How to send your check-in link automatically with Booking.com message templates

Booking.com doesn’t share your guests’ real email address, so you can’t write to them directly to send the online check-in. The solution lives in the extranet itself: message templates let you schedule an automatic message for every reservation, and HazCheckin’s property check-in link is a fixed link that works for every reservation of that property. Combine them once and forget about it: every guest will receive their online check-in at the moment you choose, without you doing a thing.

How it works

The property check-in link is a unique, stable URL per property. When a guest opens it, they enter their stay dates, HazCheckin finds their reservation and the usual check-in continues: details, ID document and signature. Since the link never changes between reservations, you can paste it into a Booking.com template and schedule it to send itself, for example, a few days before arrival.

• One link per property. Nothing to generate or copy for each reservation.
• Booking.com sends it for you. The scheduled template reaches the guest through Booking.com’s chat and email, at the reservation stage you choose.
• If we can’t find the reservation, we let you know. When a guest submits dates and no reservation matches, you’ll get a notification to create it in one click.

Before you start

You need two things:

• The property check-in link enabled in HazCheckin (covered in step 1).
• A Booking.com extranet account with admin rights: only admin users can create or edit templates.

Step 1: copy your property check-in link

1. In your HazCheckin dashboard, go to Properties and open the relevant property.
2. Scroll down to the Property check-in link section and turn on the Enable link toggle if it isn’t on yet.
3. Copy the URL shown (something like https://guest.hazcheckin.com/p/…) with the share button or by selecting it directly.

This is the link you’ll paste into the template. The property must be active to enable it.

That same card includes a ready-to-copy template, with one tab per channel: the Booking.com one carries the written message and the link with the date placeholders already in place (the ones from the step below). Copying it saves you writing the message from scratch.

Step 2: add the URL to Booking.com’s allowed-links list

Booking.com filters the links shared in messages for security. To make sure your check-in link always reaches the guest:

1. Sign in to the Booking.com extranet with your admin user.
2. Go to the Property tab and select Messaging preferences.
3. Open the Security settings and add the check-in link URL to the allowed-links list (whitelist).

Step 3: create the template with the check-in link

1. In the extranet, go to Property → Messaging preferences (in the Pulse app: More → Messaging preferences).
2. Select the Message templates tab and click Create new template.
3. Write the message and include the check-in link as text. You can use Booking.com’s pre-filled blocks and placeholders so the guest’s name, the property or the check-in time fill themselves in.
4. Confirm the template’s language and attach images if you like.
5. Click Continue, enter the Template name, pick a Template topic and click Save template.

The official details on templates, the scheduler and automatic replies are in the Booking.com partner help.

An example message you can adapt:

Thanks for your reservation! To speed up your arrival, please complete the online check-in before you get here; it only takes a couple of minutes. Open this link, enter your stay dates and follow the steps from your phone: https://guest.hazcheckin.com/p/… See you soon!

Two important details:

• Don’t attach the QR code. Booking.com won’t let you save a template with a QR code attached; always paste the link as text. HazCheckin’s downloadable QR is meant for printing at reception or inside the property.
• Create the template in several languages using the same name for each version: Booking.com automatically sends the one matching the guest’s preferred language and falls back to the default language if it doesn’t exist (Booking.com recommends English as the default, unless almost all your guests speak another language). HazCheckin’s check-in already adapts to the guest’s language on its own.

Step 4: schedule the automatic send

1. In Property → Messaging preferences, go to the Template scheduler tab and click Schedule template.
2. Select when you want to send it. Booking.com lets you schedule it at these stages: when the guest books, one week before arrival, three days before, one day before, on the day of arrival or one day before check-out.
3. Pick your template from the dropdown, review the preview and click Add to schedule.

For the online check-in, what works best is scheduling it when the guest books and repeating it three days before arrival as a reminder for anyone who hasn’t completed it yet. Sent messages show up in your extranet and Pulse inbox, so you can always confirm they went out.

Skip the dates step too with Booking.com’s placeholders

The check-in link accepts the stay dates as parameters (?checkin=…&checkout=…). When valid dates come in, HazCheckin looks up the reservation automatically and the guest goes straight into their check-in, without ever seeing the calendar.

Booking.com’s template editor includes check-in date and check-out date placeholders (alongside guest name, property, number of nights…). To combine them with the link:

1. In the template body, write your link’s URL followed by ?checkin=.
2. With the cursor right after the =, click the check-in date placeholder to insert it there.
3. Type &checkout= next and, again with the cursor after the =, insert the check-out date placeholder.

In the editor the result looks like https://guest.hazcheckin.com/p/…?checkin=[CHECKIN_DATE]&checkout=[CHECKOUT_DATE], and on send Booking.com replaces each placeholder with the reservation’s real dates. [CHECKIN_DATE] and [CHECKOUT_DATE] are the Booking.com editor’s literal tokens — the ready-to-copy template in your dashboard already includes them, so pasting it is usually enough; check when saving that the editor recognizes them as placeholders (if your extranet uses different names, insert them with the buttons instead). HazCheckin understands the date in practically any format Booking.com might emit: numeric (2026-08-24, 24/08/2026) or with the month spelled out (“24 August 2026”, “Aug 24, 2026”…) in the main languages.

Booking.com doesn’t document the exact format it substitutes these placeholders with in each language, so run a test with a real reservation before considering it final. There’s no risk in trying: if the date arrives in an unrecognizable format — or the placeholder never gets substituted — the link keeps working as usual and the guest simply sees the regular calendar.

What the guest will see

When the guest opens the link, they’ll see your property’s check-in page, with your logo and colours if you’ve set them up. They’ll enter their stay dates, HazCheckin will find their reservation and they’ll complete the usual check-in: personal details, ID document and signature. With that, HazCheckin takes care of the guest report to SES.HOSPEDAJES on time.

If they enter dates with no matching reservation (for example, because the reservation hasn’t been imported yet), nothing is lost: you’ll receive a notification with their details so you can create the reservation in one click.

Combine it with the calendar import

This template is the perfect companion to the Booking.com calendar sync via iCal: the calendar brings reservations into your dashboard automatically (dates only, because Booking.com doesn’t share the guest’s identity) and the template makes sure every guest receives the link and fills in their real details. Between the two, the loop closes with no manual work: the reservation arrives on its own and the check-in reaches the guest on its own.

Frequently asked questions

When should I schedule the send?

Our recommendation is twofold: when the guest books (the process is fresh and they sort it out right away) and a reminder three days before arrival. Avoid leaving it for the day of arrival only: the sooner the guest completes the check-in, the sooner you have their details.

Can I use the same link on Airbnb or other channels?

Yes. The property check-in link doesn’t depend on the channel: it works for any reservation of that property. For Airbnb there’s a dedicated guide using Airbnb scheduled messages; you can also add it to your website or your own email.

Can I add the check-in and check-out dates to the link?

Yes. The link accepts checkin and checkout parameters and, with valid dates, the guest skips the calendar step: we look up their reservation automatically and they go straight into their check-in. On Booking.com you fill them with the template editor’s date placeholders, as explained above. In your PMS or your own emails, use their date variables: https://guest.hazcheckin.com/p/…?checkin=2026-08-20&checkout=2026-08-25 (YYYY-MM-DD is the safest format, though we also understand 24/08/2026, “24 August 2026” and similar). And if a date arrives in an invalid format, nothing breaks: the calendar is simply shown to fill in by hand.

Why can’t I attach the QR to the template?

It’s a Booking.com limitation: message templates with a QR code attached can’t be saved. Paste the link as text in the template and keep the QR for reception or for printing inside the property.

Does it work with reservations imported via iCal?

Yes, and it’s the ideal case. Reservations imported from the calendar arrive with a placeholder guest; when the guest completes the check-in from the template’s link, their real identity (name, document, signature) is recorded on that same reservation.

What if the guest doesn’t complete the check-in?

Schedule the three-days-before-arrival reminder and, if it’s still pending, message them directly from the extranet inbox reusing the same template. You can also send them their reservation’s individual link from your HazCheckin dashboard.