Creating Linked Reservations

You can create any number of linked reservations directly in the New Reservation dialog, which allows quick and flexible linking when creating reservations. The default "Linking Mode" is mixed-mode, but other options are available if you need to quickly create reservations all linked the same way.

Note: If you're new to Linked Reservations, be sure to read the Overview and Linked Reservation Examples sections first to get the basics. This section is much more detailed and advanced than most people need.

The New Reservation dialog has a "Linking..." button below the grid. This allows you to change the linking mode for the sites (reservations) being added in the current session, and also allows you to set one of the modes as the default linking mode for all new reservations. When you click the Linking button, a dialog will appear with the linking choices:

Mixed linking modes -- this allows the most flexibility but isn't always the quickest. See below for a full explanation of using this mode.

All Synchronized -- This is used if you want all sites selected to be linked as synchronized reservations -- all dates, etc. will be the same.

All Sub-members -- This will make all reservations sub-members of the first one, so that the billing is combined but the dates could be different (and each reservation needs to be checked in and out separately).

All Non-synchronized -- This will create non-synchronized reservations for the sites, so billing is separate. While they will all be made for the same customer initially, you can easily change the customer for each one later.

Not linked at all -- This will create multiple reservations for the same customer, but they will not be linked at all. The customer for each one can be changed later if necessary.

There's also a "Save" checkbox at the bottom that you can check to make this new linking mode the default each time you enter the New Reservation dialog.

Note that when the linking mode is All non-synchronized, All sub-members, or Not linked at all, then when adding sites you can either let them all be made on the same dates or you can change the dates for each one. As you add sites, each new one will be "selected" in the Sites Added list. Any changes you make to the First and Last dates (or periods), ETA, or "Don't Move" option will affect only that site (and will be the default for the next site added). So to add sites with different dates be sure to add the site first, then change the dates. This is different than in Mixed mode, where you would have to uncheck "Synchronize with", change the dates, then add the site.

This is the default mode and allows flexibility, so we recommend leaving it in this mode unless you do mostly large groups that need to be non-synchronized.

In this mode, there will be two check-boxes next to the Add Selection(s) button. For a single site/reservation, they have no affect. However once a site is added, the checks in these boxes determine how a subsequent reservation is linked to the previous one (or to be specific, how it's linked to the reservation currently selected in the Site(s) added list).

Also note that the Site(s) Added list is a drop-down box, not just text. This allows you to view the currently added sites/reservations regardless of how many there are, and it will be a tree structure with indicators as described above. Additionally, you can select any single site and use the Delete button to remove just that site from the list (or use Clear All as before). Most importantly, you can select any site in the list after adding it to change its dates, preferences, etc. and add linked sites to it (e.g. sub-members). This allows a complete structure to be created as in the example above, all while in the New Reservation dialog.

The "Synchronize with" box is checked by default, which means all sites will automatically be synchronized if you add multiple sites using Quick Pick or double-clicking on the grid. (For convenience, the synchronized sites are also listed in the same line as the owner so you don't have to drop down the list to see the first few synchronized sites).

To make a Sub-member reservation, make sure the desired "owner" reservation is selected in the Site(s) Added list, check the "Sub-member of" box, and adjust the dates if needed. Then add the site you want to be a sub-member (using Quick-Pick, double-click, or the Add Selection(s) button after selecting a site in the grid).

To make a Non-synchronized site (for separate billing), uncheck both of the boxes (so it's not synchronized or a sub-member), and then add the site as above.

Important: Any time the "Synchronize with:" box is checked, any changes to the dates, reservation type, or preferences will affect the currently selected (shown) site in Site(s) Added, and of course any of those synchronized with it. Thus it's a method to alter sites already added, but you also need to be careful to avoid altering a site when you didn't mean to.

Once all of the sites have been added as needed, save the reservation as usual and all of the appropriately linked reservations will be created. Note that if you use buttons like "Check In" or "Guarantee", this will only affect the top-level reservation or any synchronized with it. Sub-members and non-synchronized reservations will remain as Pending since their status does not stay synchronized with their owners.

Example: To create the reservation structure illustrated earlier, you would follow these steps after entering New Reservation:

5.	Uncheck "Synchronize with" (prepare to add non-synchronized reservations, linked to RV 1, which is still selected)

6.	Change the dates if needed for RV 4 (note that you must uncheck "Synchronize with" before changing dates, or else it would affect the RV 1/2/3 sites)

7.	Add RV 4 (note that RV 4 will now be selected in the Site(s) Added list)

8.	Uncheck "Synchronize with" again (it's automatically checked each time you add a site, so subsequent synchronized sites can be added easily -- but we don't' want that)

Add RV 5 (RV 5 will now be selected in the list) Also note that it added RV 5 as a non-synchronized site with RV 1 as the owner, even though RV 4 was selected. Since there's no reason to have multiple levels of non-synchronized sites, it simplifies the structure automatically. The same would be true of Synchronized sites added to each other.

15.	Check "Sub-member of" (prepare to add the boat slip and kayak to RV 4)

Note that you can easily review any of the additions by selecting a particular site in the Site(s) Added list. The dates, etc. will be changed to match that site/reservation, and the grid will be moved if necessary to show the selected site (shown as <new> in the grid).

If you're booking a large group and don't want to select specific sites manually, you can use the Qty entry field to let Campground Master automatically select and add as many sites as you need to the reservation. Note that this feature is disabled by default, but can be enabled through Maintenance / Program Options / Reservations.

To use automatic selection, first select the type of site and any preferences, and of course select the first and last night to be reserved. (If you don't care about the site type, or if all of your sites are the same, you don't need to select the type or preferences.) Enter a number in the Qty field, and click Add Selection(s). Campground Master will add as many sites as you request, starting from the top, including only sites which match the selected type and preferences and which are available for the dates selected.

Note that these selections will automatically be assumed to be synchronized with each other by default (they will be linked with the selected site in the Site(s) Added list using the linking option you choose, but they will be synchronized with each other). If you prefer that they be linked together as sub-members or non-synchronized instead, you can enter a qualifier in front of the quantity number (=, or # or > just like the link prefixes mentioned above) to specify how they should be linked together. The first site will be linked as selected in the checkboxes after Add Selection(s), but the rest will be linked to the first one depending on the prefix before the number. For instance, to add 5 sites all linked as non-synchronized, make sure that neither the Synchronized with nor the Sub-member of boxes are checked and enter "#5" in the Qty field, instead of just "5".

The Qty field can also be used to reserve multiple synchronized sites without assigning sites to them. (This will make them all unassigned and will require you to assign a site to each one individually before they check in, so use this with caution.) Simply enter a number in the Qty field, and enter all of the other information as usual. When you click Done or any of the other "completion" buttons at the bottom, it will create that number of unassigned reservations, all synchronized with each other.

Creating Linked Reservations - Details