Reservation Types

The reservation type is very important, and governs how the reservation is treated.  This will default to "Normal", which should be used for typical reservations, but the actual options available will depend on the types defined in the Reservation Types Pick List (any of the types can be renamed or disabled if your park has no need for them).  A description of each general type ("base type") is below:

Normal -- A short-term reservation, primary occupant of the site for the designated nights.  (It can also be used for long-term reservations that you don't want to include in monthly billing.)

Group -- Similar to a Normal reservation except that it allows linked reservations to have a "group leader" referenced on the Reservation Details.  This is typically used for reservations with multiple linked sites, and it allows easy customer changes (from the right-click menu on the Rack) as each group member confirms or checks in to the site.  Group reservations also appear in a different color on the Rack, with the group leader in a slightly darker color.  See the Groups and Linked Reservations section for more details.

Free Stay -- This can be selected for reservations where no charge will be due for the site.  This option will only appear for operators with Manager access or above.  Free Stay reservations will generally show no charges if auto-calculate is used, and will not appear on Monthly Billing even if they are long-term.

Guest -- This is a special type of reservation, and can only be created through the Manage Guests function on Reservation Details.  A Guest reservation occupies the same site as its host (thus many reservations can be made for the same site, presumably temporary guests of the primary ("Normal"), or "host" reservation.  Since they are separate reservations, they can have their own charges just like other reservations, and will appear on reports like Arrivals, Departures, and On Site.  On the Rack view, guests will be indicated on the pop-up tip when the mouse hovers over the cell, and will also be shown in the Quick-Info window (e.g. when the reservation is double-clicked).  See the section on Guest Management for further details.

Day Pass -- A Day Pass reservation is a simple reservation with first/last nights (usually just 1 "night"), and no site assigned.  If day passes are enabled, it's actually easier to use the Day Pass button on the bottom of the dialog to make a day pass reservation, particularly if they are already present and ready to "check in".

Monthly -- Monthly reservations are similar to Normal reservations.  Use this type if the reservation is a long-term reservation that will pay monthly instead of all at once.  Reservations must be Monthly in order for them to be included in the Monthly Billing function (see Working with Transactions).  This can also aid in filtering these kinds of reservations for reports, and makes the reservation appear in a distinct color on the Rack and other reports.  Depending on the settings in Maintenance / Program Options / Monthlies, selecting this type before changing the Last Night manually will automatically set the Last Night to an appropriate date for monthly reservations, and optionally set the Blocked date to an appropriate date.  For instance, it can reserve the site to the end of the year, or the end of next month, or make it a certain number of months long.

Owner -- This is essentially a "background" reservation.  It's typically used to designate the owner or long-term lessor of a site who isn't always present.  Even though the owner's name will appear on the Rack (unless "Show Owner reservations" is disabled on the Options), it won't block a site -- so other types of reservations can be made on top of the owner's reservation.  For times when the owner is actually present, a separate "Normal" reservation should be made so the site is blocked, and to have a record of when the owner is present.  There will be a special option on the right-click menu for owners, to make a reservation for the owner.

Hourly -- This is a special type for intra-day schedule reservations.  For more information, see the Hourly / Scheduled Reservations section.