GUIDE: Setup my Online Check-in form

Smoobu’s Online Check-In feature simplifies the check-in process for vacation rental owners. This tool allows you to collect additional guest data required by government agencies or other purposes, such as date of birth or nationality, even before arrival.

No more paperwork on-site! You can then download the guest data from Smoobu.

How does the “Online Check-In” function work?

Step 1: Define the Data to Collect

1. Please go to Smoobu, open the drop-down menu in the Experience section - Online Check-in

2. Define what data of your guests you would like to request. You can differentiate here between the Main guest and Additional guests.

Adding Custom Fields

3. If you need to request other information, such as the means of transport in which the guests are arriving, you can add a custom field. Click on 'Add custom field' to add the title of the field.

For example, if you want to request a means of transportation for your guests to the city, you could do it as follows:

4. Enable the Signature field by ticking the box labeled “Signature” if you need guests to sign the form.

5. At the bottom, in the Description section, specify the text or instructions that should appear on the form page. For example:

Dear guest,

We look forward to your visit with us. To prepare for your stay, we kindly ask you to complete the online check-in form and send it to us.

Kind regards.,

Your Host

6. To Enable your Checkin form simply press the highlighted button below:

Step 2: Prepare the Mailing

Now you are ready to provide your guest with the link to check-in online. You should write an message template and save it. 

You probably already know the new function of Smoobu. Go to Experience / Communication and click on Create Message.

Customize your message and - IMPORTANT - paste the [OnlineCheckInLink] placeholder into your email template. 

Online Check-In Form Placeholders for all available languages
Default: [onlineCheckInLink]
English: [onlineCheckInLinkEN]
German: [onlineCheckInLinkDE]
Italian: [onlineCheckInLinkIT]
Dutch: [onlineCheckInLinkNL]
Spanish: [onlineCheckInLinkES]
French: [onlineCheckInLinkFR]
Portuguese: [onlineCheckInLinkPT]

Then specify whether you want to send it manually or select "Send automatically" and set the time period. For example, 4 days before arrival. 

Read detailed instructions here

Step 3: Send the Message

• If auto-send of your template has been scheduled, the message will be sent automatically.
• If you prefer a manual submission, look for the booking in the Calendar or in the Bookings list. Click on the "Send mail" option and select the appropriate mail template. You can adapt this email here again. More information about sending messages

Step 4: Waiting for the Guest and the Notification

Your guest only has to complete the form and submit the information to you. As soon as they do, you will receive an email notification from us.

 

Step 5: Download Check-in Data

Find the booking, click on it to access its details. You can access the data, edit it or download it as a TXT or PDF file.

How can I add a Hyperlink URL to my Terms and Conditions?

Firstly please note you need to have your text of your Terms and Conditions hosted externally on a page, which means it needs to exist first. 

Then you can hyperlink it into online Check-In page like so:

Copy and paste this code below into your online check-in form Description and replace the word ADDLINK with your own URL link.

<p><a href="ADDLINK" style="letter-spacing:.2px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);font-size:1rem;">Terms & Conditions link</a><br /></p>

It will look like so in your Online Check-in Form:

Preview the Guest’s View

Open the booking by clicking on it from your Home, Calendar or Bookings tab to access its details.

Scroll to Online check-in and copy the link, pasting it into a new tab. Each booking has a unique URL:

Online check-in Link expiration

The link expires once the information has been added, however a new link is created in case you need an update. Obviously we do not want the guest to be able to adapt, delete the info, so you need to send a new link to them.

If you need additional info you need to send out the new link. 

Open the booking by clicking on it from your Home, Calendar or Bookings tab to access its details.

Find the new URL link under Online check-in

Send this new link to the guest to request additional information.

Additional Tips

• If you need a copy of your guests' IDs, remember to check the 'Attachments' option in Step 2
• If you require the signature of your guests, you now have the possibility to mark the field 'Signature'
• If you would like to request acceptance of your Terms and Conditions via your Online Check-in form, you can use the 'Description' section to paste the link to a Dropbox/Google Drive file. Your guests can download it and after reading it, sign your Online Check-in as acceptance. Simply paste the link into the description for your guests to access.

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