Reservation Operations — All Actions

The reservation modal is the central place to do everything to a reservation: accept it, decline it, modify it, move it, cancel it, charge or refund the guest, generate access codes, manage tasks, send messages, override verification, suppress automations, and more. Every action lives here, every action has an audit trail, and every action works the same way regardless of which channel the booking came from.

Quick reference: Accept booking, decline booking, modify reservation, move listing, cancel reservation, mark no-show, charge guest, refund guest, deposit, security deposit, capture deposit, release deposit, special offer, pre-approval, withdraw offer, alteration, change dates, access code, generate code, smart lock code, suppress automation, override verification, manual confirmation, retry payment, record bank payment, authorize charge — all live in the dashboard reservation modal when you click any reservation.

How to open it

Click any reservation card from the dashboard, the calendar, the reservations list, or any ?item=... link. The reservation modal opens.

The modal has tabs across the top: Overview, Timeline, Payments, Tasks, Messages, Files. The action buttons live in the modal header — they're context-aware (you only see Accept/Decline if the reservation is pending, only see Refund if there's been a payment, etc).

Reservation lifecycle actions

Accept

For pending RTBs and inquiries that require confirmation. Click Accept → confirmation dialog → Vanio sends the accept signal to the channel (Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO) → reservation status changes to Confirmed → calendar blocks the dates everywhere → AI workflows for "reservation confirmed" fire.

Decline

For pending requests you can't accommodate. See Declining Reservations for the full flow with reason codes and message templates.

Confirm Internal

For direct booking website reservations or manual reservations that need to be moved from "draft" to "confirmed" inside Vanio without touching a channel.

Modify

Change the reservation's check-in date, check-out date, guest count, or total price. See Modify Reservations for the alteration flow. Two variants:

• Modify Internal — change the reservation in Vanio only (used for direct bookings or manual edits where the channel doesn't need to know)
• Modify Channel — push the change to the channel as an alteration request the guest must accept

Move Listing

Move the same reservation to a different unit you own. Useful when the original unit has a maintenance issue, a double-booking, or the guest needs an upgrade. The reservation keeps the same confirmation code; only the underlying listing changes.

Cancel

Two flavors:

• Cancel Internal — cancel inside Vanio without notifying the channel. Use for direct bookings or test reservations.
• Cancel Channel — cancel through the channel API. The guest is notified per the channel's cancellation flow. Channel-specific cancellation policies and host fees apply.

Both release the calendar dates, remove auto-scheduled cleaning tasks, and trigger any "reservation cancelled" workflows.

Mark No-Show

For reservations where the guest never showed up. Same internal/channel split. Marking no-show on the channel may trigger the channel's no-show fee policy (Booking.com, in particular, has a structured no-show resolution flow).

Payment actions

The Payments tab in the modal exposes the full payment lifecycle:

Charge

Charge the guest's card for a specific amount. Used for damage claims, late fees, additional services not booked through upsells, or any custom charge. Integrates with Stripe Connect for direct bookings and with the channel's billing API for OTA bookings (where supported — Booking.com virtual cards, for example).

Schedule Payment

Schedule a future charge — useful for split payments, deposits due before check-in, or staged billing for long stays. The scheduled payment runs automatically at the date you set.

Retry Payment

If a payment failed (declined card, expired card, insufficient funds), retry it. Vanio shows the failure reason and lets you retry the original payment method or update the card and retry.

Record Bank Payment

For payments collected outside Stripe — bank transfer, cash, check. Records the payment in Vanio's books and updates the reservation balance to "paid" without an actual card charge.

Authorize

Pre-authorize an amount on the guest's card without charging it yet. The hold sits there until you capture it (turn it into a real charge) or release it (let it drop off). Used for security deposits and damage holds.

Refund

Refund any amount up to the total paid. Refunds go through Stripe Connect for direct bookings and through the channel's refund API for OTA bookings. Vanio records the refund in the audit trail with the reason and the user who initiated it.

Security deposit actions

For properties with damage protection enabled (see Damage Protection):

Deposit Capture

Capture (charge) the held deposit. Usually triggered when there's actual damage you're claiming.

Deposit Release

Release the held deposit (let the authorization drop). Done automatically after checkout if no claim is filed; can also be triggered manually.

Deposit Reauthorize

Re-pre-authorize the deposit if the original authorization is about to expire (Stripe holds typically expire after 7 days). Useful for stays longer than a week where the original hold needs to be refreshed.

Special offer / pre-approval actions

For pre-booking conversations with potential guests:

Send Special Offer

Create a custom price quote for a specific guest in a specific message thread. The guest sees it as "your host has sent you a special offer" with the dates, total price, and an Accept button. If they accept, it becomes a real reservation.

Send Pre-approval

Pre-approve a guest who's inquiring without committing them to a price. The guest gets "your host has pre-approved you to book" — they still see the standard rate but don't have to wait for you to accept their RTB.

Withdraw Offer

Cancel a special offer you sent. Useful if you change your mind or the dates are no longer available.

Smart lock / access code actions

For properties with Seam-integrated locks (see Smart Locks Overview):

Create Access Code

Generate a new code for the reservation. Vanio picks the format (4 or 6 digits), sets the activation window (typically check-in time on the check-in day to checkout time on the checkout day), and pushes it to the lock.

Update Access Code

Change the timing or value of an existing code (e.g. extend the window for early check-in or late checkout).

Delete Access Code

Remove a code from the lock entirely. Used for cancellations or when generating a fresh code due to a security concern.

Lock / Unlock Device

Manually lock or unlock a smart lock from the dashboard. Useful for emergency access or when a guest is locked out and needs you to verify them and let them in remotely.

Manual Code Create / Update / Delete

For locks where you set codes manually (not auto-generated by reservation), manage them directly.

Task actions

The Tasks tab shows every task linked to this reservation (cleaning, maintenance, inspection):

Create Task

Add a new task to the reservation. Pick the type (cleaning, maintenance, inspection, custom), assign it, set the due date.

Update Task

Change a task's details (assignee, due date, instructions, photos required).

Assign Task

Assign or reassign a task to a specific staff member.

Complete Task

Mark a task as done. If photos were required, the photos are surfaced here.

Cancel Task

Cancel a scheduled task (e.g. the cleaning was already done by someone else, or the reservation got cancelled).

Message actions

The Messages tab shows every conversation linked to the reservation:

Send to Guest

Send a message to the guest through their original channel (Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, SMS, email, WhatsApp). Vanio routes automatically based on which channel the reservation came from.

Send to User

Send an internal note to a teammate visible only inside Vanio.

Send to Owner

For PMs managing on behalf of owners — send a message to the property owner via their preferred channel.

Send to Contact

Send to a non-guest contact linked to the reservation (e.g. a co-traveler, an emergency contact, a corporate booker).

React / Unreact / Unsend

Standard message reactions, undo actions.

Override / suppress actions

For situations where you need Vanio to skip its automation or override a decision:

Suppress Automation

Stop ALL automated workflows for this reservation. Useful when you're handling a difficult situation manually and don't want auto-replies, auto-charges, or auto-tasks firing in parallel.

Unsuppress Automation

Re-enable automation for the reservation.

Verification Override

Mark the guest verification as passed even if they didn't complete the steps. Use sparingly — usually for trusted repeat guests or when you've verified them outside Vanio.

Resolution / disputes

Open Resolution

Open a Resolution Center case (Airbnb-specific). Used for damage claims, missing items, or other host-side claims that go through Airbnb's resolution flow. Vanio creates the case and lets you upload evidence, set an amount, and submit.

Dashboard / inbox actions

These actions are about the reservation's place in your inbox:

Complete (single / bulk)

Mark the reservation card as "done" in your inbox so it stops bothering you. Doesn't affect the actual reservation status.

Restore

Bring a "completed" reservation back to active.

Read

Mark as read.

Priority

Set the reservation's priority flag (high / normal / low) for sorting.

Reminder

Set a follow-up reminder. Vanio surfaces the reservation in your dashboard at the reminder time.

Assign

Assign the reservation card to a specific teammate so they own the response.

Undo

Undo the last action you took on this reservation (within a few seconds of taking it).

Channel-aware behavior

Most actions have two variants — Internal (Vanio-only) and Channel (push to the originating channel). Vanio uses the right one automatically based on the reservation's source:

• Airbnb reservation + you click Cancel → uses Cancel Channel → cancels through Airbnb API → guest gets Airbnb's standard cancel notification → channel cancellation policy applies
• Direct booking + you click Cancel → uses Cancel Internal → cancels in Vanio → Stripe refund per your set policy → no channel involved

You usually don't have to think about which one. The button just does the right thing.

Audit trail

Every action in this list is logged in the reservation's Timeline tab with: the timestamp, the user who triggered it, the parameters they used, and the result. Useful when reviewing patterns, training new team members, or settling disputes about who did what when.

Common scenarios

"Guest paid for a 5-night stay but I refunded one night because of a late check-in fiasco — how do I track this?" Open the reservation → Payments → Refund → enter the night's amount → reason: "Goodwill — late check-in delay". The refund processes through Stripe (or the channel's refund API) and the audit trail logs everything.

"I need to extend a guest's stay by 2 nights and the dates are open." Open the reservation → Modify (Modify Channel for OTA bookings, Modify Internal for direct) → bump the check-out date → set the new total → submit. Guest accepts on their side → reservation updates → calendar blocks the new dates everywhere.

"A double booking just happened — same dates on Airbnb and Booking.com." Open whichever reservation you can't honor → Decline (if pending) or Cancel (if accepted) → pick the right reason → write a clear apology message. Then check the platform sync logs to figure out why the calendar block didn't propagate fast enough — usually a temporary sync delay that needs investigation.

"Guest broke something. I want to charge $200 for damage." Open the reservation → Payments → Charge → $200, reason "Damage to coffee table — see photos". For Airbnb reservations, the cleaner path is Open Resolution → submit the claim through Airbnb's resolution center where the guest can dispute. For Booking.com virtual cards, the Charge action uses the card directly. For direct bookings, Stripe.

"Guest wants to switch from unit 2A to unit 3B." Open reservation → Move Listing → pick the new unit → the reservation re-attaches → calendar updates on both units → cleaning tasks reschedule → guest is notified.

"I want this reservation to NOT trigger any AI auto-replies because I'm handling it personally." Open reservation → Suppress Automation → toggle on. All AI replies, auto-tasks, auto-charges, and workflow triggers are suppressed for this reservation only. Re-enable when you're done.