Testing the booking engine end to end

The first real guest is the worst place to discover a misconfigured rate plan or a broken payment method. This article gives you a practical pre-launch test plan for the booking engine: a 10-minute smoke test you should run any time you change settings, plus a deeper checklist for the day before you announce your direct-booking link to the world.

10-minute smoke test

Run this every time you save changes in Settings → Booking Engine. Open the live engine in an incognito window so you don't see cached versions or staff-only states.

1. The page loads with your branding

Open https://your-subdomain.hotelbee.io/booking. The header should show your logo, your hotel title (or the property name if you didn't override it), and your chosen header color. The button color, font, and background image should all match the Appearance tab. If anything looks off, hit Save in settings again and hard-refresh.

2. The language switcher works

The default language should be the one you set. Click into the switcher and verify each enabled language is offered, and that switching reloads the page in that language. If a language you enabled doesn't appear, recheck the Language tab.

3. Search returns rooms for in-season dates

Pick a date range a few weeks out where you know rooms are available. Click Search. You should see your room types listed with hero images, descriptions, and prices. If the list is empty, jump to the troubleshooting section below.

4. Rate plans display with correct prices and rules

Click into a room type. You should see each available rate plan (Flexible, Non-Refundable, Breakfast Included, etc.) with the per-night price, the total for the stay, the cancellation policy summary, and any restrictions. Spot-check the math: nightly × nights = total. If a rate is missing, that rate plan probably isn't flagged for the booking engine.

5. The basket calculates correctly

Pick a rate, click through to checkout. The basket should sum room cost + tax + any extras correctly. If you have an active automatic discount whose conditions are met (e.g. min nights), it should show as a discount line. Try a promo code: open Backoffice → Promo Codes in another tab to grab one, then apply it in the engine. The discount should apply visibly.

6. Only the right payment methods appear

On the payment selection screen, only the methods you ticked in Settings → Booking Engine → Payment Methods should appear. No internal types like Room Charge or Account. If a method you expected is missing, check that the underlying payment method (Settings → Payment Methods) is active and has cash/card/bank base type.

7. Stop here for the smoke test

If everything above is fine, your last config change didn't break anything. You can stop here for routine checks. For the full pre-launch test, continue below — you'll actually complete a booking.

Pre-launch deep test (booking through to confirmation)

Allow ~30 minutes. You'll book, verify the PMS side, then cancel and refund.

1. Make the test booking

Use a guest name that's clearly a test ("ZZ Test Guest"), a real email address you can check, and a real phone number you'll recognize. Pick "Pay at hotel" to avoid moving money. Submit.

2. The confirmation page is correct

After submit, you should land on a confirmation page with the reservation number, dates, room, total, and a link to the Guest Portal. Click the portal link — make sure it opens with the correct Wi-Fi info, things-to-do, etc. (you set those in Settings → Booking Engine → Guest Portal Information / Things To Do).

3. The confirmation email arrives

Within a few minutes, the confirmation email lands in the test inbox. Verify: the From name is correct, the subject is clear, the body shows the right hotel name and reservation details, and the Guest Portal link works. Check spam if it doesn't arrive.

4. The reservation appears in the PMS calendar

Open the Reservations Calendar. The booking should be visible immediately — confirmed status, source "Booking Engine" (no OTA channel), the right room, the right dates. Open the reservation: rates, taxes, guest profile, and payment status should all match the booking engine basket. Inventory for those dates should be reduced by 1 for that room type.

5. Cancel and clean up

Cancel the reservation from its detail view. The status changes to Cancelled and the inventory is freed. Run a quick reservations report filtered by the date you tested to confirm only legitimate bookings remain. If you accidentally captured a deposit (when testing card flow), refund it now.

Common failure modes — quick fixes

• Search returns no rooms. Check (in order): room type active → has rate plan → rate plan enabled for booking engine → rooms available on those dates → no sales block covering those dates → no min-stay or closed-to-arrival restriction.
• Room shows but says "no rates available". A rate plan exists but has no price for those dates. Open the room price grid and fill in the missing dates.
• Room images aren't showing. Open the room type form and confirm at least one image is attached. The first image becomes the hero on the booking engine card.
• No payment options appear at checkout. Settings → Booking Engine → Payment Methods has no method ticked. Tick at least one. If the list is empty, you don't have any active cash/card/bank methods in Settings → Payment Methods.
• Promo code is rejected. Code typo? Active toggle off? Outside valid-from/valid-to window? The booking date (today) must fall inside the window — the stay date doesn't matter for validity.
• Confirmation email lands in spam. Configure SPF and DKIM records for your sender domain. The Communications module covers SMTP setup.