SOP - Ghost Bookings

Understanding what a ghost booking is and how to handle them from start to finish.

Overview

Of all of our millions of bookings that are made worldwide, a very small amount of them are what we call internally* 'ghost bookings'. 

A ghost booking occurs as follows:

• The end-customer makes a booking via our client (for example on Revolut Stays) and we confirm that booking to them at the time they finalise the booking.

• The system is then attempting to find availability scanning all properties using our API system in order to match supply to what the guest has booked.

• The ghost booking status arrives because the API system is not able to find an available room for the guest.

*Important! We only use the term 'ghost booking' internally and it should never be mentioned outside of Nuitee. 

Objective:

Our first priority is to rebook what the guest has booked using our GSA platform. This helps to ensure:

• The guest's experience is not negatively impacted as they remain unaware of the ghost booking issue.

• We keep our relocations percentage low (we have an SLA with Revolut to keep relocations below 0.2%).

---

Ghost Bookings Flowchart

Below, you may find the flowchart that provides an overview of what steps to follow based on what is possible at the time of reviewing the ghost booking:

Click here to open a PDF version of the above flowchart.

---

Scenario 1 - Availability on GSA

This should always be our first approach:

1. Open the Revolut Bookings Google Sheet and focus on bookings marked "Not rebooked" with check-ins for this month. Filter by status = confirmed (no need to rebook cancelled bookings);
2. Search on GSA for the same hotel and same room type that the guest has originally booked;
3. If it is available, contact your Team Leader so they can make a booking on GSA and share with you the new Booking ID;
4. On Back Office, the Team Leader is to leave the following comment in the new booking under operational remarks: "New reservation booked due to ghost booking [insert ghost booking Booking ID];
5. On Back Office, the CSR is to add the new Booking ID to the latest ghost booking in the field: 'New Booking ID'. 

Logging into GSA

All agents to use the same below credentials to log into GSA:

• User: CustomerServiceSpain
• Password: Zqa@32dxw

---

Scenario 2 - Book directly with the Hotel

In the event of there being no availability on GSA, we can attempt to book directly with the hotel:

1. Book on the hotel's official website searching for the same room type the guest originally booked;
2. Request a Virtual Credit Card by emailing Rachael Murgatroyd and copying in your Team Leaders.
3. Once the VCC has been sent, your Team Leader can book the new reservation on the hotel's website, entering all the guest details but placing in their own work email address in order to receive the booking confirmation. 
4. On Back Office, on the ghost booking, the CSR should enter "123" under the field 'New Booking ID to report that the booking was made offline (aka not on GSA) and gets automatically removed from the Revolut Bookings Google Sheet. 

---

Scenario 3 - Hotel is fully booked

In case the hotel is fully booked, we need to start the standard relocation procedure, informing the client of the overbooking and provide the following options:

• *Three alternative hotel options (these alternative hotels can be up to 150% of the original booking)
• The option to cancel the original booking for free.
• The option for the guest to find and rebook an alternative accommodation themselves and get a refund of up to 200% of the original booking amount after their stay upon sending receipt of stay.

Finally, share the macro 'Relocation for Revolut' with the client and await the guest's response before moving forward.

*Important! - Always ensure that the new room matches or exceeds the original room type, has the same star rating and does not exceed 5km distance of the original booking.

---

Good to know – Important reminders for relocations

A single ghost booking may go through multiple relocation attempts as the system automatically attempts to match the booking to supply.

Always update the system with the latest booking ID on Back Office:

• Locate the last booking made for that relocation;

• Click on the last booking ID to be redirected to the most recent booking;

• Continue clicking through the chain (if needed) until you reach the final booking;

• This ensures that the system reflects the most accurate and up-to-date information.

❗️If you don’t link the latest booking correctly, the relocation record will be inaccurate.

---

Operations Remarks – what to record

On Back Office, in the "Operations booking remarks" field, always leave clear notes on how the new booking was made as this will automatically reflect on the Revolut Bookings Google Sheet.

Examples:

• “Made directly with hotel”

• “VCC requested” (if virtual credit card is pending)

• “Invoice received from Finance” (include details if relevant)

---

Cancellation Policy Reference

To check the cancellation policy of the original reservation:

• Use LiteAPI and search for the booking by entering the Booking ID;

• View the cancellation policy of the booking, whether refundable or non-refundable.

---

Article original created on Monday 6th October, 2025