Check-In
Process reservation arrivals, walk-in guests, and group check-ins with the correct room, rate, and payment on file.
Check-in is the moment a reservation becomes an active stay. It is also the guest's first direct interaction with your property's operations, so accuracy and efficiency matter equally. A smooth check-in means the right room is assigned, the correct rate is on the folio, payment is secured, and the guest leaves the desk with everything they need.
This guide covers three check-in scenarios: guests with existing reservations, walk-in guests with no reservation, and group check-ins where multiple rooms need to be processed together.
Prerequisites: Before processing any check-in, confirm that you have the Front Desk Staff role or higher, that today's room statuses have been updated by housekeeping, and that you have reviewed the Dashboard for any room availability constraints.
Check-In With a Reservation
This is the most common scenario. The guest has an existing reservation — made online, by phone, or through a travel agent — and is arriving to claim it.
Find the reservation
Navigate to the Dashboard to see today's arrivals, or use the Search bar to look up the reservation by guest name, confirmation number, or booking reference. Select the reservation to open the check-in screen.
Verify guest identity
Confirm the guest's name and, if your property requires it, collect and verify a government-issued ID. The reservation details panel shows the name on file, the room type booked, the rate plan, the number of nights, and any special requests.
Review these details with the guest. Discrepancies — a different guest name, a different number of nights than expected — should be resolved before proceeding.
Review and assign the room
The system suggests available rooms that match the reserved room type. The list shows each room's number, floor, housekeeping status, and any attributes (e.g., connecting, accessible, high floor).
Select a room that is Clean. If the guest has preferences noted in their profile — quiet floor, away from elevator — factor those in.
If no rooms of the reserved type are available, you may need to offer an upgrade or contact housekeeping to expedite cleaning. See Room Management for upgrade procedures.
Verify the rate and charges
The folio preview shows the nightly rate, applicable taxes, and any pre-applied charges (e.g., package inclusions, add-ons). Confirm the rate matches what the guest was quoted.
If the rate needs adjustment — for example, a promotional rate that was not applied at booking — update it now. Rate changes after check-in require additional approval at most properties.
Secure payment
Collect or verify the payment method. For guaranteed reservations, the credit card on file may already be authorized. For others, swipe, tap, or manually enter a card and process an authorization hold for the estimated stay total.
The authorization amount is typically the full stay cost plus an incidentals buffer configured by your property.
Complete the check-in
Click Check In to finalize. The system updates the room status to Occupied, moves the reservation from the arrivals list to the in-house list, and generates a registration record.
Provide the guest with their room number, key cards, and any property-specific information (Wi-Fi credentials, breakfast hours, checkout time).
Walk-In Check-In
A walk-in guest has no reservation. You are creating the reservation and checking them in simultaneously.
Confirm availability
Before quoting a rate, verify that you have rooms available. Check the Dashboard or navigate to Rooms under the Property section. On high-occupancy nights, confirm the specific room type the guest is requesting — you may have rooms available but not of the type they want.
Create a new reservation
Click New Walk-In from the front desk toolbar. Enter the guest's details: name, contact information, number of nights, and number of guests. Select the room type.
Select the rate
The system displays available rate plans for the selected room type and dates. Walk-in rates are typically the best available rate (BAR) unless your property has a specific walk-in rate configured.
Choose the appropriate rate. If the guest is a returning visitor or mentions a corporate affiliation, check whether a negotiated rate applies before defaulting to BAR.
Assign a room
Select an available room from the list, just as you would for a reservation check-in. Prioritize Clean rooms.
Collect payment upfront
Walk-in guests typically require full prepayment or a higher authorization hold than reserved guests, because there is no advance guarantee on file. Process the payment according to your property's walk-in payment policy.
If the guest wants to pay cash, follow your property's cash deposit procedure — this usually requires a fixed deposit amount set by management.
Complete the check-in
Click Check In. The system creates the reservation, applies the charges, marks the room as occupied, and adds the guest to the in-house list in a single step.
Group Check-In
Group check-ins involve multiple rooms under a single group booking. The goal is to process them efficiently without creating bottlenecks at the desk.
Open the group booking
Navigate to the Dashboard and filter by Group, or search for the group name or group booking reference. Open the group record to see all individual reservations within it.
Pre-assign rooms (recommended)
Before the group arrives, review the room list and pre-assign rooms to individual reservations. This is especially important for large groups (10+ rooms) where real-time assignment at the desk would create delays. Review and adjust assignments for specific requests (e.g., the group leader wants a higher floor, two families want connecting rooms).
Process individual check-ins
When group members arrive, select their individual reservation from the group record and process the check-in as you would for any reservation. The pre-assigned room appears as the default suggestion.
Handle group billing
Group billing varies. Some groups have a master folio that covers room and tax, with guests responsible for incidentals. Others are fully prepaid. Check the group's billing instructions in the Group Details panel before processing payments.
For master-folio groups, the individual guest's payment method covers only incidental charges. For groups where guests pay their own room, process payment as you would for a standard check-in.
Real-World Scenarios
Late-Night Walk-In
It is 11:45 PM. A guest walks in without a reservation, looking for a room for one night. Your dashboard shows 3 Clean rooms available.
Assign a Clean room. Choose the room that was most recently cleaned (check the status timestamp), and if your property allows it, do a quick visual check of the room before handing over the key.
Process payment before assigning the room. Walk-in guests at unusual hours represent a higher risk of payment issues, so secure authorization first.
Arriving Guest, No Clean Rooms
A guest with a confirmed reservation arrives at 2:30 PM. Their reserved room type is a King Deluxe, and the dashboard shows zero Clean King Deluxe rooms. Three King Deluxe rooms are Dirty (departures from this morning).
Do not assign a dirty room. Instead:
- Apologize for the delay and explain that their room is being prepared.
- Contact housekeeping to prioritize one of the three dirty King Deluxe rooms. Ask for an estimated completion time.
- Offer to store the guest's luggage and suggest they wait in the lobby, restaurant, or bar. If your property has a lounge or F&B credit policy for delayed check-ins, offer it now.
- Note the guest's mobile number so you can text or call them the moment the room is ready.
- When the room status updates to Clean, contact the guest and complete the check-in.
If the wait is going to be longer than 30 minutes and a room of a higher category is available, consider offering a complimentary upgrade. See Room Management > Upgrades for the procedure.
Common Mistakes
Assigning the wrong rate plan. This is the most frequently corrected post-check-in error. The rate shown at check-in may not match what the guest was quoted if the reservation was modified after initial booking, or if a promotional rate was not properly attached. Always confirm the rate with the guest before completing check-in.
Checking a guest into a Dirty room. Under time pressure, it is tempting to assign a room that shows as Dirty with the assumption that housekeeping will clean it before the guest gets upstairs. This is unreliable and creates a terrible first impression. If no clean rooms are available, manage the guest's expectations transparently — do not gamble on timing.
Skipping payment collection. Rushing through check-in during a busy period and forgetting to process the authorization hold leaves the property exposed. If the guest's card declines later or they dispute charges, you have no pre-authorization to fall back on. Always secure payment before handing over the key, even when there is a line at the desk.
Not checking the guest profile. The guest profile may contain notes from previous stays — preferences, complaints, VIP status, or alerts. Skipping the profile means you miss opportunities to personalize the experience and risk repeating past mistakes. A quick glance takes five seconds and can make the difference between a routine stay and a memorable one.
Assigning rooms without checking special requests. Reservation notes may include requests like "high floor," "away from elevator," or "connecting rooms." These are easy to miss if you accept the first room suggestion without reviewing the reservation details. Make it a habit to check the Special Requests field before selecting a room.
After completing a check-in, the guest's folio is immediately accessible from the Reservations page under Front Desk. Any post-check-in changes — rate adjustments, room moves, additional charges — are made from the in-house folio, not the original reservation.