Step by step
Take bookings on your booking page
Your hotel's own booking page lets guests book a room online on the plans you sell online, with a deposit by M-Pesa. Each booking lands at the front desk like any other.
Kila gives every hotel a booking page of its own: guests choose their dates and room, give their name and M-Pesa number and book, without an account. The booking is held for a short time while they pay the deposit.
Switch the booking page on
On Hotel › Booking page and channels, under Booking page, switch it on (1): Taking bookings online. Kila says which plans it sells and how: “with a deposit by M-Pesa prompt. A booking not paid in 30 minutes is released.”
Share the page's address
The address (2) ends with your workspace’s name, such as /stay/naivasha-lakeside-lodge. Copy it for your website, social media or messages; Open shows the page as guests see it.
The guest chooses the dates and a room
The page shows Book a room, your hotel’s name and phone, the check-in and check-out times and your message. For the dates and guests chosen, it lists each room type free with each plan you sell online: the price for the stay, the cancellation terms and the deposit, such as Deposit KES 14,500.00 by M-Pesa. The guest taps Choose.
The guest books
Kila sums up the choice (4). The guest gives Your name and their M-Pesa phone (“The deposit prompt goes to this phone.”) and taps Book and pay KES … deposit (5). Kila gives the reference: “Booked. Your reference is RES-000170. Pay the deposit within 30 minutes to keep the room.” Where your M-Pesa prompts are set up, the prompt goes to their phone. Until Kila’s M-Pesa connection is live (Integrations and API says Prompts not connected), none goes: the booking is kept, and the page tells the guest that the prompt could not be sent and that your hotel “will call you to take the deposit”. Call them and take it: see Take a deposit.
See it at the front desk
The reservation is on the front desk and the grid like any other, booked by Own website with the reference Booking page. Until the deposit is paid it says Online booking: released at … unless the deposit is paid. (6). If the guest pays another way, take it with Take deposit (7).
Good to know
The owner sets the booking page up under Hotel › Hotel settings, Booking page and agents: the Online deposit, Unpaid bookings released after (minutes), how many Days ahead guests can book, and the Message on the booking page. Only the rate plans with Sold online are offered.
Kila could not send the M-Pesa prompt
Link to this section: Kila could not send the M-Pesa promptThe guest sees this on the booking page. The booking is made and held, but no prompt went out. Call the guest, take the deposit by the till or paybill, and record it with Take deposit before the hold runs out.
The guest wants to know if their booking is safe
Link to this section: The guest wants to know if their booking is safeOn the page, after booking, I have paid: check my booking shows where it stands, such as “Waiting for the deposit.”
- Take a deposit: recording the deposit at the desk.
- Set up rooms, rates and seasons: the prices the page shows.
- Connect booking sites and channel managers: selling through Booking.com and others.
Next: when the guest arrives, check them in.