ARC bookings

Some architectural changes require the resident to also reserve community amenities — a contractor needs guest parking spots, a dumpster gets placed on a shared driveway, equipment is stored in a common area for the duration of the work. HomeHerald lets you link the ARC request to a booking so they move through approval together.

When this comes up

The common cases:

• Roof replacement — contractor needs 2-3 parking spots for trucks and dumpster placement for 3 days
• Exterior painting — staging equipment in a common parking spot
• Fence installation — material delivery + temporary storage area
• Major landscaping — equipment park, multiple parking spots
• Driveway replacement — alternate parking needed during cure time
• Solar installation — boom truck parking, multi-day staging

If the work doesn’t touch shared space, no booking needed — it’s a regular ARC request.

The linked-workflow model

When a resident files an ARC request that needs an amenity booking:

1. Resident files the ARC with a note about needing amenity space
2. Admin reviews — and creates a linked booking on the resident’s behalf, OR the resident attaches a booking they’ve already created
3. Both the ARC and the booking are now linked together
4. Approving the ARC also approves the booking (and vice versa for denial)
5. After the work is done, both close together

The link is stored on both records. Open the ARC to see the linked booking; open the booking to see the linked ARC.

Creating the link

There are two paths.

Resident creates the booking, then the ARC

1. Resident books the parking spot / dumpster space first
2. They file the ARC, and on the form they select the existing booking from a dropdown
3. The two records are linked when both submit

Admin links them after submission

1. Resident files an ARC mentioning amenity needs
2. Admin reviews, sees the booking need, opens the ARC
3. Admin clicks Add linked booking → either:
   • Pick from the resident’s existing pending bookings, OR
   • Create a new booking on the resident’s behalf
4. Link is established

Approval flow when linked

The approval is bundled — you don’t approve them separately:

1. Open the ARC
2. Review the architectural change AND the amenity booking together
3. Click Approve both
4. Both records update simultaneously:
   • ARC moves to Approved
   • Booking moves to Confirmed
   • Resident gets one combined notification

If you need to approve the ARC but deny the specific booking (e.g., the dates don’t work, suggest alternates):

1. Open the ARC → click Approve ARC
2. Open the linked booking → click Deny with a reason and suggested alternates
3. Resident is notified of partial approval; they re-submit a corrected booking

What residents see

The resident sees both records side-by-side in their portal:

• ARC request: “Roof replacement, May 10-13” — Status: Pending
• Linked booking: “Guest Parking Spot 3, May 10-13” — Status: Pending (linked to ARC)

When approved, both update at once and they get a single email saying both are confirmed.

Fees and deposits on linked bookings

The booking carries its own rental fee and deposit per the amenity config. Approving the ARC doesn’t waive these — the resident pays whatever the amenity normally costs.

If you want to waive amenity fees for approved ARC work (some communities do this — the contractor parking is “free” because the renovation benefits the community), you can:

• Set a special ARC waiver flag on the linked booking
• The fee/deposit is suppressed for that booking only
• Future bookings still charge normally

Configure under the linked booking → Edit → ARC Fee Waiver.

Multi-resource ARCs

Sometimes one ARC needs multiple bookings — say, three guest parking spots for three days, plus a dumpster zone.

Currently each ARC links to a single booking. For multi-resource cases:

1. Create the ARC
2. Create the primary booking (e.g., Parking Spot 1)
3. Link them
4. Create additional bookings for the same period (Parking Spot 2, Parking Spot 3, Dumpster Zone) — these aren’t linked back to the ARC formally, but reference the ARC ID in their notes
5. Approve the ARC, which approves Spot 1; manually approve Spots 2-3 + Dumpster

Not elegant — multi-resource linking is a planned feature.

When the work runs over

Say a roofing contractor was supposed to be done by Friday but it’s now Monday and they need the parking another 3 days.

1. Resident extends the linked booking — they request additional days through the standard booking-edit flow
2. Booking moves back to Pending for re-approval
3. Admin reviews — usually approves the extension (it’s an existing approved project)
4. ARC stays Approved (the architectural change hasn’t changed); only the booking is re-evaluated

Closing the loop

When both the ARC and the booking are complete:

• Booking auto-closes when the end date passes
• ARC stays in Resolved until the work is verified complete
• After verification (admin walks the property, confirms the change matches what was approved), admin closes the ARC

Both are now in the historical record, linked, searchable.

Common situations

”Resident did unauthorized work and wants to retroactively get an ARC + booking approval”

Two bad decisions don’t fix each other. Handle the unauthorized-work issue per your enforcement process (likely a violation), separate from any future ARC approvals.

”The contractor isn’t a resident — who books?”

The property owner books on behalf of the contractor. The booking is in the property owner’s name, regardless of who actually uses the spot. Owner is responsible for whatever the contractor does.

”Can we deny the ARC but approve the booking, or vice versa?”

Technically yes, but it rarely makes sense. If you deny the ARC, the resident can’t do the work — so they don’t need the booking. If you deny the booking but approve the ARC, the resident needs to find their own logistics — usually they re-submit with different dates/spots.

”We never use this — it’s overkill for our community”

That’s fine. If you don’t have community amenities that contractors need, just use regular ARC requests. The link feature is opt-in per request.

Where to go next

• Setting up amenities — defining the bookable resources
• Approval workflows — the standalone-booking version
• The four request types — ARC requests in the broader request system