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BookingsCheck-in & Check-outChecking In a Guest

Overview

Check-in is the moment a reservation becomes a live stay. When a guest arrives at your property, you use the check-in process to assign them a specific physical room, update the booking status, and mark the room as occupied. This is typically the first interaction the guest has with your front desk, so having a smooth process matters.

Check-in also triggers the automatic recording of the actual arrival time, which can be useful for reporting and for tracking early or late arrivals.

Requirements for Check-In

Before you can check in a guest, the following conditions must be met:

  • The booking must be in Confirmed status — Pending bookings need to be confirmed first
  • The scheduled check-in date must be today or earlier (in the property’s timezone)
  • A room can only be assigned if it is Available and ready (cleanliness status Clean or Inspected)
  • You must have the bookings:checkin permission

:::warning If no rooms are available and ready for the booked room type, check-in will fail. Coordinate with housekeeping to clean/inspect a room, or update the booking to a different room type before checking in. See Managing Rooms for how room statuses are maintained. :::

Steps

  1. Open Bookings from the sidebar and find the guest’s booking
  2. Click the booking to open its detail page
  3. Click the Check In button
  4. In the check-in dialog, either:
    • Select a room from the list (only rooms that are Available and ready are shown), or
    • Leave the selection blank to let Vesta auto-assign the first available ready room
  5. Optionally enable Send check-in notification to guest (if the guest has an email on file)
  6. Click Check In

The booking status changes to Checked In, the selected room is marked as Occupied, and the actual check-in time is recorded.

:::tip If you know which room you want to assign ahead of time (for example, a returning guest who prefers a specific room), you can review room statuses in Settings > Rooms before the guest arrives. This helps you plan room assignments for busy check-in periods. :::

What Happens After Check-In

  • Booking status updates from Confirmed to Checked In
  • Room status changes from Available to Occupied — this room will not be offered to other bookings
  • Actual check-in time is recorded automatically (the exact date and time the check-in was processed)
  • The assigned room number appears on the booking detail page
  • The booking moves from your “arrivals” view to your “in-house” guest list

Handling Common Situations

Guest Arrives Early

If a guest arrives early on their check-in day (for example, before your standard check-in time), you can still check them in as long as the booking is confirmed and a room is available and ready. The actual check-in time will reflect when you processed the check-in.

:::info You cannot check in before the scheduled check-in date. If the guest is arriving a day earlier, edit the booking dates first (availability and pricing will be recalculated). :::

Guest Wants a Different Room Type

If the guest requests a different room type than what was booked (for example, an upgrade), you will need to edit the booking to change the room type before checking in. This may affect pricing depending on the rate plan.

No Available Rooms

If all rooms of the booked type are occupied, not ready (dirty), or otherwise unavailable:

  • Check if any rooms can be freed up (departures that have not been checked out yet)
  • Coordinate with housekeeping to see if a room can be turned over
  • As a last resort, consider reassigning the booking to a different room type

:::permissions Required permission: bookings:checkin

You also need bookings:view to open and review the booking details. :::

Check-in & Check-outChecking Out a Guest