The Go Overbooked Blog

Practical guides for independent hotel owners

Tips for running a small guesthouse.

Free Hotel Management Software: What "Free" Really Means (and the Catches to Check)

Free Hotel Management Software: What "Free" Really Means (and the Catches to Check)

Looking for free hotel management software for a small guesthouse? The five kinds of free PMS, the catches to check before you commit, and what a genuinely free option includes.

Channel Manager vs PMS: Which One Does a Small Property Actually Need?

Channel Manager vs PMS: Which One Does a Small Property Actually Need?

PMS or channel manager first? A plain comparison for 3–20 room guesthouses, with real scenarios showing when you need one, both, or neither yet.

What Is a PMS? A Plain-Language Guide for Small Hotel and Guesthouse Owners

What Is a PMS? A Plain-Language Guide for Small Hotel and Guesthouse Owners

What a hotel PMS (property management system) actually does, what small guesthouses need from one, which enterprise features to skip, and when a notebook is still enough.

Direct Bookings vs OTA Bookings: What Commissions Really Cost a Small Philippine Guesthouse

Direct Bookings vs OTA Bookings: What Commissions Really Cost a Small Philippine Guesthouse

How much OTA commissions actually cost a small Philippine guesthouse, when OTAs are worth it, and practical ways to get more direct bookings without leaving Booking.com or Agoda.

How to Manage Booking.com, Agoda, and Airbnb at the Same Time (Before You Pay for a Channel Manager)

How to Manage Booking.com, Agoda, and Airbnb at the Same Time (Before You Pay for a Channel Manager)

Listed on Booking.com, Agoda, and Airbnb? How to keep them in sync by hand, when iCal calendar sync helps (and when it doesn't), and when a channel manager is worth it.

How to Track Room Availability When Bookings Come From Everywhere

How to Track Room Availability When Bookings Come From Everywhere

A practical system for tracking room availability across walk-ins, Messenger, and OTAs: one master calendar, clear booking statuses, and a 5-minute nightly check.

How to Track Guest Payments and Deposits at a Small Guesthouse (GCash, Bank Transfer, Cash)

How to Track Guest Payments and Deposits at a Small Guesthouse (GCash, Bank Transfer, Cash)

A simple system for small guesthouses to track deposits and balances paid by GCash, bank transfer, cash, and OTAs, and to stop confirming bookings from screenshots.

Is Your Guesthouse Actually Making Money? A Simple Way to Track Income and Expenses

Is Your Guesthouse Actually Making Money? A Simple Way to Track Income and Expenses

A simple way for small guesthouse owners to track income and expenses, account for OTA commissions and lean months, and know if the property is really making money.

Hotel Booking Spreadsheet: A Free Google Sheets Template for Small Guesthouses (With Double-Booking Check)

Hotel Booking Spreadsheet: A Free Google Sheets Template for Small Guesthouses (With Double-Booking Check)

Build a free hotel booking spreadsheet in Google Sheets or Excel, with columns for OTA, Messenger and walk-in bookings, plus a formula that flags double bookings.

7 Benefits of a Channel Manager for Small Property Owners (and How It Stops Double Bookings)

7 Benefits of a Channel Manager for Small Property Owners (and How It Stops Double Bookings)

Juggling Booking.com, Agoda, and Airbnb? Here are the real benefits of a channel manager for small properties: no double bookings, less admin, and more rooms sold.

Looking for a Cloudbeds Alternative? Here's Why Small Philippine Properties Are Switching to Go Overbooked

Looking for a Cloudbeds Alternative? Here's Why Small Philippine Properties Are Switching to Go Overbooked

Cloudbeds was built for hotel chains with a front desk team and a budget to match. Here's what a Filipino-built PMS and channel manager looks like when it's built for a 6-room guesthouse instead.

The Spreadsheet Isn't Your Biggest Problem. Your Memory Is.

The Spreadsheet Isn't Your Biggest Problem. Your Memory Is.

You think you run your guesthouse with a spreadsheet. You actually run it with your brain. Here's what happens the day your memory isn't available.

How Much Is a Missed Booking Actually Costing You?

How Much Is a Missed Booking Actually Costing You?

Most guesthouse owners say they've never really lost a booking. Then they think about it for a second.

How to avoid double bookings when you list on Booking.com and Agoda at the same time

How to avoid double bookings when you list on Booking.com and Agoda at the same time

Hotels and other rental properties have, at least once, experienced the horror of double-booking the same room. Here is why it happens and what you can do about it.

How to manage bookings from Facebook Messenger without losing your mind

How to manage bookings from Facebook Messenger without losing your mind

Most small guesthouse bookings in the Philippines don't come from Booking.com. They come from a Facebook message. Here's how to stop Messenger from being the only place your bookings exist.

Why most small property owners in the Philippines never upgrade from spreadsheets

Why most small property owners in the Philippines never upgrade from spreadsheets

It's not because they don't know better tools exist. Most guesthouse owners who use spreadsheets know it's not ideal. Here's why they go back anyway.

Stop juggling spreadsheets and OTA calendars.

Go Overbooked keeps every booking, payment and room in one place. Free to start.

Try the live demo →