How Guest Portal / Guidebook works

Depending on your setup, guests can use the Portal to:

📝 Complete online check-in & checkout

Collect guest information, IDs, signatures, and other required details.

💳 Make payments
Pay reservation balances and access their payment information.

🔐 Access their property
View access codes, smart-lock information, Wi-Fi passwords, and check-in instructions.

📖 Explore your digital Guidebook
Access house rules, property manuals, FAQs, local recommendations, maps, photos, and videos.

🛍️ Purchase upsells
Offer early check-in, late checkout, activities, upgrades, and other services.

💬 Contact the host
Give guests a convenient way to communicate with your team.

🔄 Book again
Encourage repeat bookings with a direct booking link.

📄 Access their information on the go
Guests can also download their Portal information as a PDF.

The Guest Portal is web-based, so guests don't need to download an app.

Instead of sending guests multiple emails, PDFs, messages, and links, you can give them one personalized destination for their entire stay.

ChargeAutomation's current guest-experience platform brings these functions together with Guidebooks, payments, upsells, security deposits, guest screening, and smart-lock access.

Every reservation receives its own unique and personalized Guest Portal.

The guest initially receives a pre-arrival / online check-in link.

1️⃣ Reservation is received

Your PMS sends the reservation information to ChargeAutomation.

2️⃣ Guest receives their link

The Guest Portal / online check-in link can be sent automatically, manually, or through your PMS messaging system.

3️⃣ Guest completes required steps

Depending on your configuration, the guest may need to provide information, verify their identity, sign an agreement, make a payment, or complete a security-deposit requirement.

4️⃣ Guest Portal becomes available

Once online check-in is completed, the same link becomes the guest's personalized Portal.

5️⃣ Guest accesses everything they need

The guest can now access their Guidebook, instructions, access information, payments, upsells, and other available features.

💡 Important: If online check-in requirements are incomplete, the guest cannot access the full Guest Portal. If there are no pre-check-in requirements, the link automatically becomes the Guest Portal.

The Smart Guidebook is your property's digital information hub.

Instead of giving guests a physical manual or sending information across multiple messages, you can put everything they need into an interactive, web-based Guidebook.

You can enhance your Guidebook with:

🖼️ Images
🎥 Videos
📄 PDFs
🗺️ Maps
🔗 Links
💬 Custom text and instructions

ChargeAutomation specifically supports photos, videos, virtual tours, recommendations, maps, access codes, Wi-Fi information, FAQs, and more within its digital Guidebooks.

You don't necessarily want every piece of information to be available immediately.

With conditional Guidebooks, you can control when certain information becomes visible to guests.

For example:

🔒 Door code → Show only after online check-in is completed and the required payment or security-deposit step has been completed.

This allows you to provide guests with the information they need at the right time, while keeping sensitive information protected.

You don't have to create a completely different Guidebook for every reservation.

Use dynamic variables to automatically display reservation-specific information.

For example, you can use variables to display:

👤 Guest information
🏡 Property information
📅 Reservation information
🔑 Access codes
📶 Wi-Fi details

This makes it possible to maintain reusable Guidebook templates while still providing each guest with a personalized experience.

ChargeAutomation can integrate with supported smart-lock systems to help automate guest access.

You can provide guests with the appropriate access information directly through their Guest Portal.

This can help eliminate:

❌ Physical keys
❌ Manual code sharing
❌ Repeated access questions

and replace them with:

✅ Automated guest access
✅ Timed access
✅ Personalized instructions
✅ A single place for guests to find their access information

ChargeAutomation currently offers smart-lock access-code management and integrations with supported smart-lock providers

The Guest Portal can be used as part of your payment-collection workflow.

Depending on your configuration, guests can:

💰 Pay reservation balances
💳 Add or update payment methods
🧾 View payment history
🏦 Pay additional charges
🔐 Complete security-deposit requirements

ChargeAutomation currently supports 120+ payment gateway integrations and offers automated payment collection, payment links, split payments, and additional payment options.

Your Guest Portal isn't just an information center.

You can use it to generate additional revenue throughout the guest journey.

Offer services such as:

🌅 Early check-in
🌙 Late checkout
🛏️ Upgrades
🍳 Breakfast
🚗 Transportation
🎟️ Activities
🧹 Additional cleaning
🎁 Welcome packages

ChargeAutomation allows upsells to be offered before, during, and after the stay, with options to customize offers by property and guest preferences.

There are several ways to send the link.

Configure ChargeAutomation to automatically send the link when a reservation is received or at a specific time relative to check-in.

You can send or resend the Guest Portal link directly from the Bookings page.

You can also send the link through your PMS messaging system.

Use the appropriate dynamic variables provided by your PMS to generate the reservation-specific link.

Create a Guest Portal experience that matches your brand.

You can customize the experience based on:

🏡 Property
Different properties can have different information and Guidebooks.

🌐 Booking source
Configure different experiences depending on where the reservation originated.

🎨 Branding
Provide guests with a consistent branded experience.

🌍 Language
The Guest Portal supports multiple languages and auto-translation.

1. Log in to your ChargeAutomation account.

2. Go to Settings → Guidebook.

3. Create a new Guide or section.

4. Add your content.

5. Configure any conditions or access rules.

6. Save your changes.

You can create as many Guides and sections as needed depending on your plan.

Don't overwhelm guests with huge blocks of text. Break information into clearly labeled sections.

Make check-in instructions, Wi-Fi, parking, and access information easy to find.

Photos and videos are particularly useful for:

Use conditions to control when access codes and other sensitive information become visible.

Review your Guidebooks whenever property information, access procedures, or local recommendations change.

Before publishing, test the experience using a sample reservation to make sure guests see the correct information at the correct time.

No. The Guest Portal is web-based and does not require an app download.

Yes. Each reservation receives its own personalized Guest Portal.

Yes. The Guest Portal can be customized by property and booking source.

Yes. You can use conditional Guidebooks and access rules to control when sensitive information becomes available.

Yes. Payment functionality can be included as part of your ChargeAutomation setup.

Yes. Guests can purchase available additional services directly through their guest experience.

Yes. The Guest Portal supports multiple languages and auto-translation.

Yes. Guests can download the entire Portal as a PDF.