If you have an overbooking but cannot find the reservation, follow these steps to locate the booking and resolve the discrepancy.
Verify if the reservation is in Little Hotelier
Go to the Reservations page and search by guest name or arrival date.
If the booking is not in your Little Hotelier platform: It is likely an unmapped channel rate
Check for Channel Issues: If a channel is "Disabled," it stops receiving updates and will sell rooms based on outdated availability. Also check if there are any known connection issues affecting the channel
Identify unmapped rate reservations
If the booking appears in your Little Hotelier platform, look for these signs of a mapping issue:
Yellow Banner: indicating the reservation came from a channel rate that isn't mapped in your platform (e.g., "Inventory not updated for Booking.com reservation") with recommended actions to fix the mapping issue
Blank Fields (-): A dash in the Room Type or Rate Plan fields means the rate is not mapped.
You will receive a notification (if Distribution notifications are turned on) when a guest books using a channel rate that isn't mapped in your platform.
What causes overbookings?
Overbookings happen because your platform cannot update your inventory (availability) for unmapped rates.
Unmapped Rates: The channel keeps selling a rate that Little Hotelier is not controlling
Incorrectly mapped/multi-mapped rates: if one room is mapped to multiple conflicting channel rates, inventory cannot update correctly
Disabled Rates: No inventory updates are sent for rates that are switched off
Channel Issues: Check for any connection alerts or disabled channels
Synchronisation Delay: Availability can take up to 5 minutes to update across all channels. If two guests book on different sites at the exact same time, a double booking can occur
Steps to resolve
Locate the missing reservation
If you cannot find the booking in Little Hotelier, you must check the booking source.
Check the channel extranet: Log in to the channel extranet directly.
Search for the booking: Use the guest name or dates to find the reservation and note which rate plan was used.
Identify mapping issues: Go to Distribution > Channels > Edit room rates mapping. Filter by "Unmapped" or check for disabled rates. If a rate created on the channel is not mapped in Little Hotelier, the booking cannot be delivered.
Handle the missing reservation
Immediate actions:
Contact the channel: Contact the booking channel directly to manage the guest's relocation if necessary. Little Hotelier is unable to contact the channel on your behalf.
Manual Entry: Manually add the guest details to Little Hotelier from the channel extranet.
Reduce Inventory: Manually lower your availability to stop more bookings.
Fix mapping and setup:
Fix Mapping: Go to Distribution > Channels > Edit room rates mapping. Filter by Unmapped and map the missing rates.
Request XML Log: If mapping is correct, ask the channel for the Reservation XML log and share it with our support team to investigate the delivery.
Note: Reservation inclusions can differ between channel and Little Hotelier
If the reservation is delivered and mapping is correct but some details (such as breakfast) are missing, note that some channels do not send full inclusions or meal plan details in the reservation message to your Little Hotelier platform. Contact the channel to confirm which inclusions are set up and what the guest booked.
How to prevent overbookings
To help reduce the risk of overbookings:
Audit your mapping: Ensure one platform room type/room rate is mapped to the matching room type/room rate on the channel
Regularly check availability: Ensure the availability on your inventory matches your actual physical rooms
Use Yield Rules (Auto-Close): You can set up an automatic closure yield rule to apply a "Stop Sell" when your room availability reaches 1
Manage the last room: If you only have one room left and expect a booking, manually place a stop sell on low-performing channels and only keep it open on your highest-performing channel