Onboarding a new property involves configuring property details, completing account requirements, and validating everything before publishing to channels.
Whether you're onboarding your first property or adding another to an existing account, the checklist below walks you through the full process—from initial property setup to post-publication tasks—to confirm a smooth go-live and avoid missed fees, broken automations, or calendar sync issues.
Review available resources
- Help Center articles: Access linked articles throughout this guide for additional support.
- Guesty Academy: Explore this comprehensive learning platform with video tutorials and guides.
Important:
Complete each phase in order. Skipping steps—particularly syncing mandatory fees after publication—can result in lost revenue or incomplete guest communication.
Configure property details
Before publishing your new property, configure all property information. Fields used as variables in automated messages, such as check-in instructions and lock codes, must be complete for automations to function correctly.
Location & details
- Add the full address.
- Set property details, including listing type, property type, max occupancy, and square footage.
- In the "Guests should know" section (under the Details & layout tab), add key information such as WiFi details, host name, and trash and parking instructions.
- Check all applicable amenities.
- Add all bedrooms, bathrooms, shared spaces, and beds.
- Populate any custom fields you've created with the relevant values.
Pricing
- Set the base price.
- Configure basic fees, such as cleaning and extra person fees.
- Apply weekly and monthly discounts.
- Configure additional fees, taxes, and commissions if they differ from account-level settings.
Reservation policies
- Define the check-in and check-out policy, including standard times and instructions.
- Set your house rules.
- Choose booking options, such as instant book or request to book.
- Set the cancellation policy for each channel.
Availability settings
Complete the go-live checklist
The go-live checklist is divided into four tiers: mandatory tasks required for every property, conditional tasks based on your setup, optional tasks that enhance operations, and a final pre-publication check to confirm everything is properly linked before publishing to channels.
Mandatory must-haves
The tasks below must be completed for every new property before publishing.
- Audit all property details to confirm that all fields used as variables in automated messages are completed.
- Audit the calendar to confirm that existing and imported blocks and reservations are up to date.
- Upload reservations if necessary.
Confirm that message automations are ready for activation.
Conditional must-haves
Complete the tasks below if they apply to your operational setup.
- Set up rate plans if using Booking.com or Expedia.
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Pricing:
- Confirm that Guesty PriceOptimizer or your external pricing tool is ready to connect.
- Set up rate strategies if you are not using dynamic pricing.
- Set up promotions.
- Set up the Guest App and add the variable to message automations.
- Set up guidebook recommendations.
- Set up automated or manual tasks in Guesty.
- Configure Guesty Locks Manager or external smart locks.
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Owners configurations:
- Set the commissions formula (if not using Accounting).
- Add owners and set up portals.
- Prepare your Booking Engine and website.
Nice to have (optional)
The tasks below aren't required but can improve your operations and guest experience.
Pre-publication check
Before publishing your new property to channels, confirm that everything is properly linked and assigned. Missing any of these can cause automations, rate plans, or owner assignments to fail.
- Confirm that the property is set up in all relevant external software.
- Assign the property to the appropriate:
- Message automation(s)
- Rate plan(s)
- Owner(s)
- Business model
Sync after publishing to channels
Once your listing is live on channels, there are a few final—but critical—steps to complete.
- Sync all mandatory additional fees to channels immediately.
- Sync taxes to Airbnb from Guesty if they are not automatically collected and remitted by Airbnb.
Important:
Sync mandatory additional fees to channels immediately after publishing. If skipped, the fee won't be charged to guests, resulting in lost revenue.