Learn how the Guest Portal works in Hostaway and how guests can use it to review stay details, complete actions, and submit required information.

What is the Guest Portal Link?

The Guest Portal link in Hostaway is a unique, secure URL generated for each reservation. 

When shared with your guest, it provides them with a personalized online portal where they can access all essential details about their stay, such as check-in instructions, house rules, Wi-Fi information, and more.

Payments Made Simple

• A key feature of the Guest Portal is its integrated payment functionality.
• Guests can view outstanding balances, make payments for their reservation, and purchase add-ons (such as early check-in, late check-out, or other enhancements) directly through the portal.
• This self-service option streamlines the payment process, reduces manual follow-up, and helps ensure the timely collection of fees and extras.
• All transactions made via the Guest Portal are securely processed and automatically reflected in the reservation details for both the guest and the host.

The Guest Portal link can be sent manually or automatically using message automations, ensuring every guest receives easy access to their portal and payment options.

You can find the Guest Portal in each reservation. Every Reservation has a unique Guest Portal URL that can be shared with guests.
 

Once in the Guest Portal, the guest can visualize their reservation details such as listing information, listing description, amenities, and sensitive information.

Managing sensitive information

To enhance the security of your Guest Portal, you can hide or display sensitive information such as door code, Wi-Fi, and exact address in advance or until certain conditions are met. If no conditions are selected, the field will always be visible.

To edit the sensitive information you would like to display, you should follow the next steps:

1. Go to your Hostaway Dashboard > Listings > Edit > Guest Portal > Guest portal details visibility settings
   
   
    
2. From there, you will be able to choose the following conditions
   • Payment status. Fully paid, Partially paid, Unpaid, and Unknown
   • Rental agreement signed
   • Pre-auth paid
   • Time before check-in. Field to enter time in days or hours
   • Add a condition. Online check-in form submitted

When conditions are not met, in the guest portal, we will show Unavailable instead of the real value.

Copy Guest Portal Settings to other listings

From the Guest Portal tab, you can copy the Guest Portal settings from the current listing to other listings.

 

You can choose to copy all or some of the following details:

1. Online check-in form
2. Rental agreement
3. Guest portal details visibility settings

Once you have selected which settings you want to copy to other listings, click Next, and you will be asked to select which listings you want to copy the settings to, then click on Save.

Please note that if you have a listing with the conditions "Rental agreement signed" and "Online check-in form submitted" and these settings are copied to another listing, Hostaway will not check if the new listing has Rental Agreement and Online Check-in Form enabled. So it is your responsibility to make sure that the settings match the setup.

Guest Portal Status

Confirmed. For reservations coming from channels or that already have a credit card. In the confirmed status sensitive information is shown, and there is no specific call to action.

Payment. For reservations that do not have credit card information and are not from channels.

• The guest is prompted to add their CC details in the payment status, and sensitive information is hidden (address, door code, and wifi)
• If details are needed regarding payment, the guest can find their invoices in the Guest Portal in the section "Invoices & Receipts". Damage deposit (pre-auth) won't be displayed in that section. 

Adding a Credit Card through the Guest Portal

If credit card details need to be updated, the guest can securely update their card using the Guest Portal under Payment, then click Add Payment.

Once the card details have been entered, they will sync to your payment processor, and the card can be charged instantly. This is a great feature for guests who do not wish to provide credit card details and want a secure way to update their card information.

Guests can add multiple credit cards via the payment tab on the guest portal. The latest card added will be automatically set by default. You can also change the default card manually to charge different cards when using the Stripe integration.

To make the inquiry reservation flow seamless, whenever a guest adds their credit card information to an inquiry through the Guest Portal, it is automatically updated to a reservation with the status 'New', triggering automation, charges, and everything else.

Can guests still add a credit card through the guest portal once their reservation has passed the check-out date?

No, a credit card cannot be added through the guest portal after the check-out date.

The guest portal is accessible to guests before and during their stay, but access is revoked after the check-out date has passed. This means guests can no longer log in to add or update their payment information.

If you need to charge a guest after their stay, you have a few options:

• Manually add the credit card: If you have the guest's credit card details, you can manually add them to the reservation in your Hostaway dashboard and then process the charge.
• Use a payment link: You can create a manual charge in Hostaway and send the guest a payment link. This allows them to pay the outstanding amount without needing to log into the guest portal.
• Charge directly through your payment processor: You can log in to your Stripe or Braintree account, find the customer, and charge them directly. You can then record this as an offline payment in Hostaway to keep your records accurate.

Guest Portal in a Message Automation

You can automatically send the guest portal link in automation by selecting the {{guest_portal_url}} field (Fields > Standard Fields).

FAQs

If I turn on the sensitive information toggle, will reservations that were booked in advance be affected?

Yes, when turning this feature on or off, all reservations that were made in the past or the future will have it on or off.

If I update the sensitive information toggle, which reservations will be affected?

• When changing the sensitive information toggle, all reservations will be affected, the ones that were already made in the past, and the ones that will be made in the future
• The sensitive information toggle activates the rules section that can be configured to hide the door code, wi-fi, and listing address
• If only the toggle is on and no rules are set, then there will be no restrictions on the Guest Portal
• If you do not have any rules or the door code is not set for a past reservation, you can edit the reservation and set the door code, and then the door code will be displayed on the Guest Portal

For which channel will the sensitive information toggle be available?

As this is for the guest portal, all OTA channels and direct bookings will be able to use this feature.