When reviewing a reservation folio, an automatic adjustment labeled Airbnb Adjustment (or AUTOMATIC_OTA) might appear. While the label indicates a change from the channel, these entries often occur due to updates made within your Guesty account settings rather than changes made by Airbnb.
This article explains why these adjustments appear, how the system calculates them, and how to verify reservation changes.
How automatic adjustments work
An adjustment usually triggers when a reservation receives a channel update after markup settings change in Guesty.
Understanding the recalculation process
The system generates an automatic adjustment through the following sequence:
- Initial booking creation: A guest books a reservation based on the channel markup setting configured in your Guesty account at that time (for example, 5%).
- Markup setting update: The channel markup setting in your Guesty account updates to a new percentage (for example, 18%).
- Channel notification trigger: Airbnb sends a standard payment or payout update to Guesty.
- System refresh: Guesty refreshes the reservation data. The system reads the current markup setting (18%) instead of the historical setting (5%) active during the initial booking.
- Adjustment calculation: The system creates an automatic adjustment entry to balance the difference between the original rate and the new markup rate.
Note:
Automatic adjustments ensure total financial reporting stays balanced. The total amount paid by the guest and the final payout amount received from Airbnb do not change.
Identifying true channel alterations
Differentiating between channel-initiated changes and internal system updates helps maintain accurate financial tracking.
Checking for reservation alterations
Follow the steps below to confirm if Airbnb altered a reservation, and use the steps to check reservation logs.
Step by step:
- Sign in to your Guesty account.
- In the side navigation menu, click
Reservations. - Click the relevant reservation.
- Select the Activity log tab on the reservation sub-menu.
- Review the entries for explicit alteration messages:
- Reservation altered by Airbnb: Indicates an actual modification to dates, guest count, or pricing made directly on the channel.
- AUTOMATIC_OTA or airbnb2 with no alteration log: Indicates a routine system refresh that applied updated account markup settings.
Tip:
If multiple reservations display unexpected adjustments simultaneously, check your channel integration settings to see if a recent bulk update was applied to account markups.