Managing Bookings

Effectively managing bookings is essential for running a successful short-term rental. Haven provides tools to help you handle reservations efficiently.

Viewing Bookings

Access your bookings from:

Host Dashboard - Overview of all bookings
Property Pages - Bookings for specific properties
Bookings Section - Detailed booking management

Booking Information

Each booking shows:

Guest information - Name, contact details
Dates - Check-in and check-out dates
Property - Which property is booked
Status - Current booking status
Payment - Payment status and amount
Details - Number of guests, special requests

Booking Statuses

Requested

Guest has submitted a booking request
Awaiting your approval (if instant book is disabled)
Guest has not yet paid

Approved

You have approved the booking request
Guest can now proceed to payment
Booking is not confirmed until payment is received

Confirmed

Payment has been received
Booking is fully confirmed
Property is reserved for the guest

Cancelled

Booking was cancelled
Refund status shown
Dates may be available again

Completed

Stay has ended
Historical booking record

Damage Protection

Haven can screen bookings and apply damage protection through Truvi. Screening ($0.50 per booking) is always on your Haven invoice. For completed stay nights ($7.00/night default), you choose in Settings → Damage Protection whether you pay on your monthly invoice or guests pay at checkout as "Screen & Protect (Fully refundable on cancellation)" — guest-paid protection is fully refunded if the booking is cancelled before check-in.

Learn how the integration works in Damage protection and review common billing, evidence, and screening questions in the Damage protection FAQ.

Instant Book vs. Approval Required

Haven supports two booking modes:

Instant Book:

Guests can book immediately without approval
Payment is processed right away
Booking is confirmed upon successful payment

Approval Required:

Guests submit booking requests
You review and approve or reject
After approval, guest completes payment
Booking is confirmed upon successful payment

Approving Booking Requests

Review booking request - Check guest information and dates
Verify availability - Ensure property is available
Approve - Click approve to allow guest to proceed to payment
Guest pays - Guest completes payment after approval
Booking confirmed - Booking is confirmed once payment is received

Cancelling Bookings

Open booking - Navigate to the booking details
Cancel - Click cancel booking
Select reason - Choose cancellation reason
Process refund - Refund processed according to policy
Payout updated - Full refunds remove the scheduled bank payout. If you retain money under your policy, Haven releases your share on the next payout cycle (~15 minutes).
Notify guest - Guest receives cancellation notice

See Scheduled Payouts for how cancellations affect bank deposits.

Changing Booking Details

Haven does not support modifying existing bookings. If a guest needs to change their reservation (dates, number of guests, etc.), they must:

Cancel the existing booking - Cancel the current reservation
Create a new booking - Book again with the desired dates or details
Refund processed - Original booking refunded according to your cancellation policy
New booking confirmed - New reservation is created with updated details

This ensures clear pricing and avoids confusion about refunds and charges for changed bookings.

Guest Communication

Sending Messages

Send email messages to guests through Haven
Messages are sent via email (not in-app messaging)
Guests can reply directly to your email
Send check-in instructions, answer questions, provide local recommendations

Rental agreement signatures

Confirmed stays on properties that require a digital rental agreement may still need the guest to sign inside their guide before arrival. Use Host → Rental Agreements to see who is pending, send reminders, sort the signed archive (including by reservation reference code), and download audit PDFs. See Rental Agreement & Digital Signatures.

Automated Messages

Welcome messages sent when booking is confirmed
Check-in instructions emails scheduled automatically
Booking status updates sent via email

Best Practices

Respond quickly - Fast responses improve guest experience
Be clear - Provide clear instructions and information
Stay organized - Keep track of all bookings
Communicate proactively - Reach out before check-in
Document everything - Keep records of communications

Manual Bookings

Haven also supports manual bookings — reservations you create directly from the calendar for guests who booked through other channels (phone, email, or outside of Haven's checkout flow). Manual bookings appear in a distinct sky blue color on your calendar and trigger all the same downstream effects as standard bookings, including guest emails, integration partner sync, and access code provisioning.

See Manual Bookings for full details on creating and managing manual bookings.

Bookings from PMS Integrations

If you use a PMS like Hospitable, reservations from Airbnb, Vrbo, and other channels automatically appear in Haven's calendar as blocked dates. These show the guest name, platform, and number of guests. Haven direct bookings are also pushed to your PMS to prevent double bookings across platforms.

For Hospitable specifically: Haven uses its own booking flow (not Hospitable's booking widget). Guest reservations you take on Haven sync to Hospitable and you can manage them in Haven or in Hospitable; they do not appear in Hospitable's Direct Bookings tab, which is scoped to Hospitable's direct booking site, widget, and quote flow. That distinction does not change calendar coordination—you still get two-way availability sync. Read How Haven works with Hospitable Direct Bookings for the full explanation, including that Haven does not require Hospitable Direct.

See PMS Integrations Overview for details on setting up two-way reservation sync.