A guest books online

Time to see the whole setup work for a guest. Sophie Laurent from Lyon books a Double with breakfast for three nights in November, on the Flexible rate, and chooses to pay the deposit by bank transfer. Nothing in this chapter is set up by you: it shows what happens on its own. The website takes the booking, Sophie receives an email with the amount and your bank details, and the booking appears in your planner, marked as waiting for payment.

Hands-on: Sophie books

1. Sophie opens the booking website and picks her dates: 9 to 12 November.
2. On the Double she chooses Flexible with Breakfast and clicks Book. The summary shows €402 for the room plus €22.20 city tax.
3. She enters her name, phone and email.
4. She picks Bank transfer: 30% now, the rest at check-in.
5. She clicks Secure booking. The thank-you page repeats the amount, the due date and your bank details.

See the effect: the email she receives

In the admin, open Reservations › Sophie Laurent › Automated messages. The row Booking started shows Sent, and View opens the exact email Sophie received: Pending payment, €120.60 due within 48 hours, and the bank instructions you wrote in the previous chapter.

See the effect: the cancel deadline

Every Pending Payment email says until when the room is held, and that is exactly the moment the admin cancels the booking if the deposit hasn’t arrived. Here a second guest, Clara Moretti, booked by bank transfer: the yellow banner on her reservation reads automatically cancel at 20/10/2026 21:38, and her email says We’re holding your reservation until 20/10/2026 21:38. (Clara’s booking was cancelled again after recording; Sophie, as you’ll see next, pays in time.)

See the effect: the planner

Sophie’s booking sits in room 101. The dashed border means it will be cancelled automatically if the deposit doesn’t arrive; the red dot means nothing has been paid yet. Hover over the card to see the details, including the auto-cancel time.