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Sticky Guest

Step-by-step walkthroughs for every key task — from first setup to daily operations.

Setup 6 steps · 15 min read

Setting Up Your Property

Configure your hotel name, check-in times, rooms, and rates so you are ready to take your first booking.

  1. 1

    Set your hotel name and check-in times

    Go to Settings > Hotel Settings. Enter your Hotel Name — this appears on all printed documents and receipts. Set your standard Check-in Time and Check-out Time. These become the defaults on every new reservation.

    You can also set a Default Length of Booking (in days) here to save time on back-to-back same-duration stays.
  2. 2

    Configure booking defaults

    Still in Hotel Settings, scroll to Booking Management. Enable Show Number of Adults / Children if you track occupancy, Show Referred By to record how guests found you, and set a Default Reservation Status (e.g. Confirmed) so new bookings open pre-filled.

  3. 3

    Add your rooms

    Go to Configure > Room List. Click Add Room for each room at your property. Give each room a name (e.g. "Room 101" or "Garden Suite"), assign it a Room Type, and add any notes. Rooms appear immediately in both calendars and the booking wizard.

    Create your Room Types first (Configure > Room Type List) so you can assign them as you add rooms.
  4. 4

    Define seasons and rates

    Go to Configure > Season List to create named date ranges (e.g. Peak Summer, Shoulder, Off-Peak). Then go to Configure > Rate List to set prices per room type per season. These rates can be added to reservations automatically via the Add Room Charges button in billing.

  5. 5

    Set up payment methods

    Go to Configure > Payment Method List and add the methods you accept — Cash, Card, Bank Transfer, and any others. These appear in the payment dropdown when recording payments on a reservation.

  6. 6

    Invite your team

    Go to Settings > User Permissions to create staff accounts and assign roles. Front desk staff need Manage Reservations and Manage Guests permissions. Managers add View Reports and Configure Settings as needed.

    Each user can set their own home view (Simple or Advanced Calendar) under Settings > General Interface Settings.
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Daily Operations 6 steps · 8 min read

Creating Your First Reservation

Walk through the 5-step booking wizard — Dates, Rooms, Guest, Billing, and Confirm — and record a complete reservation.

  1. 1

    Open the booking wizard

    From the Advanced Calendar, click any empty cell (a room on a date with no booking) and confirm the prompt to open the wizard with that room and date pre-filled. Alternatively, click New Reservation from the menu.

  2. 2

    Step 1 — Set arrival and departure dates

    Use the date pickers to choose the Arrival date and time, then the Departure date and time. The confirmation code, reservation status, and notes fields at the top of the page are always visible — fill them in at any step.

    Click any step label in the wizard bar to jump to it directly — you do not need to go through the steps in order.
  3. 3

    Step 2 — Select a room

    The room list shows every room with its availability status for your chosen dates. Available rooms have a tick — rooms already booked or blocked for maintenance show as unavailable. Tick one or more rooms to include in this reservation. Use the Room Group Filter dropdown to narrow the list if needed.

  4. 4

    Step 3 — Add guest details

    Click Find Existing Guest to search for a returning guest by name — their details fill in automatically. For a new guest, type their name, email, phone, and any other fields shown. If the person paying is different from the guest (e.g. a company), untick Guest and Billing Account are the same and fill in the separate billing account section.

    All details you enter here are saved to the guest profile and accessible from the Guest List for future stays.
  5. 5

    Step 4 — Record charges and payment

    Click Add Chargeable Item to add room rate charges, extras, or fees. Set quantity, unit price, and tax rate for each. Click Add Payment to record a deposit or full payment — choose the payment method, enter the amount, and set the date. The Balance Due total updates automatically.

  6. 6

    Step 5 — Confirm and send

    The final step shows a summary of dates, rooms, and guest details. Click Print Confirmation or Email Confirmation to send the guest their booking confirmation. Click Finish at any point to save the reservation.

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Daily Operations 5 steps · 6 min read

Managing Guests

Find returning guests, build up their history, and use guest records to personalise every stay.

  1. 1

    Browse and filter the guest list

    Open Guest List from the menu. Use the Booking Filter dropdown to focus on guests Arriving within 7 days, Departed within last 30 days, or all guests. Use the search box to find a specific guest by name. Click any row to open their full record.

  2. 2

    Add a new guest

    Click Add Guest (top right of the Guest List page) to open a blank guest record. Fill in name, contact details, address, and any preferences. Fields shown depend on your Hotel Settings — unused fields can be hidden to keep the form clean.

    You can also create a new guest directly from Step 3 of the booking wizard without leaving the reservation.
  3. 3

    View a guest's booking history

    Click the History button on any row in the Guest List to see every reservation linked to that guest — confirmation codes, arrival and departure dates — in one view. Click any row to open a summary of that stay.

  4. 4

    Combine receipts across multiple stays

    Click Combine Receipt on any guest row to open the combined receipt page. Select the stays you want to merge and generate a single receipt document covering all charges and payments. Useful for corporate guests or regular visitors who want one invoice per period.

  5. 5

    Export your guest list

    To export guest data to a spreadsheet, use the Download CSV option from the Guest List toolbar. The export includes all visible columns and respects any active filter or search.

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Daily Operations 5 steps · 7 min read

Using the Calendars

Master both calendar views — the Simple daily list and the Advanced room grid — to manage your property at a glance.

  1. 1

    Simple Calendar — read today's list

    The Simple Calendar shows all reservations for a single selected date as a list. Click any date on the monthly calendar on the left to load that day. Each row shows arrival and departure times, room(s), status colour, and guest name. Click a row to see a quick summary, or click Edit to open the full reservation.

    The calendar remembers the last date you selected. On mobile, reservations appear as cards with Edit Booking and Summary buttons.
  2. 2

    Simple Calendar — filter by room group

    If room groups are configured, a Room Group Filter dropdown appears above the list. Select a group to show only reservations for rooms in that group — useful for properties with multiple floors or wings.

  3. 3

    Advanced Calendar — navigate and read reservations

    The Advanced Calendar shows rooms as columns and dates as rows. Reservations appear as coloured bars. Use the arrow buttons to move forward or backward through dates, or click the date field to jump to a specific date. Click any reservation bar to see a menu: Summary, Edit, or Close.

  4. 4

    Advanced Calendar — add a booking from the grid

    Click any empty cell (a room on a date with no booking). When the confirmation prompt appears, click OK to open the booking wizard with that room and date already filled in.

  5. 5

    Advanced Calendar — move a booking between rooms

    Click and drag an existing reservation bar to a different room column. The system checks whether the destination room is available for those dates. If it is, a confirmation prompt shows the change — confirm to save. If the room is unavailable or blocked for maintenance, an alert explains why the move cannot be made.

    Drag-and-drop only changes the room, not the dates. To change dates, open the reservation and edit Step 1.
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Reporting 4 steps · 5 min read

Running Reports

Use the built-in reports to track occupancy, revenue, and guest activity — no configuration required.

  1. 1

    Statistics Report — ADR, RevPAR, and occupancy

    Go to Reports > Statistics Report. Choose a date and click Display Report. The report shows Average Daily Rate (ADR), Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR), total rooms available, rooms booked, and occupancy percentage for that date. Use this as your daily performance snapshot.

    If room groups are configured, use the Room Group Filter to see statistics for a specific section of your property.
  2. 2

    Finance Summary Report — income by date range

    Go to Reports > Finance Summary Report. Set a From Date and To Date. Tick Include Chargeable Items, Include Tax, and Include Booking Payment / Deposits as needed. Click Display Report. Results are based on the check-out date of each booking — use this report at the end of each week or month.

  3. 3

    Arrivals & Departures Report — daily operations

    Go to Reports > Arrivals and Departures Report. The date defaults to today. Click Display Report to see every guest arriving and departing with their reservation status. Click Export to CSV to download the list for printing or sharing with housekeeping.

  4. 4

    Other reports available

    Sticky Guest includes 10+ additional reports: Guest Billing (per-guest charge breakdown), Guest Payment, Guest Deposit, Outstanding Balance (unpaid reservations), Cleaning Schedule, Referral Source, Reservation list, Cancelled Reservations, Commission, and Reservations by Guest Type. All are available under the Reports menu with no setup required.

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Integrations 4 steps · 10 min read

Setting Up Integrations

Connect Sticky Guest to your email server for guest confirmations, and to Zapier for workflow automation.

  1. 1

    Enable email confirmations via SMTP

    Go to Configure > Integrations and click Guest Emails (SMTP). Enter your SMTP Host (e.g. smtp.gmail.com), Port (587 for TLS), Username, and Password. Set the From Email Address and From Display Name guests will see in their inbox. Click Test Connection to verify, then Save.

    If using Gmail, create an App Password in your Google account security settings rather than using your regular password.
  2. 2

    Send a confirmation email from a reservation

    Once SMTP is configured, open any reservation and go to Step 5 (Confirm). An Email Confirmation and Email Receipt button will appear. Click either to send directly to the guest's email address on their profile.

  3. 3

    Connect to Zapier for automation

    Go to Configure > Integrations and click Zapier. Your Public API Key is shown — click Copy Key to Clipboard. Tick Enable Link and click Save. In your Zapier account, create a new Zap using StickyGuest as the trigger app and paste in your API key when prompted.

    The Zapier integration sends reservation data to Zapier triggers. Use it to push new bookings to Google Sheets, send Slack notifications, or trigger any automation your property needs.
  4. 4

    Set up the online availability feed

    Go to Configure > Integrations and click Online Availability Feed. Enable the integration and copy the feed URL. Paste this URL into your online booking channel or channel manager to keep availability in sync automatically.

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Setup 4 steps · 8 min read

Booking Statuses & Custom Fields

Create custom reservation statuses with colour coding, and add custom fields to capture property-specific guest and booking information.

  1. 1

    Create booking statuses

    Go to Configure > Booking Status List. Click Add Booking Status. Give it a name (e.g. Confirmed, Tentative, Checked In, Checked Out) and choose a colour — this colour appears on reservation bars in the Advanced Calendar and in the Simple Calendar list. Create as many statuses as your property needs.

    Set your most common status as the Default Reservation Status in Hotel Settings so new bookings open pre-filled.
  2. 2

    Add guest-level custom fields

    Go to Configure > Guest Custom Fields. Click Add Custom Field. Choose a field type (text, number, date, yes/no), give it a label (e.g. "Dietary Requirements", "Loyalty Number"), and set whether it is required. Guest custom fields appear on the Guest step of the booking wizard and on the guest record.

  3. 3

    Add booking-level custom fields

    Go to Configure > Booking Custom Fields. Click Add Custom Field. Booking-level fields appear in the Billing step of the booking wizard and capture information specific to the stay rather than the guest — useful for things like parking requirements or special requests.

  4. 4

    Set up guest types

    Go to Configure > Guest Type List and add the categories that matter to your property (e.g. Leisure, Corporate, Group, Travel Agent). Guest types appear in the Reservations by Guest Type report and can be filtered in the guest list.

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Maintenance 5 steps · 5 min read

Tracking Maintenance

Log room repairs and scheduled jobs, track their status, and ensure rooms blocked for maintenance cannot be accidentally booked.

  1. 1

    Enable maintenance in Hotel Settings

    Go to Settings > Hotel Settings and scroll to Maintenance Management. Tick Enable Maintenance. Set the Default Maintenance Status for new tasks (e.g. Open) and the status used when a task is Marked as Complete (e.g. Completed). Click Save.

  2. 2

    Create maintenance statuses

    Go to Configure > Maintenance Status List. Click Add Maintenance Status to create the statuses your team uses — for example: Open, In Progress, Waiting on Parts, Completed. These appear in the Status Filter on the Maintenance Task List and on each task record.

  3. 3

    Add a maintenance task

    Go to Maintenance > Maintenance Task List. Click Add Maintenance Task. Enter the Task Name (e.g. "Room 12 — shower head replacement"), set the Due date, assign a Status, and add any notes. Save the task. The room will now show as unavailable for maintenance in the booking wizard — the Rooms step displays "Not available due to maintenance" for that room.

  4. 4

    Monitor outstanding work

    The Maintenance Task List defaults to hiding completed tasks, keeping the view focused on outstanding work. Use the Status Filter dropdown to filter by a specific status, or select (No Filter) to see everything including completed tasks. Search and sort columns to prioritise.

  5. 5

    Mark a task complete and release the room

    Click any task to open it. Change the Status to your completed status (e.g. Completed). Save. The room is immediately available for booking again — no extra steps needed.

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