Overview

Before you can accept bookings, manage guests, or do anything else in Vesta, you need a property. A property represents a single hotel, guesthouse, B&B, or any other accommodation you manage. Everything in Vesta — rooms, bookings, guests, rates, staff — belongs to a property.

You typically go through this setup once when you first start using Vesta. If you manage multiple locations, you will repeat it for each property. The process takes about 10 minutes for the basics, and you can refine settings later as you get comfortable with the system.

Creating Your Property

1. After logging in, click Create Property from the Dashboard
2. Fill in the property details:
   • Name — your property’s display name (e.g., “Grand Hotel Budapest”)
   • City and Country — where your property is located
   • Timezone — used for displaying all dates and times (e.g., “Europe/Budapest”)
   • Base Currency — the default currency for all prices and payments (e.g., EUR, USD, GBP)
   • Check-in Time — your standard check-in hour (e.g., 14:00)
   • Check-out Time — your standard check-out hour (e.g., 11:00)
3. Click Create

Your property is created immediately with default settings, including three built-in roles (Owner, Manager, Receptionist) and a default cancellation policy.

:::warning The base currency cannot be changed after your property is created. This is the currency used for all room prices, rate plans, and financial reports. Make sure you select the right one before clicking Create. You can still accept payments in other currencies later — see Managing Currencies. :::

:::info You automatically become the Owner of any property you create. This gives you full access to every feature, including managing staff and roles. :::

What to Set Up Next

Once your property exists, follow these steps to get it ready for guests. You do not have to do everything at once, but this is the recommended order:

1. Add Room Types

Room types define your categories of accommodation — “Standard Double”, “Deluxe Suite”, “Family Room”, etc. Each room type has a base price, maximum occupancy, and bed configuration.

• Go to Rooms and create your room types
• See Managing Room Types for the full guide

2. Add Individual Rooms

Once you have room types, create the actual rooms that guests will stay in. Each room has a number and belongs to a room type.

• Go to Rooms and add rooms under each room type
• See Managing Rooms for details

3. Set Up Rate Plans

Rate plans control your pricing. A basic setup might include a “Standard Rate” and a “Non-Refundable Rate” at a discount. You can also create seasonal pricing using the rate calendar.

• Go to Rates and create your first rate plans
• See Understanding Rate Plans to learn how pricing works
• See Creating Rate Plans for step-by-step instructions

4. Add Products and Services (Optional)

If you charge for extras like parking, minibar items, breakfast, or spa services, set them up in the product catalog. These can then be added as charges to any booking.

• Go to Products and add your chargeable items
• See Managing Products for the full guide

5. Invite Your Staff

Add your team members and assign them appropriate roles so they can start working in the system.

• Go to Settings and invite users
• See Managing Users for how to add staff
• See Managing Roles and Permissions to understand what each role can do

:::tip Start with just room types, rooms, and one rate plan. You can add products, additional rate plans, and fine-tune settings later. Getting the basics in place lets you start taking bookings right away. :::

Managing Multiple Properties

If you manage more than one location, you can create additional properties from the same account:

1. Click the property name in the top bar
2. Select Create New Property or navigate to the property selection page
3. Follow the same setup steps above

Each property is completely independent — it has its own rooms, bookings, guests, staff, and settings. You can switch between properties using the property selector in the top bar. See Navigating the Dashboard for how property switching works.

Adjusting Settings Later

Your property’s configuration can be updated at any time from Settings:

• Property details — update name, address, check-in/out times. See Property Settings
• Cancellation policies — define rules for cancellations and refunds. See Cancellation Policies
• Accepted currencies — add currencies for guests paying in foreign currency. See Managing Currencies
• Staff and roles — add or remove team members and adjust permissions. See Managing Users

:::permissions property:edit, property:users, property:roles :::