First, go to the listing of the lighthouse that you are interested in. Use the inquiry form on the right-hand side of the listing and make sure that all fields are filled out correct:
Be assured that you don't have to make a payment yet.
After the booking request has been sent to the host, you will be given the option to make a pre-payment. If the host accepts your booking request, the pre-payment will be processed and once this is done successfully, your booking will be confirmed.
You can also choose to pay only after your request has been accepted by the host, after your questions have been answered and you are assured that this lighthouse is indeed the best choice for you.
If a host offers 'Instant booking', your booking request will be accepted automatically enabling you to make the payment right away and finalize the booking immediately.
Note that in order to guarantee a safe and secure booking process you can only contact the host via the website (being this inquiry form and the online messaging system that we offer). Once a booking is confirmed, the contact details and address details are shared with you.
If you make a booking request for a lighthouse, we recommend that you send a personal message to the host to verify the availability.
Most hosts respond within a few hours. Please keep in mind that you may be in different time zones or that the host may not have access to the internet at that time.
In case you don't get a response within 24 hours, we recommend to contact other hosts and check for availability there. You can contact as much booking as you like.
Please make sure not to make more than one booking request at the same time to avoid that you make multiple reservations for the same dates (unless you explicitly want to make more than one bookings for these dates of course).
We encourage the hosts to respond as swiftly as possible. If a booking request is not accepted within 72 hours, it will automatically be declined.
Yes, we can! We are glad to offer our tailored service: tell us your needs and we will send you a handpicked selection. Just send a message using our contact form and share your requirements: what dates, how many guests and the type of holiday you want to have (romantic, foody, cultural, you name it!). We look forward to finding the best houseboat for your next trip!
Of course, you can also search for a suitable lighthouse yourself as well. This is how it works. Go to our homepage and fill out the following fields:
Now press the 'Search' button and you will be given an overview of all the available lighthouses.
You can also use the map to search for lighthouses. Just zoom in or out on the map to find the area where you would like to rent a lighthouse.
On the right-hand side of every listing you will see the inquiry form. Below this form, you will see a button called 'Add to favorites'. Simply click the heart-icon and this Bookalighthouse.com will be added to your favorites.
To see an overview of your favorites, click on 'Favorites' in the horizontal menu on the top of the website.
In order to use the search filters, you first have to do a search in order to get the available lighthouses for your desired period and location.
On top of the results, you see a blue bar with various search filters. As long as no filter has been applied, all search results are shown.
You can now select any filter you prefer in order to get the best possible selection of lighthouses for your trip.
Note that the results will be adjusted automatically as soon as you change the search filters.
We highly encourage both hosts and guests to process their reservations through our website before they meet in person to best ensure their safety and privacy.
There are many ways to find out more about the advertisement and the landlord without seeing the property, including:
Landlords must also provide information about themselves before accepting bookings on the site.
Go to Bookalighthouse.com and fill out the following fields:
1) Where do you want to go?
2) Arrival date
3) Departure date
4) Number of guests Now press the 'Search' button and you will be given an overview of all the available lighthouses.
You can also use the map to search for lighthouses. Just zoom in or out on the map to find the area where you would like to rent a lighthouse.
On your request we can also help you finding the best possible lighthouse with our Taylor Booking Service: tell us your needs and we will send you a handpicked selection of options. Just send us a message and share your requirements: what dates, how many guests and the type of holiday you want to have (romantic, foody, cultural, you name it!).
We look forward finding the best lighthouse for your next trip!
If a lighthouse listing shows 'Book Instantly', you can make a booking without having to wait until your booking request is approved by the host. Your request will be accepted automatically, enabling you to make a payment and confirm the booking immediately.
Note that immediate payment is an option, not obligatory. So if you wish to receive an answer to your question(s) first, you can choose to pay once your question(s) have been answered.
In the rare case that an owner can not accommodate you for whatever reason, he is entitled to cancel the request within 24 hours after the Instant Booking was accepted, without having to give a reason. In this case please contact Bookalighthouse.com so we can help you find the best possible alternative. Of course, you will be fully refunded in case your booking is canceled by the host.
The price of a lighthouse is determined by the host and can vary per period and day of the week. Apart from the night rate, hosts can add an additional rate for additional guests, cleaning and/or tourist tax.
The price is shown after filling out the booking details (date, nr of guests etc) is always the total price. The only possible additional costs can be charges for paying in a specific way (for example a credit card payment and/or payments in another currency than the lighthouse is listed in.
The service fee for guests when reserving varies from 15 to as low as 6 percent of the subtotal of the reservation (the nightly rate plus the cleaning fee and, if applicable, other allowances for guests (like extra's), but excluding fees and taxes payable to Bookalighthouse.com), depending on the duration of the stay, location among others.
The service fee is already included in the total price shown on the website. If Bookalighthouse.com has to charge VAT over the service fee, this VAT is also included in the total price already.
As long as you have not done a search for specific dates, we show the lowest price that you can rent this lighthouse for. The price may be higher for the dates that you are interested in.
After filling out the dates and the number of guests that are traveling, you will see the final price for your stay.
The only possible additional costs can be charges for paying in a specific way (for example a credit card payment and/or payments in another currency than the lighthouse is listed in.
The price is shown after filling out the booking details (date, number of guests), and is always the final price.
The only possible additional costs which can be charged are for paying with specific payment methods (like AMEX) and/or payments in another currency than that in which the lighthouse is listed.
If Bookalighthouse.com has to charge VAT over the service fee, then the VAT is also already included in the total price too.
If you want to contact a host before you make a reservation, send him or her a message with your guest account on Bookalighthouse.com. All messages sent via the website are sent as an email as well. You can both reply via email as well as with your guest account on Bookalighthouse.com.
Once the reservation is confirmed, the contact details of both the guest and host are shared with each other so you can communicate with the host via messages, e-mail or telephone.
How to send a message to a host before making a reservation:
Be assured that you don't have to make a payment yet! In case a host offers instant booking, you can safely click on the button 'Book instantly'. This is merely an option, not an obligation and you don't have to make a payment yet if you want to send a question first.
Once you have sent a booking request, the host has up to 72 hours to respond. However, we highly encourage hosts to respond as swift as possible. If hosts do not respond within 72 hours, the booking request will automatically be declined.
If you have made a pre-payment for a booking request (this is a reservation on your credit card, so not an actual payment), the pre-payment will be made undone and you will not be charged.
If a host offers Instant booking, your request will automatically be approved, after which you can make a payment to confirm the booking. Please note that hosts can cancel an Instant booking within 24 hours in the rare event that he or she can for some reason not welcome you. In this case, you will be refunded fully and the payment will be transferred back to you within 2 - 5 working days.
There are a few places where you can find out:
Statuses:
1) Log in to Bookalighthouse.com and go to the 'My bookings' page.
2) Select the booking request that you want to edit.
3) Click on 'edit' on the right-hand side of the 'Who's traveling' line and edit the number of guests.
The host will receive an email to accept or decline the new number of guests. Once he/she has accepted this change request, you will be notified by email and can proceed to pay in order to confirm the booking.
If you want to change the dates of your stay, please contact the host and ask them if the alternative dates are available. If the host has availability for the new dates, he/she can set the new dates for the booking request. Once the dates are changed, you will receive an email to accept or decline the dates change. If you accept the change, you can proceed to pay and confirm the booking.
In the rare case the owner does not know how to edit the dates, you can point them to these instructions.
If you want to change the lighthouse of your stay, and the host advertises multiple lighthouses on Bookalighthouse.com, please contact the host and ask them if alternative lighthouses are available for your dates. If the host has an another lighthouse available, he/she can set the new lighthouse for the booking request. Once the lighthouse is changed, you will receive an email to accept or decline the new lighthouse. If you accept the change, you can proceed to pay and confirm the booking.
In the rare case the owner does not know how to change the booking's lighthouse, you can point them to these instructions.
Another option is to cancel the initial booking request and make a new booking request according to your new requirements. Please make sure to cancel the 'wrong' request in order to avoid confusion.
Once a booking is paid and confirmed, it can only be changed by contacting Bookalighthouse.com. Before we can process such a request, you need to make sure that both you and the host agree on the new booking details, such as the: dates, number of guests and the lighthouse which is concerned. Once both parties agree with the proposed changes we can process the change request for you.
If you have shown interest in a lighthouse by making a booking request, we will send a few reminders to avoid you forgetting to finish the booking process.
If you are no longer interested in a lighthouse, you have to cancel the booking request. Once the request is canceled, you will no longer receive reminders.
Once a booking request is confirmed by a 25%, 50% or 100% payment, it can only be changed by contacting Bookalighthouse.com.
Before we can process such a request, you need to make sure that both you and the host are on agree concerning the: dates, number of guests and the (alternative) lighthouse that it may concern. Only once it is clear to both parties what the new terms are, we can process the change request for you.
Yes, you can reject a change request that is sent by the host. Only accept a change request if you are convinced that this change is according to your plans.
If you no longer want to rent a lighthouse that you sent a booking request, we kindly ask to cancel it. Once you have canceled your booking request, you will no longer receive reminder emails from us.
If you change your mind, you can reopen the cancelled request. At least: as long as the dates of the booking request are still available. You can reopen the request by clicking on the yellow button 'Resend booking request' on the bottom of the booking request details in the Traveller profile on Bookalighthouse.com. If the dates are no longer available, this button will not be shown.
Bookalighthouse.com offers the option to make a pre-payment after you have made a booking request. A pre-payment is a reservation made on the payment method of your choice (VISA, MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express, Discover Card, Paypal or Meastro) and enables Bookalighthouse.com to charge you for the amount payable for a booking request when a host accepts this booking request. As long as the host does not accept a booking request, you will not be charged.
Pre-paying a booking request highly increases the chance that a host will approve the booking request.
In case a booking request is declined or expired (and therefore automatically declined), the pre-payment will be made undone. You will not be charged.
In case a host does not accept your pre-paid booking request (the booking request can either be declined or expired and therefore automatically declined), the pre-payment will be made undone. You will not be charged.
In case a booking request is declined by the host, you will be notified by email. We always ask the host to share the reason for the declination. If a host does not accept your booking request with 72 hours, the request will be declined automatically.
In case you have made a pre-payment for the booking request, this will be made undone and you will not be charged.
We encourage you to contact more hosts about the availability of their lighthouses in order to increase the chance of finding the best possible alternative for your stay.
On your request, we can also help you find the best possible lighthouse with our Sailor Taylor Service: tell us your needs and we will send you a handpicked selection. Just send us a message and share your requirements: what dates, how many guests and the type of holiday you want to have (romantic, foody, cultural, you name it!). We look forward to finding the best houseboat for your next trip!
In the unfortunate event that the lighthouse that you made an inquiry for is booked by someone else, we will notify you by email.
In the rare case that the dates become available again, for example, because of a cancellation, the host can reopen the booking request again so you can still book it.
If a lighthouse is no longer available, we encourage you to contact more hosts about the availability of their lighthouses in order to increase the chance of finding the best possible alternative for your stay.
On your request, we can also help you find the best possible lighthouse with our Tailored Service: tell us your needs and we will send you a handpicked selection. Just contact us and share your requirements: what dates, how many guests and the type of holiday you want to have (romantic, foody, cultural, you name it!). We look forward to finding the best houseboat for your next trip!
Emails from houseboat owners might end up in your Junk/Spam folder, depending on your personal settings in your email account.
1. To avoid emails from houseboat owners ending up in your Junk/Spam folder, adjust your email client's filter setting to allow incoming emails from "@Bookahouseboat.com".
2. Because Junk/Spam filter settings vary between email clients, we advise following the instructions for the specific email client you are using.
After submitting a booking request for a lighthouse that offers 'Instant booking' you can make the payment right away to confirm the booking.
After submitting a booking request for a lighthouse that does not offer 'Instant booking', you will be given the option to make a pre-payment.
A pre-payment is a reservation made with the payment method on your choice (VISA, MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express, Discover Card, Paypal or Meastro) and enables Bookalighthouse.com to charge you for the amount payable for a booking request when a host accepts this booking request.
Pre-paying a booking request highly increases the chance that a host will approve the booking request.
In case a booking request is declined or expired (and therefore automatically declined), the pre-payment will be made undone. You will not be charged.
You can also decide to make the payment after your booking request has been approved by the host. By doing so you can use all the payment methods offered by Bookalighthouse.com.
We postpone payments until 24 hours after checking in before we release it to the host. This gives both parties time to ensure that everything is as expected.
All payments are handled by the payment service provider Adyen, ensuring a secured and safe payment at all times.
When you make a booking on Bookalighthouse.com, you can choose to pay in either USD, GBP or USD.
If you are using a credit card to make the payment, there may be various reasons why the payment can not be processed.
In case the payment was refused by our processor, Adyen.com, the most common causes are:
Other possible causes:
Possible solutions:
Are you trying to pay from a country other than where your credit card was issued? Contact us if you have payment issues. We can see what is wrong in your case.
Credit cards can be refused for a number of reasons. In general Bookalighthouse.com is not informed of the specific reason.
Check whether:
If you receive an error message when you try to pay, we recommend that you contact your bank or credit card company for more information. Inform them about the amount and when you have tried to make the payment so that they can complete the transaction.
If your bank or credit card company is unable to help, you might try a different payment method.
Short answer: no we cannot update your credit card info as we do not store it. Our Payment Service Provider Adyen.com stores it.
If the remaining amount is scheduled to be automatically deducted from an expired credit card, you can choose from either of these options:
Please note, you do not have to wait until the final due date. You can pay the remaining amount whenever you wish.
Book instantly
If a listing offers 'Instant booking', your request is approved automatically and you can make the payment right away to confirm the booking. However, this is merely an option, not obligatory. You can also choose to pay in a later stage, but always within 72 hours after submitting the request. If you have not paid within 72 hours, the booking request will be declined automatically.
Make a pre-payment
After submitting a booking request for a lighthouse that does not offer 'Instant booking', you will be given the option to make a pre-payment.
A pre-payment is a reservation made with the payment method on your choice (VISA, MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express, Discover Card, Paypal or Meastro) and enables Bookalighthouse.com to charge you for the amount payable for a booking request when a host accepts this booking request.
Pre-paying a booking request highly increases the chance that a host will approve the booking request.
In case a booking request is declined or not approved within 72 hours (and therefore automatically declined), the pre-payment will be made undone. You will not be charged.
Pay after your request has been approved
You can also decide to make the payment after your booking request has been approved by the host. By doing so you can use all the payment methods offered by Bookalighthouse.com. You have to pay within 72 hours after your booking request is approved, otherwise, your request will be declined automatically.
We postpone payments until 24 hours after the check-in, before we release it to the host. This gives both parties time to ensure that everything is as expected.
All payments are handled by the payment service provider Adyen, ensuring a secured and safe payment at all times.
The VAT is 'value-added tax'. This is a tax that is levied on the delivery of goods and services. Bookalighthouse.com charges VAT on service fees if applicable.
For owners in The Netherlands, we always charge 21% VAT as that is our domestic market.
For owners located in another EU country, not being the Netherlands, we charge the VAT rate of that country. If the owner is a business and proves this by entering their (valid) VAT-number, the VAT is shifted and no VAT will be charged.
The VAT rates we apply are updated several times a month in case a country decides to change it, we update it automatically.
After a booking request is confirmed, you receive an email with the subject "Full payment received for booking #123456". In this message, you see a full overview of the booking, along with the price breakdown. You can use this as an invoice.
If you need a separate invoice you can contact Bookalighthouse.com, please contact us with your request. We will make your invoice and send it to you as a pdf-file.
Yes, you can. If you have booked and paid following the 25/75% or 50/50% Payment Policy, you can pay the remaining 75% or 50% with any of the payment methods which are offered by Bookalighthouse.com.
Here is how you make this payment:
1) Log in to Bookalighthouse.com and go to 'My bookings'.
2) Select the booking that you want to pay the remaining amount for.
3) Scroll down and click on the yellow payment button. On the payment page you can choose from all the available payment methods and fulfill the payment.
It is strictly not allowed to pay outside of our platform. If a host asks you to pay other than through Bookalighthouse.com, don't send them any money and let us know.
Bookalighthouse.com will also never ask you to pay other than through our website, for example via email or through an external booking agent.
Sometimes you also have to pay local (tourist) taxes to your host, but this payment will always go through Bookalighthouse.com and will usually be included in the cost of the reservation.
If you have paid for your booking bypassing the payment system of Bookalighthouse.com (for example by bank transfer), it is possible that there has been a fraudulent reservation. To get help, you must inform us immediately. Note that Bookalighthouse.com is not responsible for any reservation that is not fully paid through our website.
If a host on Bookalighthouse.com asks you to pay them directly or through another company (for example Western Union, MoneyGram, cheque, Postwissel or Liberty Reserve), you must report this to us immediately using the contact form.
If a host asks to pay outside of Bookalighthouse.com, don't send them any money and please inform us on the shortest notice possible via the contact form.
Bookalighthouse.com never asks you to pay for anything outside of our site, for example via email or through an external booking agent.
If you have paid for your booking outside of Bookalighthouse.com (for example by bank transfer), it is possible that there has been a fraudulent reservation. To get help, you must inform us immediately. Note that Bookalighthouse.com is not responsible for any reservation that is not fully paid through our website.
If a host on Bookalighthouse.com asks you to pay outside of the site or through another company (for example Western Union, MoneyGram, cheque, Postwissel or Liberty Reserve), you must report this to us immediately.
Bookalighthouse.com offers hosts to choose from the following options regarding the security deposit:
When you book a lighthouse with the security deposit option "Lock funds on guest's credit card (or PayPal account)", we will reserve the requested amount on your credit card (or PayPal) a few days before check-in. This is NOT a transaction, nothing will be charged. We only reserve the amount on your card or PayPal account. The reservation will be released automatically 5 days after the day of the check-out, and if all was OK and the host did not make a claim.
The host has 5 days from your check-out date to submit a claim to the security deposit for damage to the property or their goods. If no specific check-out time is mentioned in the advertisement, we will count from 11.00 AM (timezone of the location where the lighthouse is located).
If no claim is made, the reservation will be released and you will not be charged. Please note that in this case there has not been a transfer from your account, so there will also not be a transfer to your account.
When you book a lighthouse with the security deposit option 'Cash on arrival' set, we are not a party in case the host makes a claim for damages, as we don't have access to the security deposit paid in cash. If a claim is made, this is a matter between the host and the guest.
When you book a lighthouse with the security deposit option 'No security deposit' set, we are also not a party in case the host makes a claim for damages, since there is no security deposit. If a claim is made, this is a matter between the host and the guest as well.
When you book a lighthouse with a deposit, your payment details will be saved but nothing will be charged or authorized for the deposit unless the host makes a claim.
The host has 24 hours from your check-out date to submit a claim to the deposit for damage to the property. If no specific check out time is mentioned in the advertisement, we will count from 11.00 AM (timezone of the location where the lighthouse is located)
How to respond when a claim is made
1) In case a claim is made, we ask the host to share the documentation of the damage with Bookalighthouse.com and to inform you of the claim that is made. You will be notified by Bookalighthouse.com via email about this claim.
2) Please respond within 72 hours after you have received the notification of this email.
We will assess all the information and documentation necessary to reach a solution and make sure you and your host are both fairly represented. Most claims are resolved within a week.
As long as a booking request is not paid and confirmed, the host can send you a change request. This can be the case if the host has made a mistake entering the prices and finds out after you made a booking request. It is up to you to accept or decline the change request.
Once a booking is paid and confirmed, the host can only send a change request via the support team of Bookalighthouse.com. We will verify this request with you. If you approve we will charge you for this amount, either by credit card or by any other payment method of your choice.
Apart from the set cancellation policy of your booking, we can always try upon your request, to move your booking to a later moment in agreement with the host. We offer this service free of charge.
In the rare and unfortunate event that a host needs to cancel a paid and confirmed reservation, we will be more than willing to find a suitable alternative for you. Therefore please contact us once you are notified about a (possible) cancellation so we can take immediate action. Please always mention the booking ID.
If your host has already canceled your reservation, you will be notified immediately and you will be refunded the full amount, including service fees. The amount will be added to your Bookalighthouse.com account as credit. You can use this for any new booking. The credit will be discounted on the payment page automatically, so you don't even have to think about it.
If you do not want to make a new booking, the credit can be cashed out with 1 click on a button. The funds will then be refunded to you immediately and should be visible on your (bank) account within a few working days, depending on the bank or credit card company handling the refund
If your host informs you that he or she can no longer host you, but has not yet cancelled your reservation, do not cancel the reservation yourself. If you initiate the cancellation you may not be eligible for a full refund, depending on the cancellation policy the host has set. If you cancel service fees will not be refunded. So instead, urge your host to cancel the booking to ensure that you receive a full refund.
If you have any questions about a (possible) cancellation by the host, please contact us so we can take appropriate action.
You can cancel a booking only from your Bookalighthouse.com account. In order to cancel a paid and confirmed booking, you have to be logged in to Bookalighthouse.com and then follow the next steps:
After the cancellation has been submitted you will be refunded according to the Cancellation Policy that is applicable for this booking.
PLEASE NOTE:
1. You actively have to cancel a booking yourself. This is something we cannot do for you. A booking is only cancelled after you have cancelled it in your account. Emailing us or the host that you wish to cancel is NOT a cancellation.
2. If you have cancelled successfully, you will receive a notification on the website and by email. The status of the booking, visible on your booking overview, will be set to 'cancelled' as well. The host will also be informed by our system.
If you cancel a paid and confirmed booking, your reimbursement will depend on the cancellation policy that is applicable to your booking.
The host will be notified about the cancellation and the calendar will be opened for other guests.
If a host cancels a booking, you will get a full refund, including the Bookalighthouse.com service fee.
If you, as a guest, cancel a booking, the Bookalighthouse.com Service Fee will not be refunded.
For every cancellation made by you (as guest), your reimbursement will depend on the Cancellation Policy applicable to your booking and the amount of days you cancel before check-in.
As soon as a booking is canceled, you will be refunded according to the Cancellation Policy applicable to the booking. If you get a refund, the amount will initially be added to your account as credit.
With this credit you have 2 options:
If you have to cancel due to an emergency or unavoidable circumstances, the cancellation policy related to this booking is applicable.
In case you are not eligible for a (full) refund, you may contact your travel insurance (if you have one) to see if you are eligible for reimbursement by your travel insurance.
In case you don't have travel insurance, or if you are not eligible for a (partial) refund you may contact the host and explain the situation. Although the host is in no way obliged to deviate from the cancelation policy related to the booking, you can ask if he/she may be willing to do so.
If your host is willing to deviate from his/her cancellation policy, he/she can give you a (partial) refund. It is entirely up to the host to determine the height of the refund. In this case, the host should contact Bookalighthouse.com within 24 hours after the check-in time of the reservation and share both the booking ID and the amount that needs to be refunded. If Bookalighthouse.com has not received such a notification, the host will be paid out according to the cancellation policy related to this booking.
After a booking is paid and confirmed you will receive an email with an overview of the booking details, including the email address and telephone number of the host. You can also find this overview in your traveller profile by logging in to Bookalighthouse.com and going to the 'My bookings' page.
We encourage you to send your messages through Bookalighthouse.com in order to keep a central overview of all your communication with the host.
In case your host does not respond to your calls and messages within a reasonable time (give them at least 12 hours due to time difference and the fact that they might be working), you can contact us. We will then try to contact the host on your behalf and let him/her know to get in touch with you on the shortest notice.
You can find the contact details of your host in your Traveler profile by logging in to Bookalighthouse.com and go to the 'Bookings' page. Click on your booking to find the contact details of your host, as well as a history of the messages that you sent with and received from your host.
In case your host does not respond to your calls and/or messages within a reasonable time, you can contact us here and +31 (0)20 261 5263. We will now try to contact the host on your behalf and let him/her know to get in touch with you on the shortest notice.
Please note that your host may be on holiday and/or have poor access to internet. This may result in a longer response time than you would expect.
If you have not been able to find the answer to your question(s) in our FAQ section, you can send a message via our contact form or contact us by phone on +31 (0)20 261 5263 during office hours (CEST).
In order to help you in the most convenient way, it is helpful if you have your booking ID ready.
After a booking is paid and confirmed you will receive an email with an overview of the booking details, including the address of the lighthouse, as well as the email address and telephone number of the host.
You can see this overview in your Traveler profile by logging in to Bookalighthouse.com and go to 'My bookings'.
Make sure to get the check-in details in time
Guests and hosts have to exchange the details of check-in, key exchange, and check-out directly with each other. Always make sure that you have this information well in advance of your stay. In case you are not able to get this information from your host, please contact Bookalighthouse.com so we can get in touch with the host and help you in time.
Confirm your contact details and arrival details so that you can reach each other should something change in the schedule. Let the other know if you expect to be without a telephone or internet.
Make sure to follow up travel advice to ensure that nothing stands in the way of your reservation (think of road closures or delayed flights that can cause delay for both the guest and host).
Guests and hosts have to exchange the details of check-in, key exchange, and check-out directly with each other. Always make sure that you have this information well in advance of your stay. In case you are not able to get this information from your host, please contact Bookalighthouse.com so we can get in touch with the host and help you in time.
Confirm your contact details and arrival details so that you can reach each other should something change in the schedule. Let the other know if you expect to be without a telephone or internet.
Make sure to follow up travel advice to ensure that nothing stands in the way of your reservation (think of road closures or delayed flights that can cause delay for both the guest and host).
Contact details
After a booking is paid and confirmed you will receive an email with an overview of the booking details, including the address of the lighthouse, as well as the email address and telephone number of the host.
You can see this overview in your Traveler profile by logging in to Bookalighthouse.com and go to 'My bookings'. Click on the booking to get a complete overview of the booking details.
In the rare event that a host informs you that the lighthouse you booked is not available, we will do anything within our ability to find you a suitable alternative on Bookalighthouse.com. Your host may have an alternative in mind, and of course we are there to help you as well. Below we will discuss the scenarios that may occur.
If the alternative is listed on Bookalighthouse.com
If the host offers you an alternative that is listed on Bookalighthouse.com, always contact us to verify availability and price. If you approve to transfer your booking to this alternative lighthouse for the agreed price, let us know by sending a message through our contact form. Always mention the booking ID of your original booking. We then will verify availability and price once again and if all parties agree (being: you as a guest, the host of your initial booking and the host of your alternative lighthouse) we will transfer your booking to the new property.
If the alternative is not listed on Bookalighthouse.com
If the host offers you an alternative that is not listed on Bookalighthouse.com, your host has to cancel the booking made on Bookalighthouse.com since we cannot take any responsibility for properties that are not listed on our website. As long as the host has not cancelled the booking on Bookalighthouse.com he/she is obliged to fulfill their obligations regarding this booking. If the host does not cancel the booking in time, please contact us so we can contact the host and take proper action.
Don't cancel the booking yourself
If your host informs you that he or she cannot welcome you, but has not cancelled the reservation yet, do not cancel the reservation yourself. If you cancel, you may not be eligible for a full refund, depending on the cancellation policy the host has set for your booking. If you cancel the service fee will not be refunded. So instead, urge your host to cancel the booking on short notice so you will receive a full refund.
We are there to help
In the rare and unfortunate event that a host needs to cancel a paid and confirmed booking, and they cannot find you a suitable alternative, we are more than willing to help you find a suitable alternative on Bookalighthouse.com. Therefore please contact us once you are notified about a (possible) cancellation so we can take immediate action. Please always mention the booking ID.
After a booking is cancelled
If your host has already cancelled your booking, you will be refunded the full amount, including service fees, as credit to your account. The credit can be used to book any alternative lighthouse and will be discounted automatically on the payment page.
In case you do not want to book an alternative, the credit can be cashed out with 1 click on the button. In such case the funds will be refunded to you immediately and should be on your bank or credit card account within a few working days, depending on the bank or credit card company handling the refund.
If there is a serious problem with your lighthouse we first ask you to try to resolve the problem with your host. If the consultation with your host does not lead to a satisfying agreement or if you prefer not to discuss the complaint with the host involved, we ask you to contact us within 24 hours after the check-in time (or before 3 p.m. if no specific check-in time is specified). This way we can intervene and decide if you are eligible for a (partial) refund, which may be applied in certain circumstances.
Situations that may be eligible for (partial) reimbursement generally fall into one of the following three categories:
Bookalighthouse.com may offer you a refund or make reasonable efforts to find and book another comparable accommodation for the unused nights you have left. The amount of reimbursement depends on the nature of the problem.
If a problem occurs during your stay, and you want a (partial) restitution, always first try to resolve this matter with your host. Often the host can resolve this matter within a reasonable time.
If you feel that your host has not provided a suitable solution for your issue, we kindly ask to contact us via support@Bookalighthouse.com to inform us about the issue.
If you notice the problem during check-in, you must contact us within 24 hours.
If the problem occurs during your stay, contact us immediately. We will ask you to provide photos or other documentation that demonstrates your problem.
We require that you:
After having received all the required documentation we will mediate in the best way possible.
If you break something in the lighthouse where you stay, you must contact your host immediately and inform him/her. Once you have agreed on an amount for the repair or replacement, you can determine in consultation whether you will pay the amount directly in cash or - if applicable - whether it should be deducted from the deposit.
When you reserve a lighthouse with the security deposit option 'Lock funds on the client credit card', the host has 24 hours from your check-out date to submit a claim to the deposit for damage to the property. We will assess all the information and documentation that is shared with us with care to reach a solution and make sure you and the guest host are both fairly represented. Most claims are resolved within a week.
When you reserve a lighthouse with the security deposit option 'Cash on arrival', we can not be a party in case the host makes a claim since we don't have access to the security deposit. If a claim is made, this is a matter between the host and the guest.
When you reserve a lighthouse with the security deposit option 'No security deposit', we can not be a party in case the host makes a claim since there is no security deposit. If a claim is made, this is a matter between the host and the guest.
Note: We reserve the right to collect payment from you via the payment method that is known to us. We advise that the guest always consults his/her liability insurance to check if this covers the damage.
To change your account details:
Yes! It is possible to add a co-traveller to your account. To get that set up, please send us your email address + traveller ID and the name + email address of your desired co-traveller.
A co-traveller can:
If you want to change the email address related to your account, please send us a message via support@Bookalighthouse.com and share both the invalid and the valid email address. After we have verified these addresses, we will make the required changes for you.
If you want to change or add a phone number, you can do this yourself. Just follow these simple steps:
1) Log in to Bookalighthouse.com and click on 'Home' in the top right corner
2) Select 'Profile and settings' in the left-hand menu
3) The 9th line from the top shows 'Contact phone numbers'. You can now change the phone number if required, or add a phone number by clicking on the '+' (note: if you enter multiple phone numbers, we will use the first one you entered to send notifications to),
4) Click 'Save changes'
If you no longer wish to be registered on Bookalighthouse.com, send your request to support@Bookalighthouse.com from the email address that is related to your account. We will then process your request and notify you once your account is deleted and all information related to your account will be dealt with according to the GPDR-regulations.
Your privacy is of paramount importance to us. Please read our Privacy Policy to learn what information we gather and what will happen after your account has been deleted.
Our employees either work from home (remotely) or come to the office by bike and/or public transport, like the train. Our main source of emission therefor is from the servers running our website.
Using this cool tool you can check the CO2 emission of Bookalighthouse.com: www.websitecarbon.com
To overcompensate the emissions we emit, and be carbon positive, we have:
Below some do's and don'ts when writing a review.
What to base your review on:
What to not base your review on:
What can't you share in the review?
Your review may not be placed online if it violates these guidelines. How do we determine any falsehood? A few examples:
Bookalighthouse.com retains the right to modify reviews to correct typo's, remove host identifiable information or remove outdated phrases. What is an 'outdated phrase'? When a host used to offer breakfast for example and has stopped doing so, in such case we could remove phrases from previous reviews mentioning the breakfast. This to prevent new guests from expecting breakfast, while it is not offered anymore.
When your credit card is expired (or will be) and the security deposit needs to be reserved, you can do either of 2 things:
1. Just wait. When we will try to reserve the deposit on the expired card, it will fail. When it does, you will receive an email with a link to make the deposit manually.
2. You can navigate to your booking overview a few days before check-in and scroll to the bottom and press the yellow "Reserve security deposit" button to set the deposit manually.
We've got some great reasons why you should advertise on Bookalighthouse.com:
Contact us if you have any questions about advertising your lighthouse with us - we love to hear from you. Ask us any question you may have!
Advertising your lighthouse on Bookalighthouse.com is and will always be free. You can submit a request to let us create the advertisement for you, just contact us. If you already have an advertisement on another website, you can enter this URL while creating the ad with us, and our AI will load lots of information into the fields of your new advertisement.
We use these fees to advertise your lighthouse, pay for marketing efforts, website development and customer support, among other things.
Absolutely. Bookalighthouse.com is designed to both be your main booking platform, as well as to be used alongside other platforms such as Airbnb.
We offer super easy Calendar Synchronization, enabling you to connect with Airbnb within 1 minute. Just import the iCal Link of your listing on Airbnb to Bookalighthouse.com and import the iCal Link of your listing on Bookalighthouse.com to Airbnb. That's all!
By listing your lighthouse on Bookalighthouse.com we generate a substantial increase in both bookings and turnover. At the same time, your costs will go down since we are cheaper than our competitors. So by listing your lighthouse with us, you will get more turnover and lower costs, resulting in a higher profit.
Are you busy, or not confident that you can create a great advertisement yourself? No worries - we are here to help!
You can submit a request to let us create an ad for your lighthouse on Bookalighthouse.com. To do so, please send a message and tell us something more about the property that you want to share on our platform.
It is useful to get at least the following information:
Once we have reviewed your request we will get back to you within 24 hours (on weekdays) and let you know how to proceed. We look forward to hear from you and connect you with lighthouse fans from all over the world!
If you advertise your property on our platform, we will show the approximate location. This means that guests can see the area where your lighthouse is located, as well as the distance to sights, public transportation, and other things to see and do. Only once the reservation is confirmed, guests will receive the exact address and location.
Advertising your lighthouse on Bookalighthouse.com is simple. Just click on signup-owner and follow the instructions.
After you have submitted your ad, our team will review it and, if approved, put it online right away. In case we have any questions or improvements, we'll let you know. This usually doesn't take longer than 24 hours on weekdays.
Check this page for great guidelines on how to create the best ad possible. And here you can learn how to become more competitive.
If you want, we can create the advertisement for you!
Let us know if you need help or want us to create the advertisement for you. To do so, please contact us and tell us something more about the property that you want to share on our platform.
It is useful to get at least the following information:
Once we have reviewed your request we will get back to you within 24 hours (on weekdays) and let you know how to proceed. We look forward to hear from you and connect you with lighthouse fans from all over the world!
Advertising your lighthouse is simple, but making it top notch and attractive requires some special attention. If you follow our guidelines below, you will get the best out of Bookalighthouse.com for sure!
Get into detail in the lighthouse description. Guests want to know what they book. So write a good description in order to answer any questions that guests may have, without babbling away.
Some important points you should always mention in your lighthouse description:
6) Fill out all the Details section as clear as possible and make sure you don't make any mistakes. Guests have to be able to trust the information in the listing and you don't want to promise anything that is not there. On the other hand, you should not forget to mention any amenities and/or services that you offer and/or are available.
7) Describe your neighborhood well. Although your lighthouse is what your guest will book, the neighborhood is at least as important. Therefore, we highly recommend taking the time to fill out the 'Location section'. Guests won't know the area as well as you do, so they depend on you when it comes to 'How to get there' and more information 'About the area'. Share your insights about your area and what the cool things are to see and do. You can have the nicest lighthouse in the world, but if you don't convince guests that it's located in a nice area, they most likely won't book it.
8) Tell something about yourself. The choice for yourself - staying on a lighthouse is a very personal experience, and guests love to know what kind of person they are renting from. Don't hesitate to mention it if you love to interact with guests and share your knowledge about the neighborhood!
9) Always make sure your calendar is up-to-date before submitting it for review and listing. This prevents that you get booking requests for dates that your lighthouse is not available, and more important: it prevents double bookings. If you use other platforms, always make sure the calendar(s) is/are synchronized. Also: calendars with full availability are less trusted by guests because they give the impression that they are not up-to-date and may therefore not be available.
10) If you have followed the instructions above, you are sure to have given the best possible impression of your lighthouse. Now we kindly ask to go through the advertisement once more, look at is as if you're a guest, and make sure everything is according to your wishes. Once you are convinced that your listing is top-notch, submit it for review and listing, and then we'll look at it on the shortest notice possible - but always within 24 hours. After reviewing we will either approve it or get back to you with our feedback to improve the listing so that it meets the standards of Bookalighthouse.com.
And don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions - we are always glad to help.
Adding your registration number is easy.
If you have any question, don't hesitate to contact us.
Yes! It is possible to add a co-host to your account. To get that set up, please send us your email address + host ID and the following information from the desired co-host:
A co-host can:
Yes, you can submit a request and ask us to create the advertisement for your lighthouse on Bookalighthouse.com. To do so, please contact us and tell us something more about the property that you want to share on our platform.
Please provide the following information:
Once we have reviewed your request we will get back to you within 24 hours (on workdays) and let you know how to proceed. We look forward to hearing from you and connect you with lighthouse fans from all over the world!
We offer a selection of very useful settings in order to provide the most convenient user experience possible. Below we explain the various calendar settings and how to use them.
Below we will go through the Calendar settings so you can adjust this to your personal preferences.
Setting: "Block dates of accepted (not yet paid) booking requests in your calendar."
Choose 'Yes' if you want the dates of accepted, but not yet paid booking requests to be blocked in your houseboat's local calendar. No other booking requests can be made for these enquired dates. This allows guests to make the payment for their stay and avoid other guests to make a booking request for these dates.
Note: never block dates of accepted booking requests in external calendars that you are synched with. That results in synchronization of these blocked dates back to the calendar of your listing on Bookalighthouse.com, and thus result in a cancellation of the booking request! So if you are using multiple calendars, always choose 'Yes' if you want to block the dates of an accepted booking request in an external calendar(s).
Choose 'No' if you don't want to block the dates of accepted booking requests in your local calendar. You will be able to receive other booking requests until a booking request is confirmed by payment.
Setting: "Sync dates of accepted booking requests to the external calendars"
Choose 'Yes' if you want the dates of accepted booking request to be synced to and blocked in external calendars. This allows guests to make the payment for their stay and avoid other guests to make a booking request for these dates.
Note: never block dates of accepted booking requests in external calendars that you are synched with. That results in synchronization of these blocked dates back to the calendar of your listing on Bookalighthouse.com, and thus result in a cancellation of the booking request! So if you are using multiple calendars, always choose 'Yes' if you want to block the dates of an accepted booking request in an external calendar(s).
Choose 'No' if you want to postpone syncing until the booking request is confirmed by payment.
Setting: "Sent a message if a booking conflict is detected."
Choose 'Yes' if you want to receive an email if a double booking is detected. A double booking could happen if you receive 2 inquiries on different sites between calendar syncs.
Setting: "Booking availability"
With this setting, you can determine how far in the future people are able to book. If you choose for 3 months, for example, the calendar will be opened 3 months from now. This period will shift every day automatically.
Step 1: Get the iCal link of your listing on Bookalighthouse.com
1. Login to Bookalighthouse.com and go to 'My lighthouses'.
2. Click on 'Edit calendar', right of the picture of your lighthouse.
3. Scroll down until you see 'iCal export URL' and copy the link. You can now import this link in your listing on Airbnb. See the instructions below.
Step 2: Import the iCal link of Bookalighthouse.com in Airbnb
4. Login to the Airbnb website (not the app, as it does not have this feature).
5. Select 'Host mode' and go to 'Listings'.
6. Select the listing and on the left hand side click 'Pricing and availability'
7. Click: 'Go to calendar'
8. In the column on the right side, click 'Availability'.
9. Scroll down and click 'Calendar import'.
10. Now paste the Bookalighthouse.com iCal link in the field called 'Calendar URL' and give the calendar a name (like Bookalighthouse.com iCal). Click on 'Save'.
11. Next click the 'back arrow' near the top of the column.
12. Scroll down again and click 'Airbnb calendar export'.
13. Click on 'Copy', you have now copied the Airbnb iCal link.
14. Import this link to your listing on Bookalighthouse.com. See the instructions below.
Step 3: Import the iCal link of Airbnb to Bookalighthouse.com
15. Go to the 'Availability' page of your listing on Bookalighthouse.com.
16. Scroll down till you see the 'Connect external iCal' section.
17. Paste the Airbnb iCal link in the blank input field and click the 'Add new iCal' button.
You have now successfully synchronized with Airbnb and your calendar will be updated automatically and frequently (several times per hour).
Manually synchronize an iCal?
You can click on the 'Sync iCal now' button of each connected iCal to immediately synchronize the calendar to the latest version.
Follow these steps to synchronise your Bookalighthouse.com calendar with VRBO (HomeAway).
Import the Bookalighthouse.com To VRBO
Export VRBO iCal to Bookalighthouse.com
You are now all set. Calendar synchronisation with VRBO has been set successfully.
Follow these steps to synchronize your Bookalighthouse.com calendar with Booking.com.
Step 1: Import Bookalighthouse.com iCal to Booking.com
Step 2: Export Booking.com iCal to Bookalighthouse.com
You are now all set. Calendar synchronization with Booking.com has been set successfully.
If your Channel Manager supports iCal calendar sync, which most channel managers do, you can easily set up calendar synchronisation with Bookalighthouse.com.
To set up iCal sync with any of these Channel Managers, please click their link:
If you advertise on any of these websites below, please contact them for further instructions on how to set up iCal synchronisation:
How to synchronize with calendars using iCal?
First, you get the iCal link of your listing on Bookalighthouse.com
1) Login to Bookalighthouse.com and go to 'My lighthouses'
2) Click on 'Edit calendar'
3) Scroll down until you see 'iCal export URL' and copy the link. You can now import this link in your external calendar (for example Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway or a channel manager you may use).
Now import the iCal link of your external calendar in Bookalighthouse.com
4) Copy the iCal of your external calendar and go back to the calendar page on Bookalighthouse.com
5) Scroll down till you see 'Attached iCals via URL
6) Paste the iCal link in the blank input field and click on 'Add new iCal'.
You have now successfully synchronized your calendars and they will be updated frequently. You can click on the button 'Sync iCal now' of each connected iCal link to synchronize instantly.
How to synchronize with Google Calendar
We are glad to offer calendar synchronization with Google Calendar.
1) Click on the blue button 'Connect Google Calendar' and follow these instructions:
1) For your own happiness, always make a backup of your Google calendar, just to be sure.
2) After connecting, choose the correct calendar and then the calendar color which is used for this property. (Often the 'default' color is fine).
3) When syncing for the first time, all gCal events will be downloaded and your property's bookings will be added.
4) After the first sync, a change in a calendar will be synced to the other automatically.
Read how to synchronize with Airbnb.
Apart from the nightly rate we offer the following price settings:
This is how you set the rates:
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse'
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Fill out the Night rate and edit any other setting that is applicable to this rate.
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Fill out the Night rate and edit any other setting that is applicable to this rate.
Apart from the nightly rate we offer the following price settings:
Bookalighthouse.com offers both a 'Default min stay' and a 'Special min stay', enabling you to get the best occupancy rate possible. With the Default Min Stay you decide what the minimum number of nights is that guests stay with you if this number of nights is available.
How to set the Default Min Stay
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Fill out the Default Min Stay and click 'Save'.
Special Min Stay
With the Special Min Stay you can increase your occupancy rate dramatically. Using this feature you can offer your place for a shorter period than the Default Min Stay, in case there is a gap in your calendar, shorter than the Default min stay. If you want you can increase or decrease the price automatically.
How to set the Special Min Stay
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Now you will see the Special Min Stay next to the 'Default Min Stay. Enable Special Min Stay and click 'Save'.
With the Special Min Stay you can improve your occupancy rate in a great way. Using this feature you can offer your place for a shorter period than the Default Min Stay, in case there is a gap in your calendar, shorter than the Default min stay.
For example: if you have a 'normal' min stay of 3 nights, it will often happen that you have a gap of 2 nights between two bookings. These 2 days would normally not be available due to your Default Min Stay of 3 nights. If you choose to set your Special Min Stay to 1 or 2 nights, you can get booking requests for these dates and thus fill up nights that would otherwise never be rented out. This way you can increase your occupancy rate dramatically.
If you want, you can decide to increase or decrease the nightly rate for bookings with a Special Min Stay.
How to set the Special Min Stay
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Now you will see the Special Min Stay next to the 'Default Min Stay. Enable Special Min Stay and click 'Save'.
About the Cleaning Price
You can either choose to offer the cleaning price included in the total price or to add it to the total price. Select 'Yes' if the cleaning price is already included. If the cleaning price is not included, you have to fill out how much you charge for cleaning your lighthouse after the guests have left.
Here is how you add the Cleaning price to your rate(s):
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Now you see an overview of the Rate details, including the Cleaning price option (9th option from above).
About the Tourist tax
If you have to pay tourist tax to your (local) government, you can charge your guests for this. You can either choose to have the tourist tax included in the total price or charge extra on top of the nightly rate. Please note: Bookalighthouse.com does not pay the tourist tax for you. You are responsible for this yourself.
Here is how you add the Tourist tax to your rate(s):
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Now you see an overview of the Rate details, including the Tourist Tax option (10th option from above).
Listings that offer 'Instant Booking' can be booked directly, without the host having to approve the booking request first. Guests can therefore immediately choose the desired dates and pay to secure the booking.
Some reasons why you could enable instant booking:
Enabling or disabling 'Instant Booking' is very easy, just a few steps:
Please note: if you enable 'Instant Booking' and also advertise on other booking platforms, make sure you synchronize your calendars properly! You are responsible for this and any double bookings which result not having proper synchronization.
Note that the Check-in time and Check out time that you enter are guidelines. You are free to offer to deviate from the entered check-in or check-out time, for example, if guests ask to check in early or check out late.
After a booking is confirmed you get an email with a confirmation and contact details of the guest. These details are also shown in the overview of the booking, shown at 'My bookings' in the Owner profile on Bookalighthouse.com.
This is the perfect moment to contact the guest and share all the useful information about their stay. It is recommended to share this information through the message system of Bookalighthouse.com, shown in the detail page of each booking request. This way both you and the guest are assured to always have all the information about their booking in one place.
You can also send the information through email if you prefer to do so.
Guidelines for a smooth check-in process
First of all, an advertisement has to be super attractive and offer the right information. Read here how to create the best ad possible. Apart from that, there are lots of things you can do to outperform other advertisements on Bookalighthouse.com. Your ranking on Bookalighthouse.com will get better when you show positive behavior, enabling guests to book in a pleasant and efficient way. Please follow these instructions carefully and use them to get more bookings.
Make sure your calendar is up-to-date
If dates are available in your calendar, both guests and Bookalighthouse.com assume that these dates can be booked. Therefore, we reward you for approving booking requests by increasing your ranking. On the other hand: if you decline requests because your calendar is not up to date, your ranking will decrease. We highly recommend synchronizing with external calendars in order to keep your calendar up-to-date and avoid double bookings.
Note: calendars that have full availability are trusted less by guests because they give the impression that the calendar is not updated at all.
Note: Bookalighthouse.com can decide in sole discretion to remove your listing if they decide that you decline too many booking requests.
Improve your response time
We encourage hosts to respond swiftly to booking requests and questions from guests. The response time is determined by how fast you respond to guests: (pre-)approve or decline a booking request and how fast you respond to messages of guests. We recommend to respond as quickly as possible, but at least within 24 hours after the request was sent. The faster you respond, the higher the chance that your place will be booked.
Improve your acceptance rate
Guests hate it if a booking request is declined by a host. Therefore we reward you for approving booking requests: the higher your acceptance rate, the better your ranking.
Enable Instant Booking
This is one of the key features that lead to success. Listings that offer 'Instant Booking' can be booked directly, without the host having to approve the booking request first. Guests can therefore immediately choose the desired dates and pay to secure the booking. Listings offering Instant Booking are booked up to 40% more than listing that don't.
Instant Booking is only available on request. If you want to apply for Instant Booking, please contact us and we will get back to you on the shortest notice possible.
Enable Special Min Stay
With the Special Min Stay you can improve your occupancy rate in a great way. Using this feature you can offer your place for a shorter period than the Default Min Stay, in case there is a gap in your calendar, shorter than the Default min stay. This way you have more nights available, also for shorter periods. This results in an improved ranking.
Choose the right price
You decide the height of your Base Rate. The Base Rate is the rate that will be shown for any period throughout the year, unless you have created a Special Rate for a specific period. A Special Rate always overrules the Base Rate.
A good starting point when you start advertising your property is to compare with various other properties on the site. If you just start renting out and you don't have any reviews yet, you may choose a Base Rate that is lower than most other listings to be more attractive.
Once your occupancy has improved and you have gained more great reviews, you can decide to raise the rate and make sure you don't miss out on profit.
Create Special Rates.
Adjust your price if demand is higher by creating Special Rates for specific periods: such as high season and public holidays. At the same time you have to adjust for periods that demand is low. Other hosts do the same, so if you stick to the Base rate during low season, you will be less competitive than listings who have lowered their rates.
Respond to questions of guest
A lower response time has a positive effect on your ranking. And at least as important is that a guest is much more likely to book if he/she gets a swift response to any question he may have. Therefore we highly recommend to respond to questions of your guests as quick as possible, but always within 24 hours.
Get great reviews
Guests appreciate a good description of the place, but trust the experiences that are shared by other guests even more. Reviews are used by travellers to decide if they want to book the place and therefore we see it as one of the best marketing tools you can possibly want. Since reviews give a good impression of the user experience of previous guests, we reward listings with good reviews by increasing their position in the ranking.
Never cancel a confirmed booking
Cancelling a booking has a very negative impact on both the holiday plans of the guest, as well as on the trust that they have in Bookalighthouse.com . Therefore the cancellation of a booking will have a negative effect on your ranking. Apart from that, there are the following sanctions that will be taken:
Note: never cancel a booking in case a guest asks to cancel it for them because this will result in the penalties mentioned above. Instead of cancelling on their behalf, ask your guests to cancel their reservation themselves. Here is how they can do this.
Attracting guests starts with a great and competitive listing with a good ranking. There are a few very useful tips and tricks you can apply to increase your occupancy further.
Use the Special Min Stay to fill up gaps that would otherwise not be available.
Enable Instant Booking so guests can book quicker. Listings that offer Instant Booking get up to 40% more booking requests.
Create a Special Rate with a discount if you have available nights in the near future. Price is a key factor for guests to decide where they want to stay.
Use Midweek Pricing with a lower nightly rate to get more bookings during the week.
Set a more flexible Cancelation Policy to attract more guests. Instead of Super Strict or Strict, you can choose for a Moderate or Flexible Cancellation Policy.
We reward positive behavior hosts in order to make the user experience of guests as good as possible. The reward of this appreciating is shown in the position of your ranking. Please note that if your ranking has decreased, this does not necessarily mean that your performance has decreased. It is very well possible that other hosts just perform better. There are various factors that have an influence on the ranking, as shown below.
Response time: The faster you respond to booking requests and questions of guests the better.
Acceptance rate: The more booking requests you accept, the better. That is why we recommend applying for Instant Booking.
Good reviews: Reviews reflect the experience of previous guests. The more great reviews, the better!
Instant booking: Guests love to book nice and fast. By offering Instant Booking you help them in a great way. Good job!
Cancellations: Just do everything possible to avoid canceling a booking. Simply because that is about the worst that can happen to a guest. No good.
You can create as many listings as you like for both whole lighthouses and separate room.
To offer multiple listings on Bookalighthouse.com, you have to create a separate listing for each lighthouse or each separate room you have available. Each listing has its own calendar and advertising page that must contain the number of beds and the facilities, as well as the spaces that will be shared with others.
1) In order to create a new listing, you have to be logged in to Bookalighthouse.com and make sure you are in the Owner Profile (select 'Owner profile' in the top right corner of the website).
2) Click on 'Add new lighthouse' in the left-hand side menu
3) Fill out all fields and make sure to follow our guidelines on 'how to create the best listing possible'.
Advertising multiple rooms on the same property? Always sync calendars!
You can also create a listing for your entire property, and create separate listings for individual rooms in that property, but make sure you synchronize your calendars to avoid double bookings.
If your calendars are synchronized, a reservation for an individual room automatically blocks that date on the calendar of the entire home, and vice versa.
Here is how you synchronize multiple calendars on Bookalighthouse.com
For example, you rent out 'Whole Property', containing Room 1 and Room 2. But you also rent out Room 1 and Room 2 separately. This means that:
First, you get the iCal link of 'Whole Property' on Bookalighthouse.com
1) Login to Bookalighthouse.com, go to 'My lighthouses'
2) Now go to the listing of the 'Whole Property' and click on 'Edit calendar'
3) Scroll down until you see 'iCal export URL' and copy the link.
4) Go to the Calendar page of 'Room 1', scroll down till you see 'Attached iCals via URL'
5) Paste the iCal link of 'Whole Property' in the blank input field and click on 'Add new iCal'. Do the same for 'Room 2'.
6) Now copy the 'iCal export URL' of both Room 1 and Room 2 and import this in the calendar of 'Whole Property' the same way as explained above.
If you are using an external calendar(s), always make sure they are synchronized too. Read here how to synchronize your calendar with an external calendar(s).
If you rent outseparate rooms in a property as well as the entire property, you should always make sure that the calendars of these advertisements are internally linked to avoid double bookings and to keep each of the calendars up to date.
In such case you have to create an advertisement for the entire property and one for each of the rooms of that property which you rent out separately. After creating the advertisements you can link each of the rooms to the whole property as being a room.
When you have linked the room to the whole property, a reservation for an individual room automatically blocks those dates on the calendar of the entire home, and vice versa.
An example of how it works
For example, you rent out 'Whole Property', containing Room 1 and Room 2. But you also rent out Room 1 and Room 2 separately. This means that:
Please note, manually blocked dates are not internally synced. So if you want to block a certain period you must apply this block to the whole property and to the rooms. This allows you to, for example, block the rooms and still keep the whole property available. Any manual blocks are synced via the iCal export URL of the properties though.
How to set the internal linking / syncing of the rooms?
1) Login to Bookalighthouse.com, go to 'My lighthouses', locate one of the rooms and click on 'Edit calendar'
2) At the top of the calendar page, below 'Internal sync - Link your properties', select the whole property from the drop down. That is it.
3) Do the same for all other rooms you may have.
If you are using external calendar(s), always make sure they are synchronized too. Read here how to synchronize your property's calendar with external calendar(s), and click here how to sync with Airbnb specifically.
After you have created the best listing possible, you can submit it for listing by clicking on the button 'Put my lighthouse live', on the left-hand side of the page.
After you have submitted your listing, our team will review it within 12 hours and, if approved, put it online right away.
If we find that there are certain improvements to be made, in order to get the best out of Bookalighthouse.com, we will notify you and share our suggestions with you.
If you no longer wish to advertise your property and/or receive booking requests, tere are various options to arrange this.
Close the calendar
This is the recommended action if you are not planning to rent out your place in the near future: simply close the calendar. Click here to read how to edit your calendar and go to the alinea called 'Block unavailable dates manually'.
Your listing will still be visible, but guests can not make a booking request since the calendar is closed. By keeping your listing online, your ranking will keep the same ranking. This is beneficial in case you open the calendar for available dates again.
Put your listing offline
Putting your listing offline will affect your listing and is not recommended. However, if you decide to do so, here is how you take your listing offline:
1) In order to put your listing offline, you have to be logged in to Bookalighthouse.com and make sure you are in the Owner Profile (select 'Owner profile' in the top right corner of the website).
2) Click on 'My lighthouses', choose the listing you want to put offline and click on 'Put offline'. You are now referred to the Rates page.
3) Click on 'edit' on the right side of the Base Rate.
4) At the bottom of the Base Rate details, you see 'lighthouse (temporary) offline?. Check the box 'Put offline' and fill out the period that you want your listing to be put offline.
You are more than welcome to share your lighthouse on our platforms. In order to list your property on Bookalighthouse.com, you have to agree with our terms and conditions and follow local, national and international laws and regulations. Hosts are responsible themselves for following these laws and regulations.
Note: in case you fail to fulfill any of your obligations under our terms and conditions, Booka Rentals may, in its own discretion, without prior notice, at any time and without liability to you, decide to remove or disable access to any Listing.
Bookalighthouse.com can pay hosts in both Euro's, British Pounds and US Dollars.
The Default Min Stay is the minimum amounts of nights for a reservation.
How to set the Default Min Stay
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Now you will see the Default Min Stay, second line from the top. Enable your Default Min Stay and click 'Save'.
Improve your occupancy with the Special Min Stay
Apart from the Default Min Stay you can also decide to set a Special Min Stay to you can improve your occupancy rate in a great way. Using this feature you can offer your place for a shorter period than the Default Min Stay, in case there is a gap in your calendar, shorter than the Default min stay.
For example: if you have a 'normal' min stay of 3 nights, it will often happen that you have a gap of 2 nights between two bookings. These 2 days would normally not be available due to your Default Min Stay of 3 nights. If you choose to set your Special Min Stay to 1 or 2 nights, you can get booking requests for these dates and thus fill up nights that would otherwise never be rented out. This way you can increase your occupancy rate dramatically.
If you want, you can decide to increase or decrease the nightly rate for bookings with a Special Min Stay.
How to set the Special Min Stay
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Now you will see the Special Min Stay next to the 'Default Min Stay. Enable Special Min Stay and click 'Save'.
With the Special Min Stay (gapfiller) you can improve your occupancy rate in a great way. Using this feature you can offer your place for a shorter period than the Default Min Stay, in case there is a gap in your calendar, shorter than the Default min stay.
For example: if you have a 'normal' min stay of 3 nights, it will often happen that you have a gap of 2 nights between two bookings. These 2 days would normally not be available due to your Default Min Stay of 3 nights. If you choose to set your Special Min Stay to 1 or 2 nights, you can get booking requests for these dates and thus fill up nights that would otherwise never be rented out. This way you can increase your occupancy rate dramatically.
If you want, you can decide to increase or decrease the nightly rate for bookings with a Special Min Stay.
How to set the Special Min Stay (gapfiller)
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse'
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Now you will see the Gapfiller next to the 'Default Min Stay. Enable Gapfiller, set your requirements and click 'Save'.
Yes, you decide on what days guests can check-in and on what days they can't.
Note: by default, all days are noted as check-in days.
How to edit the check-in days
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) Now set the 'Check-in days' (third option from the top of this section).
Always first set the Base Rate
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special Rate' you want to edit.
4) Fill out the Night rate and edit any other setting that is applicable to this rate.
Apart from the nightly rate we offer the following price settings:
After setting the Base Rate, you can add Special Rates
Below the Base Rate, you see the option to add 'Special rates'. A Special Rate has the same options as the Base Rate, but is always applicable to a specific period and it overrules the settings of the Base Rate.
Note: when filling out the start and end date of a Special Rate, be aware that you have to mark it either as an 'Annual Event' or a 'Single Event'. This option is shown on the right side of the date picker. By default a Special Rate is marked as an Annual event.
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse'
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special Rate' you want to edit.
4) The fourth option from the top shows the option to set the price per Night (mandatory), Week (optional) and Month (optional).
5) One line below you sees the option to set the 'Weekend Pricing'. You decide whether you want to mark Sunday night as a weekend night. The weekend price is the price per night, so not the total price for the whole weekend!
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special Rate' you want to edit.
4) The 7th line from the top shows the option 'Extra guest pricing' to charge a surcharge for additional guests. You determine above how many guests you want to charge extra.
About the Cleaning Price
You can either choose to offer the cleaning price included in the total price or to add it to the total price. Select 'Yes' if the cleaning price is already included. If the cleaning price is not included, you have to fill out how much you charge for cleaning your lighthouse after the guests have left. Here is how to do this:
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) The 8th line from the top shows the option to add a Cleaning price option.
About the Tourist tax
If you have to pay tourist tax to your (local) government, you can charge your guests for this. You can either choose to have the tourist tax included in the total price or charge extra on top of the nightly rate. Please note: Bookalighthouse.com does not pay a tourist tax for you. You are responsible for this yourself.
Here is how you add the Tourist tax to your rate(s):
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special rate' you want to edit.
4) The 9th option from above shows the Tourist Tax option.
Our system automatically sends payment reminders 14, 7 and 1 day(s) before the due date of the remaining amount.
As host you can change the cancellation policy of an individual pending / tentative booking request without having to change your general cancellation policy. To do so, follow these steps:
As host you can change the cancellation policy of a confirmed (paid) booking without having to change your general cancellation policy. Please note: you can only change the cancellation policy to less strict than it is currently set to. To do so, follow these steps:
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Click on 'edit', on the right-hand side of either the 'Base rate' or any 'Special Rate' you want to edit.
4)The last line shows the Security Deposit options. You have to choose one of the following options:
To optimize your profit and occupancy, you can create a Special Rate for any period you want. A Special Rate offers the same options as the Base Rate, but is always applicable to a specific period and overrules the settings of the Base Rate.
Make sure to first set the Base Rate, before you can create a Special Rate.
How to set a Special Rate
1) Go to 'My lighthouses', select the listing you want to edit and click on 'Edit lighthouse'
2) Click on 'Rates' in the horizontal menu
3) Below the Base Rate, you see the option to create a Special Rate. Click on 'Add special rate' and fill out the required details.
Note: when filling out the start and end date of a Special Rate, be aware that you have to mark it either as an 'Annual Event' or a 'Single Event'. This option is shown on the right side of the date picker. By default a Special Rate is marked as an Annual event.
There are a few ways you can hold dates for a guest. On the Calendar page, we offer two 'Availability settings' to secure dates for guests that want to book with you.
1) Log in to Bookalighthouse.com and make sure you are in the Owner Profile (select 'Owner profile' in the top right corner of the website).
2) Click on 'My lighthouses' to get an overview of your listings
3) Click on 'Edit Calendar' and you will be referred to the 'Availability page' with the available settings and the calendar. Below we the two settings to block dates in order to give your guest the time to make a payment and secure the booking.
Setting 1: "Block dates of accepted (not yet paid) booking requests in your calendar."
Choose 'Yes' if you want the dates of accepted, but not yet paid booking requests to be blocked in your houseboat's local calendar. No other booking requests can be made for these enquired dates. This allows guests to make the payment for their stay and avoid other guests to make a booking request for these dates.
Note: never block dates of accepted booking requests in external calendars that you are synched with. That results in synchronization of these blocked dates back to the calendar of your listing on Bookalighthouse.com, and thus result in a cancellation of the booking request! So if you are using multiple calendars, always choose 'Yes' if you want to block the dates of an accepted booking request in the external calendar(s).
Choose 'No' if you don't want to block the dates of accepted booking requests in your local calendar. You will be able to receive other booking requests until a booking request is confirmed by payment.
Setting 2: "Sync dates of accepted booking requests to the external calendars"
Choose 'Yes' if you want the dates of accepted booking request to be synced to and blocked in external calendars. This allows guests to make the payment for their stay and avoid other guests to make a booking request for these dates.
Note: never block dates of accepted booking requests in external calendars that you are synched with. That results in synchronization of these blocked dates back to the calendar of your listing on Bookalighthouse.com, and thus result in a cancellation of the booking request! So if you are using multiple calendars, always choose 'Yes' if you want to block the dates of an accepted booking request in the external calendar(s).
Choose 'No' if you want to postpone syncing until the booking request is confirmed by a payment.
If you only want to receive a booking request for a certain period in the future, you can select the Booking availability/booking window of your choice. By default this booking window is marked as 'Set calendar open forever', meaning that your guests can book any date in the future. We offer the option to change this to any period from 1 to 15 months ahead.
How to set the Booking Availability
1) Log in to Bookalighthouse.com and make sure you are in the Owner Profile (select 'Owner profile' in the top right corner of the website).
2) Click on 'My lighthouses' to get an overview of your listings.
3) Click on 'Edit Calendar' to open the 'Availability page' with the available settings and the calendar.
4) The fifth option from the top shows 'Booking availability' with a drop-down menu to select your preferred setting.
Bookalighthouse.com offers easy to use calendar synchronization for any calendar using either the iCal format or Google Calendar. Click here to see how you can synchronize with Airbnb within a few minutes.
How to synchronize with calendars using iCal?
First, you get the iCal link of your listing on Bookalighthouse.com
1) Login to Bookalighthouse.com and go to 'My lighthouses'
2) Click on 'Edit calendar'
3) Scroll down until you see 'iCal export URL' and copy the link. You can now import this link in your external calendar (for example Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway or a channel manager you may use).
Now import the iCal link of your external calendar in Bookalighthouse.com
4) Copy the iCal of your external calendar and go back to the calendar page on Bookalighthouse.com
5) Scroll down till you see 'Attached iCals via URL
6) Paste the iCal link in the blank input field and click on 'Add new iCal'.
You have now successfully synchronized your calendars and they will be updated frequently. You can click on the button 'Sync iCal now' of each connected iCal link to synchronize instantly.
How to synchronize with Google Calendar
1) Click on the blue button 'Connect Google Calendar' and follow these instructions:
1) For your own happiness, always make a backup of your Google calendar, just to be sure.
2) After connecting, choose the correct calendar and then the calendar color which is used for this property. (Often the 'default' color is fine).
3) When syncing for the first time, all gCal events will be downloaded and your property's bookings will be added.
4) After the first sync, a change in a calendar will be synced to the other automatically.
1) Login to Bookalighthouse.com
2) Click on 'My account & settings'
3) Scroll down till you see 'Bank account details' and fill out the required fields. If you want to be paid out via PayPal, please fill out the email address related to your PayPal Account in the field 'Account number (IBAN).
Bookalighthouse.com releases your payout 2 days after your guest's scheduled check-in day, if there are no complaints. The time it takes for the money to arrive on your (bank) account depends on your bank, country and / or payout method. If the payout is scheduled for a weekend day (Saturday or Sunday), the payout will be processed on Monday.
We will send you an email when we have made the payment to you.
After we have transferred the amount, it can take a few days for the money to arrive on your (bank) account. On average it takes 0 - 5 workdays. Some banks don't transfer money during the weekend and/or national holidays, so please take this into account. You may contact us when you have not yet received the amount after 7 days.
Contact your bank or payment processor directly with questions about the payment processing time.
How to fill out your preferred payout method
In order for us to be able to transfer the money to you, we need to know your (bank) account details. You can fill out or change your bank details following these steps:
Once a booking is confirmed, it's time to share useful information to make the guests' check-in process as smooth and pleasant as possible.
Also, guests appreciate receiving information about the whereabouts, things to do, where they can find a supermarket, etc.
Always make sure that your guests have the correct contact details so they can reach you and respond swiftly to any questions they may have.
It never hurts to help your guests preparing for their holiday. So be as helpful as you can be. This will result in happy guests, and that leads to great reviews!
There is not really something for you to do. The most important thing is to never cancel a reservation on behalf of a guest since this may lead to penalties.
If a guest cancels a reservation, he/she will be refunded automatically according to the Cancellation Policy that is applicable to the reservation. You will be notified and the dates will be unblocked in your calendar so you can receive other guests.
If your guest is not eligible for a (full) refund, we will start the payment process 24 hours after the regular check-in time.
If your guest cancels after checking in, the following applies:
Your personal safety and well being is of paramount importance to us. Therefore we highly recommend to convince yourself that a guest is the right match for you. You can ask any question and share all the information such as house rules before you accept a booking.
If you don't feel comfortable with a guest, feel free to decline the booking request and avoid having to cancel once the booking is confirmed. If you have received a reservation that was made with Instant Booking, you can cancel the reservation within 24 hours after it was confirmed.
This depends on the security deposit option you have chosen for your listing.
How to make a claim if you offer 'Lock funds on the guests' credit card'
When you require the security deposit option 'Lock funds on the guest's credit card' set, the payment details are never saved. We make a reservation on the card IF that is possible. If the guest pays with iDeal, for example, we can't make a reservation. In that case, the guest is asked to fulfill the amount in cash on arrival. Note that nothing will be charged for the deposit unless the host makes a claim.
If no claim is made, the reservation on the credit card will be removed and the guest will not be charged. Please note that in this case there has not been transferred any amount from the guests' account.
You, as a host, have 24 hours from your check-out date to submit a claim to the deposit for damage to the property. If no specific check out time is mentioned in the advertisement, we will count from 11.00 AM (timezone of the location where the lighthouse is located)
How to make a claim on the security deposit
1) In case you think that it is appropriate to make a claim, we ask to do so by sending a message to support@Bookalighthouse.com and share documentation and inform the guest of this claim as well. Please share the proof with very recent photo's before the check-in that the damage was not there before.
2) We will also inform the guest and require that he/she responds within 72 hours.
We will assess all the information and documentation with care to reach a solution and make sure both the guest and host are fairly represented. Most claims are resolved within a week.
No security deposit or a deposit in cash
If you have chosen not to set a security deposit, or require a security deposit to be paid in cash on arrival, Bookalighthouse.com is no party in case you make a claim. In this case, you have to come to an agreement with the guest without mediation by Bookalighthouse.com since we have no access to the security deposit.
If you want to make a (partial) refund within 24 hours after the check-in, you can do this in two ways:
1) You give the guest a (partial) refund in cash
2) You send a refund request to support@Bookalighthouse.com and let us know how much you want to refund. We will then contact the guest and ask if they agree with the proposed amount. If the guest does agree, we will process a partial refund. If the guest does not agree, we will meditate and decide within 72 hours. Note that we charge you a 25 euro handling and transaction fee.
If you want to make a (partial) refund after 24 hours after the check-in, we can no longer assist since we have started the payout process and have no longer access to the amount payable to you. In this case, you have to make a refund in cash or, if the guests have already left, refund by bank transfer.
Cancelling a booking has a very negative impact on both the holiday plans of the guest, as well as on the trust that they have in Bookalighthouse.com. Therefore the cancellation of a booking will have a negative effect on your ranking. Apart from that, there are the following sanctions that will be taken:
Note: never cancel a booking in case a guest asks to cancel it for them because this will result in the penalties mentioned above. Instead of cancelling on their behalf, ask your guests to cancel their reservation themselves. Here is how they can do this.
Before cancelling a booking, we recommend to find an alternative on Bookalighthouse.com or contact Bookalighthouse.com and ask if they have an alternative. We will try to help to find a solution but is not obliged to do so.
As long as you have not cancelled the booking on Bookalighthouse.com you are obliged to fulfil your obligations regarding this booking.
If you really need to cancel a booking, this is how you do it:
1) Log in to Bookalighthouse.com and go to 'My bookings'
2) Select the booking request that you need to cancel
3) Scroll down the detail page of the booking and click 'Cancel booking'
4) Follow the instructions and tell the guest why you have to cancel. Keep in mind that this is a very unfortunate situation, so it is advisable to explain very detailedly what the reason for the cancellation is.
If you have to cancel due to an emergency or unavoidable circumstances, still the cancellation policy related to this booking is applicable and penalties may be applicable.
Bookalighthouse.com will do everything within our power to find a suitable alternative for the guest. Therefore please contact us once you realize that you have to cancel a reservation so we can take immediate action and help the guest as good as possible. Please always mention the booking ID.
Note: As long as you have not cancelled the booking on Bookalighthouse.com you are obliged to fulfil your obligations regarding this booking.
Your guest may be refunded, dependent of the Cancellation Policy which was active at the moment the booking was made.
You will be paid out according to the applicable Cancellation Policy you have set for the reservation.
There are three ways we will notify you once you have received a new booking request:
1) You will receive a text message stating the dates, property and the price to be received once the booking is paid and confirmed.
2) You will receive an email stating the details of the booking request. If the booking request still needs to be approved (only if you are not offering Instant Booking) you can click on 'Accept request'. You can also choose to edit or decline the request. Note that all these actions need to be performed online. So only clicking on these buttons in the email is not sufficient to process the action.
3) All booking requests are shown in 'My bookings' on your Owner profile on Bookalighthouse.com. As long as you have not accepted or declined a booking request, it is shown as 'Tentative booking requests'.
Note that responding swiftly and accepting booking requests has a positive effect on the ranking of your listing!
1) Log in to Bookalighthouse.com and make sure you are in the Owner Profile (select 'Owner profile' in the top right corner of the website).
2) Click on 'My bookings' in the left-hand menu to get an overview of your booking requests.
1) Log in to Bookalighthouse.com and make sure you are in the Owner Profile (select 'Owner profile' in the top right corner of the website).
2) Click on 'My bookings' in the left-hand menu to get an overview of your booking requests.
3) Click on the booking request that you want to respond to.
4) In the top section of the detail page, you see a green button to either accept or pre-approve the booking request. Click this button if you want to welcome this guest on the agreed dates (recommended).
If you can not welcome this guest, scroll down to the bottom of the detail page and click on the 'Decline booking request'.
This is also where you find the 'Add discount' button in order to - indeed - add a discount.
If you have Instant Booking enabled any booking request will automatically be approved, enabling the guest to pay and confirm the reservation.
We highly recommend to convince yourself that the guests are a good match for your lighthouse. If you, for whatever reason do not feel comfortable with guests, you can cancel the booking free of charge within 24 hours after the reservation is confirmed.
Your guest is given the option to pay for an Instant Booking right away, however, this is not mandatory. If the guest has not paid, we recommend sending him/her some information about the property and whereabouts. Guests really appreciate such a pro-active approach: show them what a great host you are!
If an Instant booking request is paid and confirmed, it's the perfect time to share the exact location of your lighthouse and check-in details.
By pre-approving a booking request you give your guest 72 hours to pay and confirm a reservation before it expires. If a pre-approval is expired, you can still help a guest to guest book your lighthouse:
If you choose not to block dates of not yet paid booking requests in your calendar, you can receive multiple booking requests for the same period.
You can accept or pre-approve multiple booking requests for the same period. In this case, the following applies: first comes, first serves. So who-ever pays first, is the lucky one. The other booking requests will automatically be declined. These declinations have no negative impact on your ranking.
Change your Availability settings if you wish not to receive a booking request for dates that you have already received a booking request.
By offering a discount you can send an adjusted rate to a guest who has sent you a booking request. With this feature, you can also add something to the original price, for example for extra services such as late checkout.
How to add a discount to a booking request
1) Login to Bookalighthouse.com and make sure that you are in the Owner profile
2) Go to 'My bookings' and select the booking request of the guest that you want to send a special offer. Now the booking detail page will open.
3) Scroll down the detail page and click on the grey button 'Add discount'
4) Choose to either deduct a percentage or a fixed amount from the original amount payable to the host. The traveler service fee will be added subsequently to the remaining amount.
You can also choose to add a percentage or fixed amount by typing a minus (-) before the percentage or amount that you fill out. So a discount of 10 percent is written as '10' and an extra charge is written as '-10' since it is seen as a 'negative discount'.
5) Click 'Add discount' to submit your adjusted rate to the guest.
6) The guest now can respond to your proposal by either accepting or declining it. You will be notified once the guest has responded. If the guest has not responded within 72 hours from the moment the initial booking request was submitted, the request will expire automatically.
In case the number of guests of a booking request needs to be changed:
1) The guest must log in to Bookalighthouse.com and go to the 'Bookings' page.
2) Then select the booking request that he/she wants to edit.
3) Click on 'edit' on the right-hand side of the 'Who's traveling' line and edit the number of guests.
You will receive an email to accept or decline the new number of guests. Once you accept it, the price will be adjusted, the guest will be notified and can proceed to pay in order to confirm the booking.
1) Log in to Bookalighthouse.com and go to the 'Bookings' page.
2) Select the booking request that you want to edit.
3) Click on 'edit' on the right-hand side of the 'dates' line and edit the booking's dates.
When you have changed the dates of the booking request, the guest will receive an email with the new booking details. He/she can now accept this change and pay in order to confirm the booking.
If you advertise multiple lighthouses on Bookalighthouse.com, you can change the lighthouse of a booking request before it is paid. To do so:
1) Log in to Bookalighthouse.com and go to the 'Bookings' page.
2) Select the booking request that you want to edit.
3) Click on 'edit' on the right-hand side of the 'lighthouse' line and edit the booking's lighthouse.
When you have changed the lighthouse of the booking request, the guest will receive an email with the new booking details. He/she can now accept this change and pay in order to confirm the booking.
Another option is to ask the guest to cancel the initial booking request and submit a new booking request according to their new requirements. Please ask them to be sure to cancel the 'wrong' request in order to avoid confusion.
Once a booking is paid and confirmed, it can only be changed by contacting Bookalighthouse.com. Before we can process such a request, you need to make sure that both you and the guest agree on the new details, such as the: dates, number of guests and the lighthouse which is concerned. Once both parties agree with the proposed changes we can process the change request for you.
If you send a change request, we will let guests know and ask them to accept or decline changes. They can accept the request or reject it to keep the reservation unchanged.
Note that guests may need time to discuss the change request, so it may take some time before they accept or decline. However, we ask the guests to respond within 72 hours from the moment the booking request was made.
After 72 hours, the booking request expires, but both the host and the guest can reopen it from the booking detail page. Another option is to ask the guest to make a new inquiry.
It is very important not to cancel a reservation on behalf of your guests because it will cost you credits and will have a negative effect on your ranking and advertisement.
Instead, ask guests to cancel the reservations themselves. You can share these instructions with them.
If a guest wants to change a reservation, you first need to both agree on the change. Once you agree, either you or the guest can send us a change request. You can share these instructions with your guest.
Once a change request is sent, you can not edit it anymore. If you want to withdraw your change request, please ask the guest to decline it. You can now submit a new change request. Another option is to cancel the booking request and ask the guests to submit a new booking request.
When making a booking request, guests have the option to either pre-pay for the booking request or wait until the host has pre-approved the booking request.
Pre-approve a booking request (not pre-paid)
If the guest has not pre-paid the booking request, you are asked to pre-approve his/her request. After you have pre-approved the request, the guest can make a payment to confirm the booking. So be aware that a pre-approved booking request is not confirmed until the guest has made a payment. Of course, you will be notified once the booking is confirmed.
Accept a pre-paid booking request
If a guest has made a pre-payment (this is a reservation on the credit card, so not an actual payment) you are asked to accept the booking request. Once you have accepted the pre-paid booking request, the payment will be processed immediately and you will be notified once the booking is confirmed.
If you have enabled Instant Booking
If you have Instant Booking enabled (recommended) you don't need to pre-approve or accept booking requests since this will be done automatically.
Yes, as long as a booking request is not paid you can add a discount or add extra charges. Read here how to do this.
If you have received a booking request you will receive an email and, depending on your notification settings, a text message from Bookalighthouse.com. In this message, you will see the status of this booking request.
An overview of all the booking request(s) you have previously received is also shown in the 'Owner profile' on Bookalighthouse.com. To see this overview and the status of each booking request, log in to Bookalighthouse.com and make sure you are in the Owner Profile. Now go to 'My bookings'. Here you will see an overview of:
By clicking on a booking request, you will see the full details and communication that is related to this request. Here is an explanation of each status that a booking request can have:
Tentative: A guest has submitted a booking request (either to request a booking or to first ask any question he or she may have), but the host has not accepted or declined yet. The host has 72 hours to respond before a booking request is automatically declined.
Accepted: The host has accepted the booking request of a guest, or the request is automatically accepted with Instant booking. Bookalighthouse.com has collected the payment from the guest (being either 50% or 100% depending on the payment policy set by the host) and the booking is confirmed.
Declined by the traveller: The guest has canceled the booking request and the host is no longer able to confirm the booking request. The guest will not be charged. As long as the dates of the booking request are still available, the guest is able to open the booking request by clicking on the yellow button 'Resend booking request' on the bottom of the booking request details in the Traveller profile on Bookalighthouse.com.
Declined by owner: The host has declined the booking request because he or she is not able to welcome you. The guest will not be charged.
Expired by the traveller: The booking request was accepted by the host, but the guest did not pay within 72 hours and the booking request was declined automatically. The guest will not be charged. As long as the dates of the booking request are still available, the guest is able to open the booking request by clicking on the yellow button 'Resend booking request' on the bottom of the booking request details in the Traveller profile on Bookalighthouse.com.
Expired by owner: The Owner has not responded in time and the booking request was declined automatically. The guest will not be charged.
In this case you have a booking through our website, and our system detected overlapping calendar event(s) from an imported calendar. Thus we advise you to double check if these external events are a double booking or not.
Offer Instant Booking
There are various ways that a guest can book with you. The fastest and easiest way is to offer Instant Booking so booking requests are approved automatically and guests can make a payment right away to confirm the booking?
Respond swiftly
If you don't have Instant Booking enabled, it is of great importance to respond as swiftly as possible.
Pre-paid booking requests have to be accepted in order to process the payment and confirm the booking.
Non pre-paid booking requests first have to be pre-approved, after which the guest can make the payment to confirm the booking.
Check availability
If a guest informs you about having difficulties choosing the dates, please check the availability. It may happen that the requested dates are no longer available.
Send a special offer or change dates
If a guest makes a booking request, you can offer a discount or change the dates on request of the guests.
Reopen a booking request
If a booking request is no longer active (it may be expired or declined) you can reopen it by sending a new payment request. You will find the button 'Resend payment request' at the bottom of the booking request details. Another option is to ask the guests to send a new booking request.
If you want to contact a guest before the reservation is confirmed, send him or her a message with your guest account on Bookalighthouse.com. All messages sent via the website are sent as an email as well. You can both reply via email as well as with your host account on Bookalighthouse.com.
Once the reservation is confirmed, the contact details of both the guest and host are shared with each other so you can communicate with the host via messages, e-mail or telephone.
For your own safety and privacy, you cannot call or email guests until the booking is confirmed.
Update calendar by synchronizing
If you use other platforms, like Airbnb, we highly encourage you to synchronize with these platforms. Read here how to sync with Airbnb and other calendars.
This way your calendars are always up-to-date, so avoid getting double bookings and you will only get booking requests for dates that your place is available.
Update your calendar manually
1) 1) Login to Bookalighthouse.com and go to 'My lighthouses'
2) Click on 'Edit calendar'
3) Scroll down until you see the calendar
4) Click on the first day of the period you want to edit. This date will now color green.
5) Click on the last day of the period you want to edit. This date will now color red.
6) Now select the 'Status' of this period: Available, Booked or Blocked. You find the 'Status option' 6 lines above the calendar.
7) Click the button 'Update calendar'.
Note: it is not possible to overrule actual bookings made on either Bookalighthouse.com or on a platform that you are synchronized with.
If your tax authority requires you to charge VAT over the rental amount, you must include it into the rental price you set on the 'Rates' section of your lighthouse.
We do not offer a separate section for you to enter the VAT which you are required to charge, for a few reasons:
If you have any further questions concerning taxes, please consult your accountant or the website of your tax authority.
DAC7 is European tax legislation for online platforms. The DAC7 legislation will come into force on 1 January 2023 and aims to create more tax transparency in the digital economy. The aim is to combat tax fraud, avoidance and evasion.
Online platforms (such as Bookalighthouse.com) will be obliged from January 1, 2023 onward to collect tax-related data from hosts (sellers) operating from or in EU countries and to share this with the our national (Dutch) tax authorities in January 2024. In our case, the Dutch tax authority will then share this information with the tax authorities of the other 26 member states.
You can read more about the DAC7 legislation and the consequences for hosts in this article.
PRIVATE | TIN | Structure |
Austria | Tax Identification Number | 9 digits |
Belgium | National Number | 11 digits |
Bulgaria | Unified Civil Number or Personal Foreigner's Number | 10 digits |
Croatia | Personal Identification Number | 11 digits |
Cyprus | Tax Identification Code | 8 digits + 1 letter |
Czechia | Personal Identification Number | 9 or 10 digits |
Denmark | Central Person Registration Number | 10 digits |
Estonia | Personal Code | 11 digits |
Finland | Social Security Number | 6 digits + (+ or - or “A”) + 3 digits + 1 digit or letter |
France | Tax Identification Number | 13 digits (first digit is always 0, 1, 2, or 3) |
Germany | Identification Number or Tax Number | 11 digits |
Greece | Tax Identification Number | 9 digits |
Hungary | Tax Identification Number | 10 digits |
Ireland | Personal Public Service Number | 7 digits + 1 letter 7 digits + 2 letter |
Italy | Fiscal Code | 6 letters + 2 digits + 1 letter + 2 digits + 1 letter + 3 digits + 1 letter |
Latvia | Personal Identity Number or Tax Identification Number | 11 digits |
Lithuania | Tax Identification Number | 10 digits or 11 digits |
Luxembourg | National Identification Number | 13 digits |
Malta | Identity Card Number or Unique Taxpayer Reference Number | 7 digits + 1 letter 9 digits |
Netherlands | Citizen service number (BSN-number) | 9 digits |
Poland | Polish Resident Identification Number or Tax Identification Number | 10 to 11 digits |
Portugal | Tax Identification Number | 9 digits |
Romania | Tax Identification Number | 13 digits |
Slovakia | Tax Identification Number or Unique Personal Identification Number | 10 digits |
Slovenia | Tax identification number | 8 digits |
Spain | National Identification Document or Foreigner Identification Document | 8 digits + 1 letter “L” + 7 digits + 1 letter “K” + 7 digits + 1 letter “X” + 7 digits + 1 letter “Y” + 7 digits + 1 letter “Z” + 7 digits + 1 letter “M” + 7 digits + 1 letter |
Sweden | Social Security Number or Co-ordination Number | 10 digits |
BUSINESS | TIN | Structure |
Austria | Tax Identification Number | 9 digits |
Belgium | Business Identification Number or Belgian Company Number | 10 digits |
Bulgaria | Unified Identification Code or Unified Identification Code of BULSTAT | 9 digits |
Croatia | Personal Identification Number | 11 digits |
Cyprus | Tax Identification Code | 8 digits + 1 letter |
Czechia | Tax Number | “CZ” + 8 digits to 10 digits |
Denmark | CVR Number or SE Number | 8 digits |
Estonia | Unique Registration Code | 8 digits |
Finland | Business Identity Code | 7 digits + “-” + 1 digit |
France | SIREN Business Identification Number | 9 digits |
Germany | Tax Identification Number | 10 digits to 13 digits |
Greece | Tax Identification Number | 9 digits |
Hungary | Tax Number | 11 digits |
Ireland | Tax Reference Number or CHY Number | 7 digits + 1 letter 7 digits + 2 letter “CHY” + 1 to 5 digits |
Italy | Tax Identification Number | 11 digits |
Latvia | Tax Identification Number | “9000” + 7 digits “4000” + 7 digits “5000” + 7 digits |
Lithuania | Tax Registration Number | 9 digits or 10 digits |
Luxembourg | National Identifier | 11 digits |
Malta | Unique Taxpayer Reference Number | 9 digits |
Netherlands | RSIN-number | 9 digits |
Poland | Tax Identification Number | 10 digits |
Portugal | Tax Identification Number | 9 digits |
Romania | Tax Identification Number | 2 digits to 10 digits |
Slovakia | Tax Identification Number | 10 digits |
Slovenia | SI Tax Number | 8 digits |
Spain | Tax Identification Number | 1 letter + 8 digits 1 letter + 7 digits + 1 letter |
Sweden | Organisation Number | 10 digits |
What do we mean with the Chamber of Commerce (CoC) number?
In most countries the Chamber of Commerce is where you start and register your business. They very often give you a business registration number (CoC nr), that is the number we need you to fill in.
List containing the different Chambers of Commerce for each EU country:
Country | Chamber name | URL |
Austria | Austrian Federal Economic Chamber | https://www.wko.at/ |
Belgium | Federation of Belgian Chambers of Commerce | https://belgianchambers.be/en/ |
Bulgaria | Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry | https://www.bcci.bg/ |
Croatia | Croatian Chamber of Economy | https://investincroatia.hr/ |
Cyprus | Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry | https://ccci.org.cy/ |
Czechia | The Czech Chamber of Commerce | https://www.komora.cz/ |
Denmark | The Danish Chamber of Commerce - Dansk Erhverv | https://www.danskerhverv.dk |
Estonia | Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry | https://www.koda.ee/ |
Finland | Finland Chamber of Commerce and Industry | https://www.kauppakamari.fi/ |
France | CCI FRANCE | https://www.cci.fr/ |
Germany | Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry | https://www.dihk.de/ |
Greece | Union of Hellenic Chambers of Commerce | https://uhc.gr/ |
Hungary | Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry | https://mkik.hu/ |
Ireland | Chambers Ireland | https://www.chambers.ie/ |
Italy | Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Handicrafts and Agriculture | https://www.unioncamere.gov.it/ |
Latvia | Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry | https://www.chamber.lv/ |
Lithuania | Association of Lithuanian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Crafts | https://chambers.lt/ |
Luxembourg | Chamber of Commerce Luxembourg | https://www.cc.lu/accueil/ |
Malta | The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry | https://www.maltachamber.org.mt/ |
Netherlands | Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel - KvK) | https://www.kvk.nl/ |
Poland | Polish Chamber of Commerce | https://kig.pl/ |
Portugal | Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry | https://www.ccip.pt/ |
Romania | The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania | https://ccir.ro/ |
Slovakia | Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry | https://www.sopk.sk/ |
Slovenia | Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia | https://www.gzs.si/ |
Spain | Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Shipping of Spain | https://www.camara.es/en |
Sweden | Sweden’s Chambers of Commerce | https://www.sverigeshandelskamrar.se/ |