Approval workflows

Not every booking should confirm instantly. The pool, sure - let residents book and go. The clubhouse for a 30-person event? You probably want a board member to take a look first. This article covers the approval flow.

When to require approval

A practical guideline:

Amenity type	Approval recommended?
Pool, gym, courts (drop-in)	Instant (Self-Managed)
Pavilion, picnic area	Instant, unless large events are common
Clubhouse / community room	Require if events are common
Boat slips, RV storage (long-term)	Require
Guest parking	Instant (Self-Managed)
Anything with a rental fee	Often require, or use Requires Payment

Set it per amenity with the Booking Mode in the amenity’s edit window (Amenities → Manage):

• Self-Managed - residents book instantly
• Requires Payment - residents save a card and book instantly; the fee is charged 24 hours before (see Rental fees and deposits)
• Requires Approval - an admin reviews each booking first

An amenity has one mode, so a booking either waits for approval or collects a card up front - not both. A deposit hold only happens with Requires Payment.

The booking lifecycle (with approval)

When a resident books an amenity that requires approval:

Pending (resident submits)
   │
   ├── Approved (admin approves)
   │
   ├── Rejected (admin declines)
   │
   └── Cancelled (resident cancels)

When a resident books a Self-Managed amenity, the booking goes straight to Approved.

Requires Payment bookings skip approval and have their own states: Pending Charge (card saved, waiting to be charged 24h before the booking), Charged (charge succeeded), or Charge Failed (card declined; admin follows up).

What the resident sees

For approval-required amenities, when a resident submits a booking they see:

“Reservation request submitted and pending approval. You’ll be notified when reviewed.”

The booking shows as Pending until you decide. They can cancel it themselves while it’s pending.

For Self-Managed bookings, they see:

“Reservation confirmed for [amenity]!”

Where the requests live

Each approval-required booking creates a Booking Request in Requests (admin sidebar), titled “Amenity Booking Request: [amenity]”. It shows:

• Who’s booking
• Date and time
• The rental fee and deposit, if the amenity has them

Pending booking requests also appear on the Dashboard under Needs Your Attention, with an Approve button right on the row. The Upcoming tab in Amenities lists them too - filter by Pending.

Approving a booking

1. Open the booking request in Requests (or use Approve on the Dashboard)
2. Review the date, time, and who’s booking
3. Click Approve

What happens:

• Booking status changes to Approved and the request closes
• Resident gets an in-app notification and a booking confirmation email
• If the amenity has a rental fee, it’s posted to the resident’s property as a charge they pay like any other balance
• The slot is reserved on the calendar; other residents can’t double-book

Declining a booking

1. Open the booking request in Requests
2. Click Decline
3. Add a reason (optional, but it’s sent to the resident):
   • “We have a maintenance project on that date - please pick another”
   • “The clubhouse is reserved for a board event that evening”
   • “Your account has overdue dues; please bring current first”
4. Click Confirm Decline

What happens:

• Booking status changes to Rejected (the request shows Denied) and the slot opens up again
• Resident gets an in-app notification with your reason
• They can submit a new booking (usually with corrections)

Don’t decline without a reason. Even “Sorry, can’t accommodate this one” beats silence.

Speed matters

The longer a booking sits in pending, the worse the resident experience. A practical rule: 24 hours max from submission to decision. Most communities can do faster.

If your queue is consistently slow, options:

• Instant-book more - anything that’s clearly low-stakes, switch it to Self-Managed
• Designate one approver - one board member owns the booking requests
• Check the Dashboard daily - pending bookings sit at the top of Needs Your Attention with a one-tap Approve

Editing an approved booking

A resident occasionally needs to change a booking - date change, time change, etc. Admins can change the date, start time, end time, and notes with Edit Reservation in the booking’s detail window (Amenities → Upcoming). A different amenity means cancelling and re-booking.

Common situations

”Two residents want the same slot”

A pending booking holds its slot, so a second resident can’t request a time that’s already pending or booked - they’re asked to choose a different time. If you decline the first request, the slot opens up again.

”A resident keeps no-showing approved bookings”

HomeHerald doesn’t track no-shows. Keep a note on the resident’s profile after each one. If it keeps happening, you can:

• Decline their future requests on high-demand amenities, with the reason
• Fine them through the violation flow if your rules cover it (Issuing a fine)

“I need to cancel an approved booking after the fact”

Open the booking (Amenities → Upcoming) → Delete Reservation. The resident is notified automatically.

Deleting doesn’t move money. If they paid a rental fee, refund it (see Issuing refunds), or remove the fee charge from their property if they haven’t paid it yet. If a deposit hold was placed, release it first with Release Deposit in the same booking window.

”We want to give certain residents auto-approval status”

There’s no per-resident bypass currently. If you want certain residents to avoid approval friction, you’d need to handle it through the amenity’s overall config - most commonly, switch the amenity to Self-Managed for everyone, and rely on the board reviewing the booking calendar after the fact.

Where to go next

• Setting up amenities - define what can be booked
• Rental fees and deposits - money side
• Issuing refunds - when a paid booking is cancelled