In short
From Tuesday 15 December, Vikey will no longer allow two stays on the same nights in the same property. Three things change:
From the dashboard, you can no longer save a reservation on nights that are already taken.
From channels (Airbnb, Booking.com and others, through your channel manager or PMS), the conflicting reservation still arrives but stays blocked: the guest receives no link or code until you resolve it.
Cleaners and technicians get a new reservation type, Maintenance/cleaning, with no check-in and no reporting to the authorities.
What to do now: before 15 December, check your calendar and resolve any existing overbookings (see "What to do before 15 December").
When two reservations overlap
Two reservations conflict when they are in the same property and share at least one night.
These never conflict:
a same-day turnover: one guest checks out and the next checks in on the same day;
cancelled reservations;
maintenance/cleaning reservations.
Which reservation stays valid
The reservation made first stays valid. What counts is the day the guest booked, not the arrival date.
Example
Guest | Booked on | Nights | Result |
Rossi | 1 October | 10 to 14 November | Valid |
Bianchi | 5 October | 12 to 15 November | Conflict: the nights of 12 and 13 already belong to Rossi |
Verdi | 6 October | 14 to 17 November | Valid: arrives the day Rossi leaves |
Bianchi is in conflict because they booked after Rossi and share two nights with them. Verdi causes no problem: Rossi leaves on the 14th and Verdi arrives the same day, a normal same-day turnover.
Reservations entered from the dashboard
This section is about reservations you create manually in Vikey.
When you create a reservation, or change its property or dates, Vikey immediately checks that the nights are free. If they are not, the reservation is not saved and you see the message "Duplicate reservation".
You can always edit other details of an existing reservation, such as the guest's name or phone number: the check only applies when the property or dates change.
If you see "Duplicate reservation"
Check the calendar to see which reservation already takes those nights.
Choose the right fix:
if you entered the wrong dates, correct them;
if it is a duplicate of the same reservation, cancel it;
if cleaners or technicians actually need to get in, create a maintenance/cleaning reservation (see the dedicated section).
Reservations from channel managers and PMS
This section is about reservations you don't enter manually, but that arrive automatically from Airbnb, Booking.com or other portals through your channel manager, PMS or booking engine.
These reservations are always created, because the portal has already confirmed them to the guest. However, if they overlap with a reservation made earlier, Vikey sets their check-in status to "Blocked" and sends you an overbooking email. The email is sent even if you have turned off emails for that reservation.
What happens while the reservation is blocked
For | What happens |
You (host) | You cannot activate online check-in for that reservation. |
Guest | Receives no automatic messages (email, SMS, WhatsApp and other channels): no check-in link and no access codes. |
Guest | If they open the check-in link anyway, they cannot get past any step. |
Guest | If they ask the AI assistant, they are told check-in is blocked and to contact the host. |
How it gets unblocked
Unblocking is automatic. As soon as the conflict is gone, the reservation goes back to normal and check-in resumes, with nothing to do in Vikey. The conflict is gone when:
you cancel one of the two reservations;
you move one of the two to free dates;
the portal updates the reservation's dates.
Note: skipped messages are not resent
Automatic messages that were due while the reservation was blocked are not sent after it is unblocked. If you resolve the conflict close to arrival, send the guest the check-in link manually.
Maintenance/cleaning reservations
This is a new reservation type for people who need to enter the property without being guests: cleaning companies, technicians, maintenance staff. Its only purpose is to give access to the property.
How to turn it on
When you create the reservation from the dashboard, turn on the "Maintenance/cleaning reservation" option.
What it does
No online check-in: the reservation is ready straight away; no documents, contract or payments are requested.
No reporting to the authorities: it is not sent to Alloggiati Web, Ricestat, ISTAT Sicilia, ISTAT Trento, SES Hospedajes (Spain) or Ubyport (Czech Republic).
No conflicts: it can overlap with a stay, for example for a cleaning during a long stay, and it does not block guest reservations.
Limitation
The option is available only for reservations created in Vikey. A reservation coming from a channel manager or PMS cannot be turned into maintenance/cleaning: if you try, you will see the message "A reservation from an integration or channel manager cannot be set as maintenance/cleaning".
Tip: always register cleanings with this option, so they don't take up your guest calendar and are not reported to the authorities.
What to do before 15 December
On 15 December, overlaps already in your calendar will be blocked immediately, with no warning email. The guests involved will not receive links or codes until you resolve them.
To avoid this:
Open the calendar and check the coming weeks, property by property.
Look for stays that share at least one night in the same property.
For each overlap, cancel or move the wrong reservation.
If one of the two is actually a cleaning entered in Vikey, turn it into a maintenance/cleaning reservation.
Frequently asked questions
I have a check-out and a check-in on the same day: will Vikey block it? No. A same-day turnover is normal and does not count as an overlap.
Two reservations conflict: which one stays valid? The one made first, based on the day the guest booked, not the arrival date.
I received an overbooking email: what should I do? A reservation from a portal overlaps with another one. Cancel or move one of the two: the reservation unblocks on its own. If arrival is close, send the check-in link manually.
Do I need to unblock the reservation in Vikey? No. As soon as the conflict is gone, unblocking is automatic.
Can I turn a reservation from Airbnb or Booking.com into a cleaning? No. The maintenance/cleaning option only applies to reservations created in Vikey.
Does a cleaning during a long stay block the guest's reservation? No. Maintenance/cleaning reservations can overlap with stays without creating conflicts.
For any other questions, contact our support team.