Booking and payment defaults
Set how bookings are dated, timed, charged and cancelled across the whole account.
Before you start
- Where: Settings → Global Settings (
https://platform.vivin.app/settings). These cards follow the company cards described in Global Settings.
- Plan: every account has these cards.
- Permissions: Account Settings → Module and Account Settings → Preferences. Super Admin and Admin have both by default.
Each card has a pencil to edit it, then Save or Cancel. A card saves on its own.
Booking Defaults (display)
The first Booking Defaults card, "Configure how bookings are displayed and managed".
| Field | What it does | Default |
|---|
| Dashboard - Preferred Dates | Which dates the Bookings list date column, sort and date filters use, and a tenant's Bookings tab. | Contract Dates |
| Default Booking List Filter | The status chip the Bookings list opens on. | All |
| Booking Status - Preferred Dates | Which dates decide whether a booking is Upcoming, Ongoing or Ended. | Check-in & check-out dates |
| Occupancy Rate - Preferred Dates | Which dates count a unit as occupied in the occupancy rate. | Check-in & check-out dates |
| Deposit Refund Limit Reference | Whether the deposit refund deadline counts from the Contract End Date or Check-out Date. | Contract End Date |
| Vacant Unit Preference | Whether a unit with only a manual block counts as vacant. | Default |
- The preferred-date fields offer Contract Dates or Check-in & check-out dates. The list filter offers All, Ongoing, Upcoming, Ended and Cancelled.
- Occupancy Rate - Preferred Dates drives the occupancy rate on the Dashboard, in Sales, Analytics, Owner Reports and Genius. Free rooms, availability and the Multicalendar always use check-in & check-out dates.
- The number of days for the deposit refund deadline is set in Payments.
- Vacant Unit Preference: with Include manual blocks, a unit that only has a manual block (no booking) still counts as vacant in the Dashboard Vacant Units list and Today tile, in Sales Available now and in the Multicalendar. Blocks from bookings and channels always count as occupied. Each user can override it in Personal Settings.
Contract details
Optional sections on the booking Contract Info tab and, for the last three, on the tenant's Tenant Info tab and in the tenant portal.
| Switch | What it adds | Default |
|---|
| Second tenant | A section to record a second person next to the main tenant. | Off |
| Guarantor | A section to record a person who backs the rent. | Off |
| Emergency contacts | Up to two emergency contacts, also asked of tenants in the portal and before signing. | Off |
| Date and place of birth | The tenant's date and place of birth, also asked in the portal and before signing. | Off |
| Main residence | The address, city and country where the tenant lives, also asked in the portal and before signing. | Off |
- Second tenant shows only on bookings whose Tenants number is 2 or more. Guarantor shows on every booking.
- Whether tenants must fill the last three before signing is set in Portal settings. Turning a group off here also turns off its signing requirement.
Charges & Payments
| Switch | What it does | Default |
|---|
| Update payments plan automatically | Pre-ticks Update Payment Plan when someone changes a booking's dates. | On |
| Require charge category | Makes the category mandatory in Add Charge on a booking. | Off |
| Require charge description | Makes the description mandatory in Add Charge on a booking. | Off |
| Allow refund before contract end | Lets you refund a deposit before the contract end date. | Off |
| Use the "Ready to refund" status | Gives a paid deposit marked Ready To Refund its own Ready to refund status. | On |
| Enable deposit disputes | Lets roles with Bookings → Dispute flag a fully paid deposit as disputed. | Off |
- Use the "Ready to refund" status only marks the deposit, for example in Finance → Deposits. The refund is never blocked without it. Resolving a dispute also moves the deposit to Ready to refund while the switch is on. When it is off, the deposit keeps its paid status.
- A disputed deposit cannot be refunded until the dispute is resolved.
- Without Allow refund before contract end, Mark refunded stays disabled until the contract end date, even on a cancelled booking.
Check-in Ready rule
Sets what the Ready column in Operations → Check-in/out requires before an arrival shows Ready.
| Switch | What it requires | Default |
|---|
| Move-in payments settled | The deposit, first rent and fees due before check-in are paid. | On |
| Contract signed | The contract is signed. Tenants whose category has no contract in VIVIN count as signed. | On |
| Closed tickets | No open ticket of the categories you pick on the unit, from an earlier stay or dated up to the check-in day. | None |
- You pick the ticket categories from your Tickets list in Categories.
- The rule only changes the Ready column. It does not change when check-in emails are sent.
Booking Defaults (times)
The second Booking Defaults card, "Default check-in/out times and preparation periods".
| Field | What it does | Default | Limits |
|---|
| Check-in time | The check-in time new bookings get. | Not set | HH:MM |
| Check-out time | The check-out time new bookings get. | Not set | HH:MM |
| Mid-term Prep | Days a unit stays blocked after a check-out, for non-channel stays. | 0 days | 0 to 7 days |
| Short-term Prep | Days a unit stays blocked after an Airbnb, Booking.com or OTA stay. | 0 days | 0 to 7 days |
| Advance Notice | Minimum notice before a new stay can start. | 0 days | 0 to 30 days |
- Until you save the card, it shows 15:00 and 11:00 but new bookings get no time. Bookings that already exist keep their own times.
- Preparation example: with 3 days, a tenant who checks out on 31 March frees the unit for a new check-in from 3 April. The unit calendar shows the buffer as prep days. To place a manual booking inside it, tick Ignore unit preparation days in Add Booking. The availability searches in Sales and on the Bookings Timeline count these days as occupied unless you untick Count preparation days next to the search. The Dashboard Today tile and Vacant Units card follow the same box.
- Advance Notice moves each unit's next available date forward by that many days.
Cancellation & Rent
| Field | What it does | Default | Limits |
|---|
| Cancellation Window | How many days after move-in a started booking can still be cancelled. | 30 days | 0 or more |
| Daily Contract - Rent Calculation | How daily contracts turn rent into amounts. | Standard (monthly) | |
| Auto-cancel unpaid move-in | Cancels a booking whose move-in payments are still fully unpaid after a grace period. | Off | |
| Grace period (days after check-in) | Days after check-in before auto-cancel acts. | 7 | 1 to 366 |
- An upcoming booking can always be cancelled. Enter 0 in Cancellation Window to remove the limit for started bookings.
- Standard (monthly) prorates the monthly rent. Yearly Average (nightly) uses one nightly rate, the yearly rent divided by 365. The method applies whenever a daily contract's payment plan is calculated. Bookings imported from the Channel Manager always use the nightly method.
- Auto-cancel counts days in UTC. If every payment required for move-in is still fully unpaid after the grace period, VIVIN cancels the booking without a refund. If the tenant has paid part of it, the booking stays and your team gets a one-time email instead. Both emails go to the account email and to team members with Payment notifications on. To tell the tenant, add an Auto-cancellation rule in Emails.
Min/Max Stay Defaults
| Field | What it does | Default |
|---|
| Default minimum stay | Minimum stay, in months, for units you create. | No restriction |
| Default maximum stay | Maximum stay, in months, for units you create. | No restriction |
- Leave a field empty for No restriction. Whole months only, and the minimum cannot be greater than the maximum.
- Saving does not change existing units. Apply to all active listings writes the saved defaults to every unit that is not archived, after you confirm Apply to all active listings?. Unit-specific values are lost. The button stays disabled until you have saved at least one default.
What happens when you save
- Each card applies to the whole account as soon as you save it.
- Times, preparation days, stay defaults and charge rules apply to bookings and units created from then on. Existing bookings keep their times and payment plans.
- Display choices (preferred dates, list filter, vacancy) change what everyone sees the next time a page loads.
- The cancellation window and auto-cancel also apply to bookings that already exist. Auto-cancel runs once a day.
Troubleshooting
- "Default min stay period cannot be greater than default max stay period": lower the minimum or raise the maximum.
- A unit shows as unavailable right after a check-out: it is inside the preparation days or the advance notice. Tick Ignore unit preparation days when you add the booking, or shorten the buffer here.
- A started booking can no longer be cancelled: it is past the Cancellation Window. Raise the window, or enter 0 to remove the limit.
Tips
- Check units with special stay rules before you use Apply to all active listings. It cannot be undone.
- Before you turn on Auto-cancel unpaid move-in, check your ongoing bookings: the daily check also cancels bookings that started before you turned it on.
- Set the check-in and check-out times before you add bookings, so every new booking starts with them.