Reservations and guests

A reservation ties a guest party to a unit, arrival, departure, party size, nightly rate and status. The Property Manager can review a requested stay with the actual unit record beside it. A guest may be an individual, a group or a company; that party record carries contact details while each visit keeps its own dates and status. This keeps repeat visits distinct without creating duplicate guest identities.

• Capacity first. Compare the guest count with the unit capacity before treating a request as a commitment.
• Date interval. Check arrival and departure against stays already assigned to the unit; the departure day begins the next available interval.
• Named guest. Confirm that the guest party and contact details belong to the stay being handled.

The Property Manager can follow the reservation from request through checkout while each specialist keeps the record they own up to date. A change to one part of the stay should be checked against the linked records before the next person acts. The team should use the reservation number when discussing a particular visit, especially where a guest has stayed before.

Agree who records incoming requests, who can change reservation status and how the desk handles a date change after confirmation. Review unit numbers and guest naming conventions before importing bookings. Decide when a cancelled stay should stay visible in the operational record, and which team member tells the guest about a changed arrival.

Keep the first operating cycle small enough that the desk, manager and finance team can check the same case together. Review who can see guest contact details and financial amounts, and test the shift handoff with an arrival and a departure on the same day. A clear owner for each status change matters more than an attractive calendar display.

A guest requests a room for Friday through Sunday for three people. The first room has capacity for two, so the Property Manager checks another unit before the desk submits confirmation. The reservation remains Requested while the unit and date fit are reviewed. Once the unit is chosen, the manager records the rate per night and the authorized Front Desk Agent submits the confirmation. On arrival, the front desk reads the same guest and unit record that the manager approved. If the guest changes departure to Monday, the team rechecks the unit interval before promising the extra night.

Use that case during rehearsal. Have the next person open the linked reservation and explain what they would do, which record they would change, and what evidence they need before doing so. If the decision is still unclear, settle the property rule before relying on the view during a busy shift.

• Requested stays — See guest, unit, dates and party size while deciding which requests can be confirmed.
• Reservation status board — See requested, confirmed and in-house stays by their current status.

See the operating handoff and implementation for the decisions to rehearse before the property uses this flow.