All booking requests from guests appear in Dashboard → Bookings. Each request shows the guest's details, requested dates, number of guests, and any message they have included.
What a booking request contains
Each request shows you the guest's name, email address, and phone number from their profile, along with the check-in and check-out dates they are asking for, the number of guests, and any message they have chosen to include.
Approving a booking
Click Approve to confirm the booking. When you approve:
- The booking status changes to Approved
- All dates in the booking range are automatically blocked in your calendar (no other guest can book those dates)
- The guest receives a confirmation email containing:
- The confirmed dates and number of guests
- Your bank transfer payment details
- Any payment rules you have set (deposit, payment schedule, etc.)
- If you have written arrival instructions, the guest also receives them in a separate email
Important
Approving a booking does not collect payment automatically. The guest pays you directly by bank transfer, following the instructions in the confirmation email. Make sure your payment details are configured before approving bookings.
Declining a booking
Click Decline if the dates do not work or you do not wish to accept the request. The guest receives an email notifying them that their request has been declined. The dates remain available for other bookings.
Viewing booking details
Click on any booking to see the full detail view, including:
- Complete guest information (name, email, phone)
- The full message from the guest
- The conversation thread with the guest (if messages have been exchanged)
Booking status overview
A booking starts as Pending the moment a guest submits it — it is waiting for your decision. Once you act, it moves to either Approved (confirmed, dates blocked in your calendar) or Declined (you passed, dates stay open).
Keeping track of who has paid
Because guests pay you directly, PrivateStay never sees the money arrive. You are the only one who knows, so each approved booking carries a payment status you set yourself: Paid, Unpaid, Partial, or Not specified.
Every booking starts as Not specified. That means nobody has recorded anything yet — it does not mean the guest owes you money. Once you have looked at your bank account, set the status to match what you found.
Setting it matters beyond your own records. Unpaid and Partial are what allow us to email the guest a reminder on your behalf, and marking a booking Paid stops any further chasing. If you never set a status, we will nudge you a few days after approval to ask whether the money arrived, but we will not chase your guest — we have no way of knowing whether they already paid you.
The Outstanding filter
Above your bookings list there is an Outstanding filter with a count next to it. It shows every approved booking you have not marked as paid, including the ones still sitting at Not specified.
This is the list to work through after checking your bank account. Anything left in it is either money you are still owed or a booking you have not got round to recording.
When a guest says they have paid
Guests have two buttons on their own booking: one for a deposit, one for full payment. When a guest presses either, it appears on the booking in your dashboard — "Anna says they sent the deposit" — and you get an email about it.
Treat it as a prompt to look, not as proof. Check your account, then set the payment status yourself. Your status is the record that counts; the guest's message just tells you when it is worth checking.
While a guest's claim is more recent than your last ruling, we hold off on reminder emails to them. Chasing someone who has just told you they paid would be rude, and possibly wrong. If you check, find nothing, and mark the booking unpaid anyway, reminders resume — at that point you have looked and the money genuinely is not there.
The agreed total
When you approve a booking, the Agreed total field is filled with the price worked out from your rates. Keep it, or type a different amount to agree it with your guest, for example a discount for a longer stay. Your guest's confirmation email shows the total you settle on. If your guest chose to pay in euros or US dollars, the total stays in that currency, at the exchange rate from the day they booked.
You can change the agreed total later from Edit total & notes on the booking. Saving a new amount emails your guest the updated total with your payment details, as long as the stay has not ended. Clear the field to undo the agreed total.
If new dates are accepted, an agreed total stays as it is. Update it yourself if the new dates should cost something different.
Some older bookings were made before PrivateStay saved a total. Their card says the total is not saved. Open Add total & notes and type what the stay cost, and it counts in your revenue from then on.
After a booking is approved
The platform will automatically send:
- The day before check-in: a reminder with your arrival instructions and any arrival link you have set
- The day before check-out: your departure instructions
You do not need to send these manually. Configure the content in Dashboard → Settings → Arrival & Departure.
After the check-out date has passed, both you and the guest will be invited to leave a review.