The Independent Hotels & Motels Fix Kit
Built for independent hotel, motel, inn and B&B owners.
Two counterparties compute against your rate before you ever see a dollar of it: the OTA computes its own commission, and the card network decides a chargeback against you by default the moment you go quiet. This kit finds where the money leaks in your own work and gives you the steps and the words to close each one.
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The 7 leaks it covers
2 you can close it · 4 the other side owes it · 1 a pro decides
- Mandatory fees not included in the total price guests see first (FTC fees rule)Where to look first: List every mandatory fee you charge: resort, cleaning, amenity, service, or any other fee every guest must pay.Keep it from coming back: Every time you add or change a fee, check the first price guests see on every channel the same day.You can close it
- No-show, damage and cancel fees waived, forgotten, or charged with no guest acknowledgmentWhere to look first: Put your no-show, cancellation, damage and incidental policies in writing, with the exact fees.Keep it from coming back: No reservation is confirmed without the guest accepting the policy, and that acceptance is saved with it.You can close it
- Chargebacks lost because nobody answered before the deadlineWhere to look first: Find out exactly where dispute notices arrive - processor portal, email, or mail - and who checks it. Check it every business day.Keep it from coming back: One named person checks for dispute notices every business day. Keep folio, policy acceptance and authorization filed by reservation number.The other side owes it
- OTA commission statements never checked against your contract and foliosWhere to look first: Find your signed agreement with each online travel agency and note the commission rate for each rate plan.Keep it from coming back: Mark no-shows and cancellations in the OTA extranet the same day, before the statement closes. Reconcile every month, not once a year.The other side owes it
- Not tracking your own dispute-plus-fraud ratio Visa is already watchingWhere to look first: Ask your processor for your monthly count of disputes, fraud reports, and total card-not-present transactions.Keep it from coming back: Check the ratio monthly. Treat every new dispute as a chance to fix the policy wording or booking step that caused it.The other side owes it
- Virtual-card OTA payouts costing commission plus your own card feeWhere to look first: Pull your last ten OTA virtual-card payouts. For each, note the booking amount, the commission, and the card processing fee on your merchant statement for that charge.Keep it from coming back: Track the processing fee on every virtual-card payout, not just the commission.The other side owes it
- Not knowing how the property's profit is taxed to you — entity boundaryWhere to look first: Find out how the property is held: sole owner, partnership, LLC, or S-corp. Your last tax return or CPA can tell you.Keep it from coming back: Record every owner draw as a draw, not an expense, the day you take it.A pro decides
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 7 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Mandatory fees not included in the total price guests see first (FTC fees rule)
You can close it- List every mandatory fee you charge: resort, cleaning, amenity, service, or any other fee every guest must pay.
- Look at the first price a guest sees on your website, booking engine and every channel. Does it already include those fees?
- The FTC's fees rule, in effect since May 12, 2025, covers short-term lodging including hotels and requires the total price to be shown up front.
- Fix the price display where it doesn't. Government taxes and truly optional extras may be left out of that first price, but they must be shown before the guest pays - an attorney can tell you exactly what must be included for your property.
- Re-check after any rate or fee change.
Your part: Confirm with your attorney what must be included, approve the change, and send it.
NOTE TO MY BOOKING ENGINE / CHANNEL MANAGER (email): Subject: Show total price with mandatory fees - [PROPERTY NAME] Hi [VENDOR CONTACT], We charge these mandatory fees on every stay: [FEE NAME - AMOUNT], [FEE NAME - AMOUNT]. Please set up our booking engine and channel feeds so the first price a guest sees includes these fees, and the fees are listed clearly at checkout. Please confirm when this is live, and send screenshots of the guest-facing display. Thank you, [YOUR NAME] [PROPERTY NAME] | [PHONE]
Every time you add or change a fee, check the first price guests see on every channel the same day.
What this kit can't decide for you: What counts as a mandatory fee and how taxes are shown is a legal question for an attorney; state laws may add rules. We never say your display violates the law.
That's 1 of 7. The other 6 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
What people in this work look up
When independent hotel and motel owners go looking for answers, they search things like “hotel resort fees”, “booking com commission”, “hotel no show fee” and “hotel chargeback”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 7 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Do I have to show resort and mandatory fees up front?
The FTC fees rule requires mandatory fees in the total price guests see first. The kit shows what to check.
Are my Booking.com and Expedia commission statements right?
Check them against your contract and folios. The kit shows how.
How do I stop losing chargebacks?
Answer before the deadline, with records. The kit walks you through it.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
11-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-CONCIERGE-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
Use Jobber or Housecall Pro? Run the free leak check — it reads your job export in your browser and shows the money leaks the software doesn't flag. Nothing is uploaded.