Booking and guest experience settings

Overview

Booking & Guest Experience lives under My Outfitter at /my-outfitter#booking-guest-experience. It is where you set outfitter-wide defaults for checkout add-ons, cancellation language, check-in/check-out messaging, downloadable or linked guest documents, and FAQs. It does not replace Listings, where you define individual trips, packages, availability, and most guest-facing trip detail.

From top to bottom, the page shows:

1. Add-ons — optional items offered at checkout before the reservation is finalized.
2. Cancellation policy — choose a policy from the catalog Mallard Bay loads for your account; if you pick a custom policy, you write the description yourself.
3. Check-in settings — optional defaults for Lodging Check-in and Non Lodging Check-in (each with default check-in and check-out times, optional “day before” / “day after” offsets, and the ability to disable check-in or check-out times).
4. Documents — What to expect documents (public URL required) that you can attach to specific listings and pricing packages. If your outfitter already has Liability waivers, they appear under a separate heading. The section menu’s Add action only starts a What to expect document; you can still View, Edit, and Delete waiver rows that already exist, same as other documents.
5. Frequently Asked Questions — outfitter-level Q&A for guests.

Together, these settings set expectations and rules across listings and bookings. They complement guest onboarding, forms, and automations, which you manage elsewhere, and they sit alongside Payments & Financials for money behavior (deposits, rates, coupons, Post-booking payments).

Prerequisites

• An outfitter must be selected so My Outfitter loads.
• Your team member permissions must allow editing the relevant sections; if menus or actions are missing, your role may be read-only for that outfitter.
• Cancellation policies in the editor are chosen from a list loaded for your account in the dashboard; choosing custom requires you to fill in the description field.
• Documents need a saved Url; without one, no card appears in the list (you can still Edit an existing record when needed).

Step-by-step usage in the dashboard

Open Booking & Guest Experience

1. Open My Outfitter (/my-outfitter).
2. In the section list for My Outfitter, choose Booking & Guest Experience (or go directly to #booking-guest-experience).

Each block uses the standard Edit or section ⋯ menu pattern: Edit opens the configuration modal where noted; ⋯ opens extra actions (e.g. Add FAQ).

Add-ons

What this does: Maintains optional upgrades and fees shown during checkout before the booking is finalized. The preview groups items under Trophy fees, Gear rentals, Meal upgrades, and Others when you have add-ons in those categories.

To manage

1. Find the Add-ons block and open Edit (modal title Edit Add-ons).
2. In the modal, review each category that has items. Use New Add-on to create another item.
3. Use assign to listings options where shown so each add-on applies to the right listings.
4. Use the per-category Reorder control to change order within a category when you have multiple items.
5. Use the enable control on each add-on so it is active for guests where the product allows it.

Empty state: When nothing is configured, the preview shows No add-ons enabled.

Cancellation policy

What this does: Sets which cancellation policy applies outfitter-wide and the text guests see (shown as the paragraph under the section title on this page).

To update

1. Open Edit on Cancellation policy (modal Edit policy).
2. Select one policy card from the list (title and subtitle on each card come from the loaded catalog).
3. If you select custom, a text area appears with placeholder Describe your policy here… — this field is required for custom policies.
4. Choose Update to save.

Check-in settings

What this does: Optionally sets outfitter-wide default check-in and check-out behavior for lodging vs non-lodging trips, or clears those overrides so other defaults apply.

To configure

1. Open Edit on Check-in settings (modal Edit Check-in Settings).
2. Toggle Set custom check in settings?
   • Off: Overrides are cleared; both Lodging Check-in and Non Lodging Check-in previews show No custom settings for Default Check-in and Default Check-out.
3. On: Configure:
   • Lodging Check-in — times for Default Check-in and Default Check-out, plus Is check-in day before? and Is check-out day after?
   • Non Lodging Check-in — the same pattern for day-trip-style products.
4. At the top of the detailed form, Disable check-in time and Disable check-out time can turn off those times while still using custom settings (disabled times show as Disabled in the preview).
5. Submit with Update.

Preview labels: Times append the day of, the day before, or the day after when those offsets are set.

Documents

What this does: Central library of What to expect and (when present) Liability waivers, each with a name, Url, and optional links to listings and pricing packages. Document cards only appear after a Url is saved on the record.

To add a What to expect document

1. Open the ⋯ menu on Documents and choose Add a what to expect document.
2. Complete the form (required name and Url; assign listings and pricing packages as needed) and Save.

On an existing document

• View opens the external link.
• Edit changes name, URL, and assignments.
• Delete opens a confirmation; if the document is still tied to listings or packages, the confirm action is disabled and the message explains to remove those associations first: Please update the document to remove the associated listings and or pricing packages and then delete.

Empty groups: A subsection with no rows shows None added.

Frequently Asked Questions

What this does: Stores outfitter-level FAQs for guests.

To add

1. ⋯ → Add FAQ (modal Add FAQ).
2. Enter Question and Answer, then Save.

Per FAQ

• Edit opens Edit FAQ.
• Delete asks for confirmation before removing the FAQ.

Order: When you have more than one FAQ, ⋯ also offers Reorder FAQs.

Common pitfalls

• Add-ons missing at checkout — They must be set up here (for checkout add-ons), enabled, and tied to the right listings. Post-booking charges are managed under My Outfitter → Payments & Financials → Post-booking payments, not in this section.
• Custom cancellation policy won’t save — The description is required when custom is selected; switching policy cards clears the description field in the form until you fill it again.
• Check-in only half configured — Lodging and non-lodging blocks are independent; leaving one unset still shows No custom settings for that block until you configure it.
• Document “disappeared” — Without a Url, no card is shown; edit the record and add a reachable public link.
• Cannot delete a document — Clear listing and pricing package links first; delete stays blocked until associations are removed.
• FAQ order — New FAQs are not auto-ordered; use Reorder FAQs when you have multiple entries.

Related workflows

• Listings — Trip-specific marketing, packages, and calendar; listings can reference outfitter documents and add-ons scoped to that trip.
• Bookings — After confirmation, payments, forms, waivers, and guest onboarding carry operational readiness; this page sets cross-cutting policy, documents, and FAQs.
• Payments & Financials — Deposits, taxes/rates, coupons, and Post-booking payments; not part of Booking & Guest Experience.
• Guest onboarding and forms — Structured intake and signatures often start from Forms / onboarding flows; outfitter documents here supply links and expectations that those flows can align with.

Limits of this guide: Exact placement of every setting on the public website, booking widget, or marketplace; whether template cancellation policies meet your legal needs; and every guest-facing edge case for hourly or multi-day packages versus these check-in defaults.