How to handle a walk-in guest

Walk-ins are last-minute revenue when handled well — the room would have stayed empty otherwise. Speed matters: the guest is at the desk, often after a long travel day, and a slow process loses the booking to the property next door. This article maps the fastest end-to-end flow.

Step 1 — Find an available room

Open the front-desk dashboard or the reservations calendar. Filter by tonight's date and the room type the guest wants. Confirm the room is Inspected (or Clean if your workflow skips inspection). Note the room number — you'll assign it during the reservation.

Step 2 — Create the reservation

Click + New Reservation. Fill in:

• Check-in: today. Check-out: as agreed.
• Room type and the specific room you found in step 1.
• Number of guests (per category).
• Rate plan — pick the walk-in rate or the standard rate per your policy.
• Guest profile — search by name first (returning guest?). Otherwise create new with first name, ID document, contact email and phone.

Save. The reservation now exists in the system; the room shows as occupied for tonight on the calendar.

Step 3 — Check in

On the new reservation, click Check-in. The reservation status flips to CHECKIN and the room shows as occupied for housekeeping. Print the registration card for signature, and if your property requires it, capture the guest's ID/passport in the check-in modal.

Step 4 — Take payment

From the reservation's payment panel, take payment in full (or one night's deposit + card auth for the rest, per policy). Methods: card via terminal or HotelBee Payments, cash into the open shift, bank transfer if pre-arranged. Once recorded, the payment shows on the folio against that method, and the outstanding balance updates.

Step 5 — Hand over the key

Cut and program the room key. Hand to guest with a brief property orientation (Wi-Fi password, breakfast hours, departure time, key contact). Optionally text or email the guest portal link if their email is on file.

Total time

Practiced, the whole flow takes 3-5 minutes. Speed comes from doing the steps in order without backtracking — find the room, create the reservation, check in, take payment, hand over key. If you find yourself flipping between screens, you're doing it slower than you need to.