Frequently Asked Questions

When a guest arrives, your receptionist opens the dashboard and sees today's arrivals list. They find the guest by name, tap 'Check In', and the status updates instantly. The guest is moved to the 'checked in' list, and the status syncs back to WordPress. The whole process takes about 2 seconds.

Yes. The dashboard shows today's arrivals and departures by default. You can navigate between days to see upcoming arrivals and planned departures, giving you a full overview of your schedule.

Yes. The dashboard includes search functionality so you can quickly find any guest by name, room/accommodation name, or booking details. This is especially useful during busy check-in periods.

Simply check the guest in or out whenever they arrive or leave — the dashboard does not enforce strict times. The check-in/out timestamp is recorded automatically, so you always have an accurate record regardless of the scheduled time.

Walk-in bookings should be created in your WordPress booking plugin as usual. Once created, the booking syncs to Booking Reception within minutes and appears on the dashboard ready for check-in. The dashboard is designed for managing check-in/out, not creating new bookings.

Notes and custom form fields from your booking plugin are synced and displayed on the guest's booking card. If you add notes in your WordPress booking plugin (like special requests or guest preferences), they will appear in the reception dashboard.

Yes. Multiple staff members can use the dashboard simultaneously on different devices. All changes sync in real time, so if one receptionist checks in a guest, the other iPad updates automatically. There are no conflicts or locking issues.

The dashboard interface is currently in English. Your guest names, booking notes, and custom field data are displayed exactly as entered in your booking plugin, regardless of language or character set.

Yes. Booking Reception handles dates and currencies based on your booking plugin settings. European date formats (DD/MM/YYYY) and currencies (EUR, GBP, SEK, DKK, CHF, etc.) are fully supported.

The dashboard is primarily designed as a digital front desk tool. For guest lists, reports, or police registration exports, we recommend using your WordPress booking plugin's built-in export functionality, which has full access to all booking data.

Booking Reception currently supports WP Booking System (free and premium), MotoPress Hotel Booking (Lite and Pro), and Booking Calendar (Free, Premium, and Hotel editions). WooCommerce Bookings support is coming soon.

Yes, WooCommerce Bookings support is on our roadmap and actively being developed. Sign up for the free plan to be notified when it launches.

All essential booking data is synced: guest names, contact information, booking dates, check-in/out times, accommodation/room assignments, booking status (pending, confirmed, cancelled), custom form fields, payment status, and booking notes. The exact fields depend on your booking plugin.

Bookings sync every few minutes by default. The sync interval is configurable in the WordPress plugin settings — you can adjust it from every minute to hourly depending on your needs and server resources.

Yes. You can trigger an immediate sync from the WordPress plugin settings page whenever you need bookings to update right away, instead of waiting for the next scheduled sync.

Yes. When you mark a guest as checked in or out from the reception dashboard, the status is written back to your WordPress site as post meta on the booking. Both systems always stay in sync.

Booking Reception maps the common statuses from each plugin: pending, confirmed, paid, cancelled, and no-show. The exact status mapping depends on your booking plugin, but all standard statuses are handled automatically.

If your booking plugin stores payment status in WordPress (which both WPBS Premium and MotoPress Hotel Booking do), that payment status is synced and displayed on the dashboard. The dashboard reads whatever payment data your plugin makes available.

Yes, as long as your channel manager feeds bookings into your WordPress booking plugin. Booking Reception reads from your WordPress plugin, so any booking that appears there — whether from your website, Booking.com, or Airbnb — will show up on the dashboard.

No. The plugin is very lightweight and only runs during sync (a background cron task). It does not add any code to your frontend, does not load scripts for visitors, and has zero impact on your website's page load speed.

No. The plugin is isolated and does not modify your booking plugin, theme, or any other plugins. It only reads booking data via WordPress hooks and writes check-in/out status as post meta. If you deactivate it, everything returns to exactly how it was before.

The plugin requires standard WordPress plugin permissions. It reads booking data from your database (read-only for bookings), and writes only check-in/out status as post meta. It does not access files, modify your theme, or require any special server permissions.

Yes. You can connect multiple WordPress sites to one Booking Reception account. Each site needs its own plugin installation and API key. Switch between properties from the dashboard to manage check-in/out for all your locations.

Yes. If your booking plugin has multiple calendars, rooms, or accommodations, they all sync to the dashboard. The number of accommodations you can manage depends on your plan — free includes 1, paid plans support up to unlimited.

Team access is available on paid plans. You can invite staff members to your account so they can use the dashboard. Role-based access control with per-property restrictions is on our roadmap.

Check-in and check-out timestamps are recorded automatically. Enhanced activity logging with staff attribution is on our roadmap for a future update.

An accommodation is one bookable unit in your booking plugin — for example, one calendar in WP Booking System, one accommodation type in MotoPress, or one booking resource in Booking Calendar. If you have 5 rooms, that counts as 5 accommodations.

The dashboard requires an internet connection to load and sync. If the connection drops briefly, the page remains visible with the last loaded data, but you cannot check in/out guests until the connection is restored. We recommend a stable Wi-Fi connection at your reception desk.

If your WordPress site is unreachable, the dashboard continues to show the last synced data. New bookings will not appear until WordPress is back online and the next sync completes. Check-in/out actions will queue and sync once the connection is restored.

Booking Reception does not create bookings — it only reads them from your WordPress plugin. Double-booking prevention is handled by your booking plugin as usual. For check-in/out status, the most recent action always wins, and timestamps ensure consistent ordering.

Our plugin is built to be resilient to updates. We test compatibility with new versions of supported booking plugins. If a booking plugin update changes its data structure significantly, we release a plugin update promptly. You can always re-sync from the WordPress plugin settings.

Yes. We monitor our infrastructure continuously. The dashboard is hosted on reliable cloud infrastructure with high availability. If you experience any issues, contact support and we will investigate immediately.

Yes. All API communication between your WordPress site and Booking Reception is signed with HMAC-SHA256 and validated with timestamps to prevent replay attacks. Data is encrypted in transit using TLS/HTTPS. We follow security best practices throughout the stack.

You do. All booking data originates from and stays on your WordPress site. Booking Reception reads your data via the secure API to display it on the dashboard. You maintain full ownership and control at all times.

Your booking data stays on your own WordPress hosting. The dashboard caches minimal data (guest names, booking dates, status) for display purposes only. The cache is encrypted and automatically cleared. No passport numbers, ID details, or payment card data is ever stored by Booking Reception.

Every API request between your WordPress site and Booking Reception is signed with a unique HMAC-SHA256 hash using your secret API key. Each request includes a timestamp, and requests older than 5 minutes are rejected. This prevents unauthorized access and replay attacks.

Yes. Booking Reception is designed with GDPR compliance in mind. Your data stays on your WordPress site, we process only what is necessary for the dashboard to function, we do not share data with third parties, and you can request data deletion at any time.

Yes. If you need a signed DPA for GDPR compliance, contact us at support@bookingreception.app and we will provide one. This is common for EU-based businesses that process guest personal data.

Since booking data is stored on your WordPress site, you handle GDPR deletion requests through your booking plugin. When you delete or anonymize a booking in WordPress, the change syncs to Booking Reception and the data is removed from the dashboard as well.

No. Booking Reception only syncs booking-level data: guest names, contact information, dates, room assignments, and booking status. We never access, store, or transmit passport numbers, ID scans, or payment card details.

2FA is on our roadmap. In the meantime, we recommend using a strong, unique password for your Booking Reception account. You can also use iPad Guided Access to lock the device to the dashboard app for added physical security at the reception desk.

IP-based access restrictions are not currently available but are on our roadmap. For physical security at the reception desk, we recommend using iPad Guided Access mode to prevent staff from navigating away from the dashboard.

Yes. The free plan includes 1 accommodation, the full reception dashboard, real-time sync, and iPad optimization. No credit card required — sign up and start using it immediately.

No. The free plan requires no credit card and no payment information. You only need to provide payment details if you choose to upgrade to a paid plan.

Starter ($15/mo) supports up to 5 accommodations. Pro ($30/mo) supports up to 10 accommodations and includes a 14-day free trial. Unlimited ($50/mo) supports unlimited accommodations. All paid plans include team access, multi-plugin support, and priority support.

Prices shown on the website are excluding VAT. If you are located in the EU, VAT will be added at checkout based on your country's rate. EU businesses with a valid VAT ID can apply reverse charge.

Yes. All paid plans include invoicing. You can add your company name, address, and VAT ID to your account settings, and these details will appear on your invoices automatically.

We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express). Payments are processed securely through Stripe. SEPA direct debit is on our roadmap.

Annual plans are coming soon. Sign up for a monthly plan now and you will be able to switch to an annual plan with a discount when it becomes available.

Yes. You can upgrade instantly — your new plan takes effect immediately and you are charged a prorated amount. Downgrades take effect at the start of your next billing cycle.

Yes. There are no contracts, no lock-in periods, and no cancellation fees. You can downgrade to the free plan or cancel your account at any time from your dashboard settings.

If your payment fails, we will retry and notify you. If payment is not resolved, your account downgrades to the free plan. You do not lose access immediately — your data stays intact, but you will be limited to 1 accommodation until you reactivate a paid plan.

Since all booking data is stored on your WordPress site, there is nothing to export from Booking Reception. Simply deactivate the WordPress plugin and your site returns to exactly how it was before. No data is lost.

You can reach us at support@bookingreception.app. We aim to respond within 24 hours on business days (EU timezone). Paid plans include priority support with faster response times.

Yes. If you need help getting set up, email support and we will guide you through the installation step by step. The setup process is designed to be simple enough for anyone comfortable with basic WordPress admin tasks.

Yes. We have dedicated landing pages with setup details for each plugin: WP Booking System, MotoPress Hotel Booking, and Booking Calendar. Each page explains what data is synced and how the integration works.

Yes. If you experience any issues after installing the Booking Reception plugin, contact support with details and we will help diagnose and resolve the problem. Our plugin is designed to be conflict-free, but we are happy to investigate edge cases.

We actively collect feature requests via email. Common requests like WooCommerce Bookings support, 2FA, annual billing, and role-based access are already on our internal roadmap. If you have a feature idea, let us know — we prioritize based on customer demand.

No. The dashboard is designed for check-in and check-out management only. Staff cannot create, modify, or delete bookings from the dashboard. Booking management (creating, editing, cancelling) is always done in your WordPress booking plugin, keeping your data safe.