> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wiki.inels.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wiki.inels.com/inels-harmony/reception/check-in-and-check-out.md).

# Check-in and check-out

The six booking statuses, and what each change sets off elsewhere in the hotel.

Changing a booking's status is not just bookkeeping. It is the signal that tells the rest of Harmony to create cleaning tasks, activate or kill guest keys, and run your energy automations.

## The six statuses

| Status          | Means                              | What Harmony does                                                                                        |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Free**        | No booking                         | Room offered as available                                                                                |
| **Offered**     | Held for an enquiry, not committed | Blocks the dates                                                                                         |
| **Booked**      | The normal state of a new booking  | Blocks the dates; may send a booking email                                                               |
| **Confirmed**   | The guest has confirmed            | May send a confirmation email                                                                            |
| **Checked IN**  | The guest is in the room           | **Cards become valid**; check-in automations run; any pending departure clean for that room is cancelled |
| **Checked OUT** | The guest has left                 | **Cards stop working**; a departure cleaning task is created; check-out automations run                  |

## Checking a guest in

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Find the booking

In **Reservations**, or from **Arriving today** on the dashboard. The search box takes a name, a room number or a booking ID.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Open it with the pencil icon

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Check the details with the guest in front of you

Dates, room, party size, meals and services. This is the moment to correct them.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Set Status to Checked IN

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Issue the key

In the Access section of the same dialog — a card, a PIN, or a Salto credential.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Click Save

The status change takes effect now, not when you opened the dialog.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Checking a guest out

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Open the booking and set Status to Checked OUT

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Take the cards back

If the hotel reuses them, free them in **Cards** so they return to the pool.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Save

A departure cleaning task appears for that room straight away.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Check out as it happens, not in a batch.** Housekeeping works from the tasks Harmony creates at check-out. Saving ten check-outs until noon means the cleaners see nothing all morning and then everything at once.
{% endhint %}

## What the edit dialog covers

Everything about the booking in one place: the stay (dates, room, number of guests), the options (meal plan, parking, transfer, late check-out), the guest's contact details, access (zones, cards, PIN, Salto), free-text notes the whole team can see, and the source — front desk, PMS, or an online channel.

## Common situations

<details>

<summary>A guest wants to stay another night</summary>

Edit the booking and move the check-out date. If the room is taken that night Harmony refuses — move the guest to a free room, or split the stay across two bookings.

</details>

<details>

<summary>A guest wants a different room</summary>

Edit the booking and change the room. **Re-issue the key afterwards** — the old card is bound to the old room's zone.

</details>

<details>

<summary>A booking was cancelled</summary>

Delete it if nobody ever arrived. If the hotel needs a record of the cancellation, keep the booking and add a note instead — a deleted booking leaves nothing behind.

</details>

<details>

<summary>The guest lost their key</summary>

Revoke the old credential **first**, then issue a replacement. See [Guest keys](/inels-harmony/reception/guest-keys-cards-pins-and-salto.md).

</details>