Host onboarding guide

1. Getting started

Every BowTel host starts as a regular account holder and then enables host capabilities. There are three steps before you can publish a listing:

1. Create your account at /register and verify your email.
2. Become a host from Settings → Become a Host. This unlocks the /host section of the app, including the dashboard, listings, calendar, inbox, and earnings.
3. Connect Stripe at /host/connect. BowTel uses Stripe Connect to pay you — guests pay BowTel at the time of booking, and funds are transferred to your connected account on your payout schedule. You cannot publish a listing until this is complete.

Note: Your payout account is your responsibility. BowTel never stores your bank details — Stripe does. Update banking information directly through Stripe's hosted UI, reachable from Host settings → Payouts.

2. Creating your first listing

Start your first listing from Host → Onboarding. The onboarding flow walks you through:

• Property basics — address, type (entire place / private room / shared room), bedrooms, bathrooms, max guests.
• Amenities — what's included (Wi-Fi, kitchen, parking, laundry, pets allowed, etc.).
• House rules & check-in details — quiet hours, smoking policy, check-in instructions.
• Base pricing — the nightly rate shown to guests before fees.
• Cancellation policy — choose from BowTel's policy templates. This is locked into the booking at the moment a guest books (via bookingTermsSnapshot), so later edits won't affect existing reservations.

After onboarding you land on Host → Listings. Each listing has a detail page with tabs for editing information, photos, calendar, cohosts, messaging defaults, and smart-lock integrations.

3. Photos

Photos are the single largest driver of booking conversion. Upload and reorder photos at Host → Listings → Photos.

Tips:

• First photo is the hero. It appears in search results, city pages, and your BowTel Links storefront. Pick the shot that best represents the space — usually the living room or a wide exterior.
• Landscape orientation renders best on both mobile and desktop listing detail pages.
• 10+ photos is the recommended minimum. Cover every room, plus exterior, parking, and any standout amenities (hot tub, fireplace, view).

4. Pricing & availability

Pricing and availability are controlled from each listing's calendar at Host → Listings → Calendar.

You can set:

• Base nightly rate — the default price applied to any date not otherwise configured.
• Per-date overrides — click a date (or drag a range) to raise or lower the price for peak weekends, holidays, or slow seasons.
• Minimum stay length — per date or as a rolling default.
• Blocked dates — mark a date unavailable (personal use, maintenance, back-to-back bookings).
• Preparation days — automatic buffer between bookings so you have time to turn the property over.

BowTel also supports iCal import/export from Host → Settings → Integrations. If you list on other channels, sync calendars both ways so your availability stays consistent.

5. Multi-listing calendar

If you manage more than one property, the per-listing calendar gets unwieldy fast. Host → Calendar shows every listing on one grid — rows are listings, columns are dates — so you can see occupancy, bookings, and blocked dates across your whole portfolio at a glance.

This view is also the fastest way to:

• Spot gaps (open nights between bookings).
• Copy pricing between listings.
• Apply a blocked range across multiple listings (e.g. owner stay, maintenance window).

6. Inbox & messaging

Guest conversations live in Host → Inbox. Each thread is scoped to a single booking or inquiry, so context stays intact across the lifecycle (inquiry → booking → check-in → post-stay).

Two Aurora AI features (when enabled on your account) speed this up:

• Draft replies — Aurora suggests a reply based on the guest's message and your listing profile. You edit or send as-is. Nothing sends without your approval unless you've turned on automated responses.
• Automated messages — set templates for common triggers (booking confirmed, 24h pre-arrival, post-checkout thank-you) at Host → Settings → Automated messages.

7. Managing bookings

All reservations are in Host → Bookings. Each booking detail page shows the guest, dates, payment status, the locked-in cancellation terms, and any modifications the guest has requested.

From here you can:

• Accept or decline request-to-book reservations within the response window.
• Approve or reject modification requests (date changes, guest-count changes).
• Initiate a cancellation — the refund is calculated from the booking's locked-in policy snapshot.
• View the receipt — a PDF invoice the guest also sees.

Ratings are mutual and blind — neither party sees the other's review until both have submitted (or the 14-day window closes). See how ratings work for the full mechanic.

8. Earnings & payouts

Host → Earnings summarizes your net earnings: gross booking revenue, minus BowTel's service fee, minus any refunds issued, minus Stripe processing. The number shown there is what will land in your bank account, net of fees.

Payout cadence is set in your Stripe Connect dashboard, reachable from Host → Settings → Payouts. Stripe defaults to daily rolling payouts with a short reserve period on your first bookings.

Security deposits are configured separately at Host → Settings → Deposits. Deposits are authorized (not charged) at check-in and released at checkout unless you file a claim.

9. BowTel Links storefront

BowTel Links is a free direct-booking storefront for every host. Each host gets a branded URL of the form /d/your-token where guests see only your listings, on a page you can customize. Manage your storefront from Host → Links and Host → Settings → BowTel Links.

Use cases:

• Drive repeat guests away from OTAs. Share your Links URL on your business card, email signature, and social profiles. When past guests rebook directly, you (and they) avoid platform commissions elsewhere.
• Send discount links. Generate one-off discount tokens for specific guests or promotions; they're tracked separately from public storefront traffic.
• Keep your brand front and centre. Upload a header image and your logo; the storefront renders under your brand, not BowTel's.

10. Cohosting

Cohosting lets you delegate day-to-day management of a listing to another BowTel user — a property manager, a cleaning lead, a family member — without handing over your account.

From Host → Listings → Cohosts you can invite a cohost by email, pick their permission level (messaging only, full calendar control, etc.), and revoke access at any time. The cohost sees your listing under Host → Co-managed and earnings attributed to them under Host → Co-managed → Earnings.

If you're joining BowTel as a cohost for someone else's property, accept the invite from your email and the listing will appear under /host/co-managed when you next sign in.