1. Onboarding Process
Documents as per checklist: Onboarding begins once all documents listed in the checklist shared by the BGFT Hospitality Business Development team are received from the Hotel Partner.
Pictures & content: The Hotel is required to share content for social media use. Where the Hotel subscribes to our socialBOOST digital marketing service, BGFT Hospitality will curate destination-specific content and create posts on the property's behalf.
Smartphone & SIM: For properties subscribing to reservationDESK (our outsourced reservation desk service), the Hotel must provide a smartphone and SIM, as this number will be displayed consistently across all online platforms. If the agreement is discontinued, the phone and SIM are returned to the Hotel. Monthly bills remain payable by the Hotel; for convenience, an annual recharge is recommended.
Contact details: For properties subscribing to reservationDESK, a hotel-specific contact number and email ID managed by BGFT Hospitality will be displayed on the hotel website, Google Business Profile, social media handles, emailers and all other marketing collateral managed by BGFT Hospitality for that property.
Commencement email: The Hotel Partner will receive a formal commencement email from the Business Development team confirming receipt of all required documents, at which point the relevant revenueMAX, reservationDESK, socialBOOST and reputationPLUS teams are notified.
2. Payments & Billing Cycle
Retainership fee: Monthly retainership fees are payable in advance on a quarterly basis.
Annual increment: The retainership fee increases by 10% annually.
Sales commission: Commission amounts are payable by the Hotel via bank transfer within 7 days of invoice generation.
Billing start: Billing commences from the date of the first booking generated through BGFT Hospitality (online or offline), or from the date the property goes live on OTAs such as GoMMT, Agoda and Booking.com, whichever comes first, provided the channel manager has been configured.
3. Payments Collected by BGFT Hospitality
The following categories of payment are received directly by BGFT Hospitality and settled with the Hotel after guest checkout:
- All payments collected through the payment gateway
- Payments collected at the BGFT Hospitality office
- Payments from travel agents with a long-standing association with BGFT Hospitality who deal directly with us
- Where applicable, BGFT Hospitality collects payment inclusive of GST payable by the Hotel
Bank Details
The Hotel's bank details are updated across all booking channels, with the exception of Booking.com, where prepaid bookings are settled through the payment gateway.
Payment Reconciliation
BGFT Hospitality remits collected payments to the Hotel for all guests who have checked out, after reconciling any dues owed to BGFT Hospitality. Cancellations and refunds relating to such bookings are handled by BGFT Hospitality. Where a payment has already been made to the Hotel, or adjusted against dues, any resulting refund obligation is met by the Hotel.
Online Transaction Charges
Transaction charges apply to all payments collected via the payment gateway, based on actuals.
Payment Guarantee
BGFT Hospitality guarantees all prepaid bookings in full. For pay-at-hotel bookings, or where part payment is to be collected from an agent or guest at the property, the Hotel will be informed in advance so that collection can be made on time.
Monthly Performance Reports
BGFT Hospitality provides a detailed revenue report on or before the 7th of every month. The Hotel Partner is required to confirm this report within 7 days of receipt.
4. Cancellation Policy
A 90-day notice period applies to all terminations, to allow for a smooth transition.
- To initiate cancellation, the Hotel must send written communication from its official email ID to finance@bgft-hospitality.com requesting termination of the agreement.
- To avoid the fixed retainership fee applying through the notice period, termination must be intimated on or before the 25th of the month; otherwise, the fixed fee will apply for that notice period.
- During the notice period, the fixed fee does not apply; however, a 10% variable fee applies to all bookings generated (for present and future stay dates) during this period.
- Any payment collected by BGFT Hospitality for future-dated stays will be transferred to the Hotel only after guest checkout, to allow for potential guest cancellations or refunds for which BGFT Hospitality remains liable.
- The Finance team will share the ledger and any outstanding amount with the Hotel by email.
- The Hotel may review the ledger, raise any concerns, and is required to clear dues within 3 days.
- Once dues are cleared, the Accounts department issues a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the Revenue team, following which all login credentials are shared with the Hotel by email.
- Following cancellation, BGFT Hospitality provides 30 days of complimentary support to the Hotel at no additional charge.
For any questions regarding this policy, please reach out to your BGFT Hospitality account manager or write to sourabh@bgft-hospitality.com.