A reservation is created when a guest starts any communication about a booking. Every reservation has a unique reservation code and status, which lets you and the guest see real-time booking information. Understanding these statuses helps you keep track of your bookings and manage your calendar.
Learn how to change a reservation's status.
Rules for status changes
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Approve or decline a reservation or an inquiry at any time.
- Once a reservation is "Confirmed", you can't change the status back to "Reserved" or "Inquiry".
- Once a reservation is set to an inactive status (such as "Closed", "Declined", or "Canceled"), it can't be reverted to an active status. Instead, create a new reservation and update it with the relevant status.
Reservation statuses
Below is a breakdown of what each reservation status means and how it's applied.
Inquiry
An "Inquiry" status means the guest asked a general question but hasn't submitted a formal booking request. An inquiry includes dates, listing names, and the number of guests. It doesn't have a reservation number and doesn't affect the calendar. You can create a reservations report to locate your inquiries.
When you create a manual reservation, set its status to "Inquiry" to avoid reserving the dates for the guest.
Use an inquiry status when sending a quote. If the guest books via the quote, the status automatically changes to "Confirmed". If the check-in date passes without the guest confirming, the status automatically changes to "Closed".
Vrbo and Airbnb: Guests send you an inquiry by clicking “Contact host”. Inquiries don't include payment details. You can choose to pre-approve Airbnb inquiries.
Reserved
A "Reserved" status blocks the calendar. It appears in the following cases:
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Manual reservations are classified as "Reserved" for a specific period (from 12 to 72 hours) or indefinitely.
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Request-to-book policies: A booking request is made when a guest enters contact and payment details. The request is pending your confirmation. You have 24 hours (or 42 hours for a Vrbo quote and hold request) to manually approve or decline the request before it automatically declines.
- If you approve the request, manually change the status to "Confirmed". If you decline the request, change the status to "Closed".
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A quote is sent to the guest and classified as "Reserved".
- If the guest books via the quote, the status automatically changes to "Confirmed".
- When a quote expires, the status changes to "Expired". The time cannot be extended once it is expired.
- If the check-in date passes without the guest confirming, the status automatically changes to "Closed".
Vrbo: This is referred to as "quote and hold" in Vrbo. You have 42 hours to manually approve or decline the request before it automatically declines.
Expired
An "Expired" status displays when the time to approve a "Reserved" reservation is over. An "Expired" status can't be reverted.
Vrbo and Airbnb: The time is 24 hours.
Manual reservations: The time can vary (see the "Reserved" section).
Confirmed
A "Confirmed" reservation blocks the calendar. Once the status is "Confirmed", you can't change it to an "Inquiry" or "Reserved" status.
A reservation status changes to "Confirmed" when:
- The requested dates are available for booking and don't have a block. For multi-units, this means there are available sub-units for the reservation. By default, multiple sub-units can be used for different parts of the same reservation. You can change these settings at any time.
- You create a manual reservation and set its status to "Confirmed", or change the status of an existing reservation.
- The listing has an instant booking policy, and the status automatically changes to "Confirmed" when:
- The guest adds their payment details to the reservation and clicks Book now.
- You have a payment processor connected in Guesty.
- The guest confirms a quote and adds their payment details (if required).
Canceled
A "Canceled" reservation status appears when you or the guest cancels a confirmed reservation. This status removes the reservation's block in the calendar. A canceled reservation can't be reverted.
Closed
The reservation status automatically changes to "Closed" from "Inquiry" or "Reserved" if the check-in date passes without the guest confirming the booking through the quote link.
You can also manually change the status of "Inquiry" or "Reserved" to "Closed" to decline a reservation.
This status removes the reservation block in the calendar.
Declined
A reservation's status changes to “Declined” if a guest declines a “Reserved” reservation. A "Declined" status doesn't block the calendar.
Vrbo: This status reflects a Vrbo reservation with "Quote and Hold" that auto-declined after 24 hours. If the host causes the cancellation for a Vrbo "Quote and Hold," Vrbo charges a tiered partner fee. Additional actions, such as a temporary listing suspension, may also be imposed. Exceptions to the policy can be made for cancellations outside of the partner’s control.
Airbnb: A reservation automatically declines if the listing's calendar is unavailable on the requested dates or if the guest count exceeds the listing's maximum occupancy.
Awaiting payment
Use this status when you confirm a reservation, but the guest's payment hasn't been processed yet. This status blocks the calendar.
Reservation status icons
The reservation status icons are visual indications of a reservation's current status. You see them as two connected dots in the upper ribbon of a reservation's page.
The reservation status icon also appears in the left-side menu of the Guesty Inbox on each guest's thread.
Refer to the table below to understand what each status icon refers to: