Managing Bookings

Everything you need to manage the full booking lifecycle — from receiving requests to check-out and beyond.

1 Booking modes: request vs. instant

Hearth Host & Stay supports two booking modes, configured per company in Company Settings:

Request-based (default)

Guests submit a booking request. You review and confirm or decline each one manually. Best for owners who want full control over who stays.

Instant booking

Bookings are automatically confirmed when a guest completes payment. Best for high-volume properties where you want hands-off booking management.

Toggle instant booking from Company Settings → Booking Settings → Auto-confirm bookings.

2 Confirming and declining requests

When a guest submits a booking request, you'll receive a notification and email. Navigate to Bookings in your dashboard to see pending requests.

From the booking detail page, you can:

  • Confirm — Accept the booking and notify the guest
  • Decline — Reject the booking with an optional reason
  • Send payment link — Email the guest a Stripe payment link

3 Payments and refunds

Payments are processed through Stripe. From the booking detail page, you can:

  • Send payment link — Emails the guest a Stripe Checkout link
  • Mark as paid — Manually record an offline or external payment
  • Issue refund — Process a full or partial refund through Stripe

4 Modifying booking dates

You can modify check-in and check-out dates for bookings that are pending or confirmed, as long as the check-in date is still in the future.

Navigate to the booking detail page and click Modify Dates. The new dates must not conflict with other bookings on the same unit.

5 Check-in, no-show, and check-out

The booking lifecycle has several status transitions:

  • Check in — Mark a confirmed guest as arrived. Available once the check-in date arrives.
  • No-show — If a confirmed guest doesn't arrive by check-in day, mark them as no-show.
  • Complete — Mark a checked-in booking as completed after the guest departs.

Guests with confirmed bookings will see check-in instructions including WiFi details, parking info, and house rules on their booking page.

6 Cancellation policies

Configure your cancellation policy in Company Settings → Booking Settings. The policy determines:

  • How many days before check-in a guest can cancel for a full refund
  • The refund percentage if they cancel within the deadline

Both owners and guests can cancel bookings. When a guest cancels, refunds are calculated automatically based on your cancellation policy.

7 Guest messaging

Each booking includes a built-in messaging thread between you and the guest. Messages are visible on the booking detail page for both parties.

You'll receive notifications when guests send you messages. Unread messages are highlighted in your dashboard.

8 Exporting booking data

Export your bookings as a CSV file from the Bookings page. You can filter by status and date range before exporting. The CSV includes guest details, dates, pricing, and payment status.