Deposit Policies for Groups

Stay allows users to create deposit policies that can be associated with a group master in the Tentative and Definite statuses.

Feature Setting

The following feature setting must be enabled to allow users to configure deposit policies for groups:

• Name: Deposit Policy for Group

• Comments: License is not required

Permission

The following permission must be assigned to users to enable them to create deposit policies for groups:

• WritePropertyConfig

Only when this permission is assigned, users can create deposit policies in the Group Policies tab in the Policies and Codes screen (All Settings ➜ Reservations ➜ Polices & Codes ➜ Deposit Settings ➜ Group Policies). Users without this permission can only view the Group Policies tab. They cannot create new deposit policies.

The following permission must be assigned to enable users to override and update the Deposit Policy field that was configured as mandatory in the Details section of the Group Booking tab as an optional field:

• Stay_OverrideGroupDeposit 

Create Group Deposit Policies

When the Deposit Policy For Group feature setting is enabled, the Group Policies tab will be displayed in the Policies and Codes screen (All Settings ➜ Reservations ➜ Polices & Codes ➜ Deposit Settings ➜ Group Policies). The existing deposit polices will be moved to the Reservation Policies tab.

When users click Add in the Group Policies tab, the New Deposit Policy pop-up screen appears that displays the following fields:

Field	Description
Active	Select this checkbox to activate the deposit policy.
Name	This is a mandatory field that allows users to enter a unique name for the deposit policy. Users can enter a maximum of 50 characters.
Code	This is a mandatory field that allows users to enter a unique code for the deposit policy. Users can enter a maximum of 6 characters.
Description	This is a mandatory field that allows users to enter the description for the policy. Users can enter a maximum of 200 characters.
Deposit Calculation	Users can select from the following options for calculating the deposit amount: Manual Auto Calculate
Manual	When selected, users must select the date when the deposit amount must be collected from the Date field. Users can also enter the date manually in this field. The amount to be collected must be defined in the Amount field. The Amount field allows only positive numeric characters. Negative values cannot be entered. Users can configure multiple dates using the +Add hyperlink. Users can delete the amount configured for a date if required.
Auto Calculate	Users can configure the schedules for collecting the deposit amount. When the Auto Recurring Fees checkbox is selected, the auto recurring fee will be included in the deposit amount calculated for the group. When the Estimated Tax checkbox is selected, the tax amount for the nightly room rate and auto recurring fee (if selected) will be included in the deposit amount calculation. When the Group Components checkbox is selected, the charges of the group components will be included in the deposit amount calculation. Users can configure the deposit schedules using the following fields: Field Description Schedule This is a mandatory field that allows users to select from the following options: Before Arrival: The number of days before the group’s arrival/arrival shoulder date when the deposit must be collected. After Booking: The number of days after a group that is in the Definite status is created and the deposit must be collected. Users can configure multiple schedules using the +Add hyperlink. Days Users can configure the number of days before arrival or after booking the deposit amount must be collected. Numeric characters with a maximum length of 3 characters can be entered. Negative values cannot be entered. Charge By This is a mandatory field that allows users to select from the following options: Guaranteed Blocks Routed Reservations Guaranteed Blocks When selected, the deposit amount will be calculated for the actual rooms blocked for the group and not the allocated blocks based on the values configured in the Percentage or Maximum number of nights fields. When the room blocks are added or reduced, the deposit amount will be calculated accordingly. When the room blocks are released/unreleased, the deposit amount will be calculated accordingly. The room blocks created for the shoulder dates will not be considered. Percentage When selected, users can define the percentage of blocks for each room type that must be considered for calculating the deposit. Users can enter values from 1 to 100. Maximum number of nights Users can configure the number of group nights that must be considered for calculating the deposit. Users can enter values starting from 1. Routed Reservations When selected, the amount routed to a group through a routing rule will be considered for calculating the deposit amount based on the Percentage or Maximum number of reservations. Percentage When selected, users can define the percentage of charge routed from group reservations to a group that must be considered for calculating the deposit amount. The group reservations for which a routing rule is not applied are not considered. Users can enter values from 1 to 100. Maximum number of reservations Users can define the number of reservations whose charges must be considered for deposit calculation. If the count of the reservations booked for a group is lesser than the number defined, the count of the booked reservations will be considered for deposit calculation. Only reservations in INH and RES statuses will be considered. If there is a deposit schedule to be collected and if there is a charge added to the reservation, the deposit amount must be recalculated by including the charges. If there is no deposit pending to be collected, adding charges to the reservation will not impact the deposit due and remaining amount must be collected manually. Users can enter values from 1 to 365.

When users click Save, the deposit policies will be created successfully. The following columns in the Group Policies tab displays the details of the deposit policies created:

• Code: The code of the deposit policy.

• Type: The type of the deposit policy (Manual/Auto Calculate).

• Name: The name of the deposit policy.

• Description: The description of the deposit policy.

• Status: The status of the deposit policy.

• Deposit: The deposit amount to be collected when the type is selected as Manual. Displays the amount as Varies when the type is selected as Auto Calculate.

Sample Scenarios

Consider a group with the following count of rooms blocked, picked up, remaining, and the nightly room rate for various room types:

Room Type	June 25, 2024	June 26, 2024	June 27, 2024	June 28, 2024
King	B-5 P-2 R-3 Rate - $100.0	B-4 P-2 R-2 Rate - $200.00	B-5 P-1 R-4 Rate - $200.00	B-10 P-0 R-10 Rate - $100.00
Queen	B-5 P-1 R-4 Rate - $200.00	B-5 P-2 R-3 Rate - $100.00	B-4 P-2 R-2 Rate - $200.00	B-10 P-5 R-5 Rate - $100.00

Where B denotes blocked, P denotes picked up, R denotes remaining, and Rate denotes the room rate.

• When the Guaranteed Blocks option is selected and the Percentage is configured as 10, the deposit amount is calculated as follows:

Room Type	June 25, 2024	June 26, 2024	June 27, 2024	June 28, 2024
King	0.5 * $100.00 = $50.00	0.4 *$200.00 = $80.00	0.5 * $200.00 = $100	1.0 * $100.00 = $100.00
Queen	0.5 * $200.00 = $100	0.5 * $100.00 = $50.00	0.4 *$200.00 = $80.00	1.0 * $100.00 = $100.00

Deposit amount: $150.00 + $130.00 + $180.00 + $200.00 = $660.00.

When the rate is not defined or when the room type of the reservation is changed to a non-group room type, the rate is considered as 0.

• When the Routed Reservations option selected, the Percentage is configured as 10, and if the group has 2 reservations from which charges were routed to a group folio, 10% of each charge routed will be considered for calculating the deposit:

Reservation	June 25, 2024	June 26, 2024	June 27, 2024	June 28, 2024
1	Pepsi - $10.00 10% = $1.00 Room rate - $100.00 10% = $10.00	Room rate - $100.00 10% = $10.00 Burger - $50.00 10% = $5.00	Room rate - $100.00 10% = $10.00 Burger - $50.00 10% = $5.00	Room rate - $100.00 10% = $10.00 Burger - $50.00 10% = $5.00
2	Room rate - $100.00 10% = $10.00 Coke - $50.00 10% = $5.00	Room rate - $100.00 10% = $10.00 Coke - $50.00 10% = $5.00	Room rate - $100.00 10% = $10.00 Coke - $50.00 10% = $5.00	Room rate - $100.00 10% = $10.00 Coke - $50.00 10% = $5.00

Deposit amount: $26.00 + $30.00 + $30.00 + $30.00 = $116.00.

• If the Maximum no of reservations is configured as 1, the deposit amount will be calculated as follows:

Reservation	June 25, 2024	June 26, 2024	June 27, 2024	June 28, 2024
1	Pepsi - $10.00 Room rate - $100.00	Room rate - $100.00 Burger - $50.00	Room rate - $100.00 Burger - $50.00	Room rate - $100.00 Burger - $50.00

Deposit amount: $110.00 + $150.00 + $150.00 + $150.00 = $560.00.

Users can configure a default group deposit policy for the groups created through ACRS and other OTAs using the Set as default policy hyperlink in the Deposit Settings section of the Policies and Codes screen. When clicked, the Set Default Policy pop-up screen appears that allows users to select a default policy.

When the deposit policies of the groups created through ACRS and other OTAs do not match the group deposit policies configured at the property, the policy set as the default policy will be applied to these groups.

Associate Deposit Policies with Groups

When the Deposit Policy For Group feature setting is enabled, the deposit policy that was previously selected to be applied for group reservations will be displayed in the Deposit Policy field in the General section of the Reservation Presets tab of the group. The deposit policy selected in this field will be applied to the group’s reservations in Reserved status.

The deposit policy for the group master must be selected from the Deposit Policy field in the Details section of the Group Booking tab. This field displays all the active group deposit policies configured by the property. Users can select the preferred deposit policy to be applied for the group master. This field is displayed as a mandatory field when the Group Deposit Policy option is selected in the All Fields drop-down list in the Groups tab on the Stay Fields Settings screen (All Settings ➜ General ➜ Field Settings).

Users with the Stay_OverrideGroupDeposit permission can override and change the Deposit Policy field as optional using the Override option displayed below the field. This option will be displayed only when the Deposit Policy field is mandatory.

When clicked, the Override pop-up screen appears that prompts users to enter the reason for the override. Users can enter a maximum of 250 characters. When more than 250 characters are entered, the message, Exceeds 250 characters, will be displayed. When users click Yes, the Deposit Policy field will be changed to an optional field and when users hover over the info icon displayed next to the Overridden indicator, the reason for the override will be displayed.

Deposit Section in Groups

The Deposit section in groups displays the following tabs:

• Deposit Due

• Deposit Policy

Deposit Due Tab

Based on the deposit policy selected in this field, the deposit amount to be collected will be calculated and displayed in the Deposit Due tab of the Deposit section. The deposit schedules for the upcoming dates will also be displayed.

The details of the deposit amount to be collected is displayed in the following columns:

Column	Description
Payment Method	The default payment method of the group. When the default payment method of the group is modified, the payment method will be updated only for the upcoming deposit schedules and not for the deposit amount already collected.
Deposit Policy	The code of the deposit policy associated with the group. When the deposit policy is modified, the deposit due will be calculated based on the new policy. When the deposit amount previously collected exceeds the deposit amount calculated based on the new policy, the excess amount must be refunded manually. When the deposit amount previously collected is lesser than the deposit amount calculated based on the new policy, the remaining deposit due will be collected.
Total Deposit Amount	The total deposit amount to be collected based on all the schedules configured for the deposit policy.
Due Date	The date when the deposit amount must be collected.
Deposit Amount	The deposit amount calculated for the current schedule.
Deposit Collected	The total deposit amount collected based on all the schedules configured for the deposit policy.
Status	The status of the deposit amount collected. If the amount is yet to be collected, the status is displayed as Scheduled. If the amount is collected successfully, the status is displayed as Success. If the payment for the deposit fails, the status is displayed as Failed.
Last Collected Date	The date when the deposit amount was collected.

Deposit Policy Tab

When a group deposit policy is not available, users can create custom deposit policies for the group from the Deposit Policy tab.

When users click Add, the New Deposit Policy pop-up screen appears that allows users to create a new group policy for the group. Users can create a new deposit policy, or create a policy based on a deposit policy created at the property level by selecting a policy from the Select Template drop-down list in this screen.

The details of the deposit policies configured for the group are displayed in this section. Once the policies are created, users can select the preferred policy from the Deposit Policy field.

Collect Deposit Amount

The deposit amount for a group can be collected from the following screens:

• Batch Operations ➜ Deposit Due

• Night Audit ➜ Date Roll

• Policies and Codes ➜ Deposit Settings ➜ Auto Collect Deposit Due

• Group ➜ Group Booking ➜ Deposit ➜ Deposit Due

Deposit Due Tab of Groups

Users can collect the deposit amount for a group from the Deposit Due tab in the Deposit section. When the due date for the deposit is passed, an Overdue indicator is displayed below the payment method of the record.

When users select the deposit schedules, the Collect Deposit Due option will be enabled for selection.

When selected, the Collect Deposit Due pop-up screen appears that prompts users to enter their credentials. When users click Yes, the entered credentials are validated. On successful validation, the payment is processed, and the Transaction In Progress pop-up screen appears that informs users that the payment is being processed.

When users close this pop-up screen, the following message is displayed as a banner in the Group screen: Deposit collection is in progress.

Once the payment is processed successfully, the deposit amount is posted to the folio, the status of the deposit collection is displayed as a banner in the Group screen, and the Status for the deposit schedule is updated in the Deposit Due tab. A confirmation email is sent to the email address of the guest profile associated with the group.

When the deposit policy for a group is modified after the deposit amount is collected and if the deposit amount calculated for the new policy is lesser than the previously collected amount, the difference between the amount is updated in the Excess Deposit Amount field. When the status of the group is modified to Cancelled or Turndown after the deposit amount is collected, the Cancel/Turndown Group pop-up screen appears that prompts users to confirm if the status of the group must be modified.

When users click Yes, the status of the group will be modified.

Auto Collect Deposit Due

The deposit amount for a group can be collected automatically based on the time configured in the Auto Collect Deposit Due tab in the Deposit Section of the Policies and Codes screen (All Settings ➜ Reservations ➜ Policies and Codes ➜ Deposit Settings ➜ Auto Collect Deposit Due).

Batch Operations ➜ Deposit Due

The deposit amount for groups can be collected from the Deposit Due tab of the Batch Operations screen. Only the deposit schedules associated with the credit card payment method will be processed. The deposit amount collected will be posted to the default folio of the group.

Night Audit Screen

The deposit amount for groups can be collected from the Date Roll tab of the Night Audit screen using the Collect Deposits Due option. Only the deposit schedules associated with the credit card payment method will be processed. The deposit amount collected will be posted to the default folio of the group.

Records in Audit Log Screen and Group History Section

A record is created in the Audit Log screen that captures the username, date, and time when a new group deposit policy was created at the property-level and when the following fields of a group deposit policy was modified:

• Status

• Name

• Code

• Description

• Date and Amount in the Manual tab

• Delete the Date and Amount in the Manual tab

• Add a new Date and Amount in the Manual tab

• Schedule/Charge By/Amount/Percentage values in the Auto Calculate tab

• Delete a schedule in the Auto Calculate tab

• Add a new schedule in the Auto Calculate tab

• Select/deselect the ARF/Group Components/Estimated Tax checkboxes

A record is created in the Group History section of the groups that captures the username, date, and time when the following operations are performed:

• Add a new group deposit policy at the property-level

• Update the Deposit Policy field in the Details section of the Group Booking tab to an optional field

• Modify the following fields of a group deposit policy:

  • Status

  • Name

  • Code

  • Description

  • Date and Amount in the Manual tab

  • Delete the Date and Amount in the Manual tab

  • Add a new Date and Amount in the Manual tab

  • Schedule/Charge By/Amount/Percentage values in the Auto Calculate tab

  • Delete a schedule in the Auto Calculate tab

  • Add a new schedule in the Auto Calculate tab

  • Select/deselect the ARF/Group Components/Estimated Tax checkboxes

• When the deposit policy associated with a group is modified

• When the deposit due is collected from the Deposit Due section of the group