Handle booking requests

A booking request is a guest with their card half out of their pocket. They have chosen your place and their dates, and they are asking to stay. The only thing between you and a confirmed booking is your answer. The catch is that most guests keep browsing while they wait. Reply within the hour and you win most of them. Reply tomorrow and you are often writing to someone who booked elsewhere last night.

What arrives with a request

Each request lands with the dates, the guest's details and a full price breakdown, including any discounts and taxes. You are not squinting at a vague enquiry trying to work out what the stay is worth. The numbers are already done. Your decision is simply whether you want this stay on these terms.

Every request is also linked to the guest's contact record and conversation. If they stayed with you before, or asked about parking last week, that history is right there when you decide.

Approve, decline or edit

You have three moves. Approve, and the request becomes a real booking. Decline, ideally with a short friendly line, because a guest you turn down politely today may fill your quiet season next year. Or edit the request first. Maybe the guest asked for a Saturday checkout you can stretch to Sunday, or the price needs adjusting. Change it, then approve it in its new shape.

Let old requests expire

Requests can expire on a date you set. Use this. A request with no expiry sits in limbo, holding a decision open that neither side is thinking about any more. With an expiry, stale requests close themselves and your list shows only the ones that still deserve an answer.

Speed is the whole game

Treat requests like a ringing phone, not like post. Decide quickly, even when the answer is no. A fast honest no keeps your reputation intact. A slow yes is often a yes to an empty room.