Run your direct booking page with more confidence.
Practical help for stay owners using Hopnest Direct to manage public pages, booking requests, calendar availability, payment request messages, and WhatsApp-first follow-up.
Start Here
Understand what Hopnest Direct does, who it is for, and what a Basic listing includes.
What is Hopnest Direct?
Hopnest Direct is direct booking page software for small stays. It gives you a public mini website, availability request flow, host dashboard, booking request management, calendar tools, and WhatsApp-first follow-up. The stay owner handles confirmation, payment collection, guest communication, cancellation, refund, and check-in directly.
Who is Hopnest Direct for?
It is built for homestays, villas, cottages, boutique resorts, small hotels, and Instagram or WhatsApp-based stay sellers who want a cleaner way to receive and manage direct booking requests.
What is included in a free Basic listing?
A Basic listing includes a public booking page, room and photo setup, availability checks, booking request capture, calendar blocks, WhatsApp follow-up, and host dashboard tools. Pro Tools are activated per listing when a property needs custom domain, WhatsApp API, or priority setup support.
Property Setup
Prepare your stay profile before sharing it with guests.
How do I set up my first property?
Open Properties from the host dashboard, create or edit your property, then add the stay name, location, description, contact WhatsApp, map link, rooms, photos, amenities, policies, and availability details.
What details should I add before sharing my page?
Add clear property photos, room types, room capacity, base price, amenities, check-in and check-out details, location information, WhatsApp contact, and any payment note you want guests to see before sending a booking request.
What is the booking-ready checklist?
The booking-ready checklist is the set of basics that make a public page useful for guests: property details, rooms, photos, pricing guidance, contact information, location details, and availability settings.
Rooms & Photos
Set up rooms, units, capacity, price guidance, and images.
How do I add rooms or units?
Open Properties, choose the stay, and add or edit room types. Use one room type for each kind of inventory guests can request, such as Deluxe Room, Family Cottage, or Pool Villa.
What photos should I add?
Add bright, real photos of the exterior, bedroom, bathroom, view, common areas, dining space, parking, and any special experience. Avoid misleading or heavily edited images.
How should I set room capacity and base price?
Set capacity based on the maximum guests that can comfortably stay in that room type. Base price should be a starting guide for guests. Final pricing, discounts, and advance payment are handled directly by the property.
Bookings
Manage booking requests and follow up with guests directly.
What happens after a guest sends a booking request?
The request appears in your host dashboard with guest details, dates, room choice, and notes. You should contact the guest directly, confirm availability, discuss pricing, and decide whether to accept the request.
Is the booking automatically confirmed?
No. Hopnest Direct records a booking request. The booking is confirmed only when the stay owner confirms it directly with the guest.
How do I confirm, reject, or cancel a booking?
Open the booking request from the dashboard and use the available status actions. Use confirmed only after you have directly accepted the booking with the guest.
How do I contact the guest?
Use the WhatsApp or call actions shown with the booking request. Guest communication is handled directly by the property.
Calendar & Availability
Keep availability accurate by managing requests, confirmed stays, and manual blocks.
How is availability calculated?
Availability is based on active room inventory, booking request status, confirmed or payment-requested stays, paid-to-vendor stays, and calendar blocks added by the property.
How do I block dates?
Open Calendar, choose the property or room, select start and end dates, choose the number of units to block, and add a reason such as maintenance, owner use, offline booking, OTA booking, or temporary hold.
How do I add offline, phone, or OTA bookings?
Use Manual Booking or Calendar Blocks to record stays received outside Hopnest Direct. This helps keep the public availability check closer to your actual room situation.
Why does a date show available, partial, full, or blocked?
Available means inventory is open. Partial means some inventory is left. Full means the tracked inventory is already used for that date. Blocked means the owner has manually blocked the date or inventory.
Payment Requests
Use payment request messages for direct property-managed collections.
Does Hopnest collect payment?
No. Payments are handled directly by the property. Hopnest Direct only helps create organized payment request messages and tracking inside the dashboard.
How do payment request messages work?
After you discuss with the guest, you can create a payment request message with your amount, payment note, and direct payment details. Send it to the guest yourself, usually through WhatsApp.
How do I mark a booking as paid?
After you receive payment directly, open the booking or payment request and mark it paid. This is a dashboard record for your tracking.
Troubleshooting
Quick checks for common setup and enquiry issues.
Guest says they sent a booking request, what should I check?
Check the Bookings page, filters, date range, and the guest phone number. Also confirm that the guest completed the final Send Booking Request step.
My room is showing unavailable, what should I check?
Check room inventory, active status, confirmed or payment-requested bookings, paid-to-vendor bookings, and calendar blocks for those dates.
My WhatsApp link is not working, what should I check?
Check that the WhatsApp number includes the correct country code and digits only. For India, use a valid 10 digit mobile number or a normalized number beginning with 91.
My map link is wrong, how do I fix it?
Open your property edit page and replace the map link with the correct Google Maps share link. Save the property and test the public page again.
Owner Responsibilities
Clear boundaries for what the property handles directly.
Who confirms the booking?
The stay owner confirms the booking directly with the guest. Hopnest Direct records and organizes the booking request.
Who collects payment?
Payments are handled directly by the property. Hopnest Direct does not collect guest payments.
Who handles cancellation and refund?
Cancellation terms, refund decisions, and refund payments are handled directly by the stay owner and guest.
Who communicates with the guest?
The stay owner communicates directly with the guest through phone, WhatsApp, email, or any channel the property prefers.