Documentation

The guest portal

What your guest sees when you send them their link: key information, access codes, payments, upsells, WiFi, invoices.

Every booking auto-generates a unique guest portal: a personalized mini-site the guest opens from the link you send them (the Portal card on the booking page, see Anatomy of a booking).

The portal is designed so the guest finds everything they need without messaging you — address, access codes, WiFi, invoices, payments, upsells to buy — and so they can also share their arrival information with you.

How the guest gets in

  1. You send them their link (from the Portal card: Copy link button) along with their 4-digit access code (the Copy button next to it).
  2. The guest opens the link and enters the code.
  3. The code is remembered locally in their browser — they won't have to enter it again from the same device.

The portal is accessible from booking creation through the day after departure, until midnight (UTC). After that, the page shows "Access expired".

Languages

The guest picks their language from a selector at the top of the page (clickable flag). The portal is translated into 12 languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Arabic.

If the chosen language doesn't have a translation for a specific text, ZenHost falls back to English.

The arrival form

Before getting access to stay information, the guest goes through a pre-arrival form if they haven't filled it yet. Fields:

  • First name and Last name (required).
  • Email and Phone (required; pre-filled unless the booking comes from Airbnb or Booking.com — those platforms hide guest contact info).
  • Estimated arrival time (optional, must be ≥ the listing's standard check-in time).
  • Estimated departure time (optional, must be ≤ the listing's standard check-out time).

On submit, this information flows back into the guest's record on the ZenHost side, prepping your operations (cleaning, welcome).

The portal cards (guest side)

Once the form is filled, the guest sees, in order:

1. Welcome card

Personalized greeting ("Welcome {first name}!"), property photos in a carousel, listing title, and logo if you've set one.

2. Main info

  • Arrival date and check-in time.
  • Departure date and check-out time.
  • Countdown (days / hours / minutes / seconds) until arrival — hidden if the booking is cancelled.
  • Full address with a View on Google Maps link.
  • Red "Booking cancelled" banner if the status is cancelled.

3. Access codes

Shown only from the check-in time. Before that: "Access codes will be available on {date} at {time}". For each code: a name (or "Door code") and a 4–8 digit code in monospace.

4. Pending payments

If the booking has an outstanding balance, an amber banner offers the guest to pay online. The guest sees the breakdown (lines without inclusive taxes, inclusive taxes listed for reference, total). The button opens a secure Stripe payment.

5. Purchased extras

List of already-confirmed extras (Purchased / Pending Payment / Cancelled), with pricing detail and purchase date.

6. Available extras

All extras configured on this property and allowed for this booking (per the Min. days before arrival/departure deadline — see Upsells & services). The guest:

  • Picks quantity / number of guests / number of nights based on the extra's pricing mode.
  • Sees the total recomputed live with VAT and city tax.
  • Pays through Stripe (or confirms directly if the extra is free).

7. WiFi card

Network name (SSID) + password. Copy button for the password. QR code button to display a QR — the guest scans it with their phone and connects without typing the password.

8. Welcome booklet

Link to your welcome booklet PDF if you've configured one on the property (the Welcome Booklet section).

9. Contacts

The guest portal contacts you've configured on the property (emergency, concierge, owner). For each contact: name, email (mailto: link), and phone (tel: link).

10. Invoices

Download button for the stay invoice. If your extras were billed on a separate Stripe account, a second button downloads the extras invoice separately.

What to configure host-side for a complete portal

  • Photos of the property (carousel, see Photos & logo).
  • Check-in and check-out times (the property's Settings section).
  • WiFi (the property's WiFi section).
  • Welcome booklet (link to a PDF).
  • Guest portal contacts (a dedicated section on the property record, see Anatomy of the detail page).
  • Access codes: automatic if you use Nuki (see Setup → Smart locks), otherwise entered manually per property.
  • Linked Stripe account for payments and extras (see Connect Stripe).
  • Active upsells in the catalogue and linked to the property (see Upsells & services).

The more complete these blocks are, the more the portal answers your guest's questions on its own — and the fewer operational messages you have to handle.