How to Set Up Online Check In Form

🎥 Watch the walkthrough

Prefer to watch first? This short video (about 3 minutes) takes you through the full setup, from your heading and branding through to custom questions, the guest agreement, card collection and the Thank You page. The written steps below follow the same order, so you can follow along as you watch.

Video not playing? Download it from the Attachments section at the bottom of this page.

What is the Online Check In Form?

The Online Check In Form lets guests complete their check-in details before they arrive. Each guest receives a personal link where they can confirm their contact details, answer your questions, accept your terms, sign and (optionally) securely provide card details. When they submit it, you're notified by email and the details are imported into the reservation in GuestPoint automatically. A completed online check in form is treated as the guest's arrival form when you check the guest in.

What your guests will see

When a guest opens their link, the form shows:

• Your heading and welcome message, plus their Arrival and Departure dates.
• Their contact details: Title, First Name, Last Name, Address, City, State, Country, Post Code, Mobile and Email. Last Name, Mobile and Email are always mandatory.
• Anything you turn on in Check-in Display Options, such as ETA, licence plate or document upload.
• Your custom questions, your agreement, a signature box and, if turned on, card collection.
• A Complete Check-in button, followed by your Thank You page.

Getting there

1. Click Management in the left-hand navigation.
2. Open Setup, then select Online Check-in Form.

The settings are grouped into sections. Work down the page in the order below.

Step 1: Form heading and appearance

Under General Settings → Online Check-in Form Details:

• Online Check-in Form Heading: the title guests see at the top of the form, e.g. Welcome to Seaside Motel.
• Online Check-in Form Content: a short welcome message with any helpful instructions.
• Heading Color and Heading Background Color: pick from the palette, or turn on custom colour and enter your brand's hex code (e.g. #1F4E79).
• Heading Font Size and Text Base Size: adjust to suit your branding.

Step 2: Personal Details

Expand Personal Details. Give the section a heading, such as Guest Information, and a short note explaining why you're asking for these details.

Step 3: Company Details

Expand Company Details and add a heading and instructions.

Step 4: Check-in Display Options

Tick what guests should see and do on the form:

Step 5: Other Settings

• Currency Symbol: check this is correct for your property (e.g. AU$).
• Email Complete Form To (required): the email address notified each time a guest completes the form.

Step 6: Custom Questions

1. Scroll down to Custom Questions and add a heading and description, e.g. Additional Information or Special Requests.
2. Click Add Question.
3. Choose a Question Type:
   • Text: guests type their answer.
   • Dropdown: guests pick from a list. Enter each choice under Options and click Add Option for more.
   • Checkbox: guests tick a box, e.g. to confirm they've read your parking rules.
4. Enter the Question Title, e.g. Do you have any dietary requirements or preferences?
5. Switch on Required a response if guests must answer it.

Repeat for as many questions as you need. Drag the handle on the left of a question (or option) to change its order, and click the bin icon to delete it.

Step 7: Agreement

The Agreement box comes pre-filled with standard terms. Review the wording and edit it to match your property's terms and conditions, and add an optional Agreement Heading. Guests sign the form to confirm they agree.

Step 8: Credit Card Collection (optional)

Turn on Credit Card Collection to securely store guests' card details in the Credit Card Vault, linked to the primary guest on the reservation. Add a Credit Card Details Heading and short instructions in Credit Card Details Content.

Step 9: Thank You Page

Set up what guests see after they submit. All three fields are required:

• Thank you Page Title: shown in the browser tab, e.g. Check-in Complete.
• Thank you Page Heading: the main heading on the page.
• Thank you Page Content: your closing message.

Step 10: Save, publish and preview

1. When you're happy, click Save and Publish. (Clicking Cancel asks you to confirm before discarding unsaved changes.)
2. To check your work, click Preview at the bottom of the page. The form opens in a new browser tab using sample booking dates, exactly as guests will see it.
3. Check your branding, booking details, custom questions, the agreement and the signature box.

Sending the form to guests

Once the form is published, there are four ways to get it to guests.

1. Automatically (recommended): set up an automation that emails or texts the form before arrival, for example one day out, and skips guests who have already completed it. See How to Automatically Send the Online Check In Form.

2. From a reservation: open the reservation and select Email → Email Online Check-In Form.

The Email Services window opens so you can review the email before it goes out:

• To is filled from the guest's email address. Add CC or BCC addresses if needed.
• The Subject and message are filled in from the Check-in form template, including the guest's personal link. Edit them if you like, and use the Preview tab to see the finished email.
• Choose when to send it in Send At Time (default Now), and attach a file if needed.
• Click Start Sending.

Guests receive an email like the one below and click the link to open their form.

3. In bulk by arrival date: go to Management → Daily Tasks and expand Send Online Check-in Forms. Under Select form, choose Send Today's, Send Tomorrow's or Select Arrival Date, then click Send Check-in Forms. See Send Online Check-in Forms.

4. QR code or link (front desk, text or chat): right-click the reservation on the tape chart and select Online Check-in Form. A window shows:

• A QR code the guest can scan to fill out the form on their own phone, which is handy at the front desk.
• The guest's personal link. Click it to open the form on your current device, such as an iPad or tablet, or click the copy icon to paste the link into a text message or chat.

Every email and text sent is logged in Message Hub (bottom left of the menu), where you can confirm the form was Delivered.

After the guest submits the form

You'll receive an email at the address set in Email Complete Form To.

In the reservation, the Online Check-in form completed tick box under Reservation Details is ticked automatically, and the guest's details are updated.

The booking also shows a grey dot on the Reservation Plan, so you can see at a glance which guests have checked in online.

If Credit Card Collection is on, the card details are imported automatically and appear on the reservation's Contact Details tab.