• Room ID: Paste the full Room ID you copied.

• Select the matching internal property/unit from your GuestWisely inventory.

• Currency: Select the correct currency (critical - Booking.com often pays only in the property’s backend currency).

• Markup % (optional): Enter your desired percentage (e.g., 15%) if you want GuestWisely prices increased on Booking.com.

• Sync type: Select Limited Sync (strongly recommended - updates only prices, availability and policies). Avoid Full Sync unless required, as it temporarily hides availability and takes longer.

3. Click Save.

The property will display “processing” for several minutes (especially while photos upload - Booking.com requires images before going live). Wait until it changes to Connected. Repeat steps 5–8 for every unit/property.

Pushing Properties

1. Click Add Property+. When prompted “Is the property already on Booking.com?”, choose No.

2. Complete the required fields:

• Booking.com Hotel ID: Paste the derived Hotel ID (Room ID minus last two digits).

• Select the internal property/unit (room) from your GuestWisely inventory that you would like to connect to that hotel.

• Currency: Select the correct currency (critical - Booking.com often pays only in the property’s backend currency).

• Markup % (optional): Enter your desired percentage (e.g., 15%) if you want GuestWisely prices increased on Booking.com.

• Sync type: Select Limited Sync (strongly recommended - updates only prices, availability and policies). Avoid Full Sync unless required, as it temporarily hides availability and takes longer.

3. Click Save.

Handling Existing / Future Bookings

New bookings will sync automatically after connection, but older bookings from before the switch need special handling to avoid issues with cancellations or messaging.

If switching from another channel manager or iCal setup:

• Future bookings received after the connection will import automatically into GuestWisely and trigger automated guest messages.

• Pre-existing bookings will not be recognized automatically and require mapping. 

After all properties are successfully connected:

• Contact your GuestWisely representative or support team and request that they run the booking mapping script for the switched properties.

• This quick process (usually a few minutes) ensures:

  • Cancellations of old bookings are handled correctly.

  • New guest messages import properly (note: message history from before the switch will not be imported).

Manual import option (useful for recent or future bookings)

In GuestWisely > Booking.com channel > select Manually Import Reservations.

Paste individual Booking.com reservation IDs (found in your Booking.com reservation list).

Click Get reservations / Import:  Best for bookings in the near future or roughly the last 15 days.

If the import fails or conflicts appear, manually block the corresponding dates in the GuestWisely calendar and add a note (e.g., the reservation number) to prevent double bookings.

Important Post-Connection notes

A few final checks and best practices help ensure everything runs smoothly long-term.

• Remove the iCal link from your Booking.com property settings so GuestWisely becomes the single, authoritative source for availability and pricing.

• Photo upload delay - The “processing” status is normal during initial sync and prevents misleading “not connected” alerts while images are transferred.

• Property type issues - If Booking.com displays an incorrect subtype dropdown after connection, contact GuestWisely support; they can correct the main category mapping.

• Payments - Booking.com’s payment facilitation (virtual credit card) is currently available only in the US and Canada. Elsewhere, payments are handled directly via guest credit card or virtual card to the property owner.

• Cancellation policies - Always manage and update these in GuestWisely - avoid editing them directly in Booking.com after the connection is live.

Once these steps are complete, GuestWisely will fully manage pricing updates, availability, incoming bookings and guest communication for your connected Booking.com properties - just like it does for your other channels.

If you run into persistent issues (e.g., status stuck on “processing”, mapping failures, or mismatched property types), reach out to GuestWisely support for assistance.