Platform 2.0 - What Are "Expired" Reservations?

Expired reservations appear in the Reservations tab when a booking was started but not completed. These are essentially abandoned reservation attempts and do not represent confirmed or held bookings.

Why Do Reservations Expire?

Reservations expire when:

A guest begins a booking in the Guest Portal but does not finish the checkout process.
The system detects inactivity or abandonment before the final confirmation step is reached on a reservation made by a campground user.

Key Points:

Expired reservations do not hold sites and are not visible on the Dashboard.
These entries can show up in reservation reports or searches but cannot be resumed or recovered.
If a guest or staff member wants to complete a booking after it has expired, a new reservation must be started from scratch.

Avoiding Expired Reservations

For staff using the Manager Portal, reservations should not expire if done properly. Here's how to ensure that:

At the final step, choose a payment option:
- If the guest is not paying now, select “Continue without Payment.”
After selecting a payment option, the “Create a reservation” button will activate.
Clicking “Create a reservation” will move the reservation to a Booked state, ensuring it doesn’t expire.

If this final step is skipped, the reservation will initially save in Draft mode. You will need to edit it to complete the process. If you do not, it may appear as expired later.

Can Expired Reservations Be Recovered?

No, once a reservation is marked as Expired, it cannot be reactivated or resumed. If you need to complete the reservation, it must be re-entered manually as a new reservation.

Best Practices for Campground Staff

Always ensure the last step in the reservation flow is completed, even if no payment is taken.
Train staff to select “Continue without Payment” when necessary, to prevent accidental expiration.
Regularly review any expired entries to catch patterns (e.g., guests who abandon bookings at the same point).