Seasonal Contracts
Use this page to record seasonal and long-term stays, and to see whose agreement is running out.
Quick steps
- Click Lodging, open the Contracts tab and click New Contract. The booking form opens with This is a seasonal / long-term contract ticked.
- Pick the site type and the Specific Site, and enter the guest.
- Set the Check-in Date and Check-out Date to cover the whole stay — these are what hold the site.
- In the contract section, fill in the contract Start, End and the Rate ($) you agreed. Tick the renew box if the guest plans to come back.
- Click Create Reservation. It shows on the Contracts list.
- At the start of each month, click Expiring Soon to see contracts ending in the next 30 days.
The booking is still priced from the site type's rates. To charge an agreed seasonal price, give those sites their own site type with that price as its Monthly Rate or Weekly Rate.
Common questions
Does a contract renew itself? No. The renew tick is a note for you. Book next season yourself.
My new contract isn't on the Contracts list. The contract box wasn't ticked. Open the booking, click Edit, tick This is a seasonal / long-term contract, fill in the fields and click Update Reservation.
I don't see a Contracts tab. It's hidden by default for hotels, motels and B&Bs. Turn on Seasonal / long-term contracts under Settings → Edit Settings → Operations → Lodging Features.
More detail: switching contracts on, and the list
Many campgrounds let sites to seasonal campers for the whole summer, and some resorts and rentals take long-term tenants. A contract is an ordinary booking marked as a seasonal or long-term agreement, with its contract dates, the rate you agreed and whether the guest means to renew. The Contracts tab keeps them all in one list so you can see who is staying the season and whose agreement is running out.
Is It Switched On?
The Contracts tab is shown by default for campgrounds, resorts and vacation rentals, and hidden for hotels, motels and B&Bs. To change that, go to Settings → Edit Settings → Operations → Lodging Features and tick or untick Seasonal / long-term contracts. The same setting adds or removes the contract section on the booking form. See Lodging Settings.
The Contracts List
Open Lodging → Contracts — Seasonal Contracts, "Long-term and seasonal resident agreements".
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Guest | Who the contract is with. |
| Unit | The site, or TBD if none has been given yet. |
| Type | The site type. |
| Contract Period | The contract's start and end dates. An Expiring badge appears when it ends within the next 30 days. |
| Rate | The contract rate you entered, or the booking total if you left it blank. |
| Renewing | Yes or No — whether you ticked that the guest intends to renew. |
| Status | The booking's status. |
Rows for contracts ending in the next 30 days are shaded amber. View opens the booking.
Once you have at least one contract, three filters appear across the top:
| Filter | Shows |
|---|---|
| All | Every contract, whatever its status. |
| Active | Contracts whose booking is Confirmed or Checked In. |
| Expiring Soon | Active contracts ending between today and 30 days from now. Contracts that have already ended are not listed here. |
With no contracts yet, the page says No contracts — "For a long-term or seasonal stay, use New Contract above."
More detail: every contract step, and what the fields do
Setting Up a Contract
A contract is a booking first, so it needs dates that hold the site for the whole stay.
-
Click New Contract. The New Reservation form opens with This is a seasonal / long-term contract already ticked.
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Fill in the booking as usual — the site type, the Specific Site, the guest, and Check-in Date / Check-out Date covering the whole stay. See Taking a Booking.
-
Fill in the contract section:
Field Notes Start / End The contract's dates. Rate ($) The price you agreed. Guest intends to renew (a note for you — next season is not booked automatically) Tick if the guest has said they will be back next season. -
If you agreed a deposit, type it in Deposit ($). It is the deposit you are asking for — it is not recorded as paid until you click Mark paid in full or the guest pays.
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Click Create Reservation. The booking appears on the Contracts list straight away.
To change the contract details later, open the booking and click Edit.
What the Contract Fields Do — and Don't Do
The contract section is a record of your agreement. It does not change the booking itself:
- The booking's dates hold the site, not the contract dates. Make the booking's check-in and check-out dates cover the whole stay. The longest single booking is 365 nights.
- The Rate is not what the booking charges. The booking total is still worked out from the site type's rates — for a long stay, that usually means its weekly or monthly rate. See Long Stays. The booking form has no box for typing in a different price, so if you let seasonal sites at a set price, give them their own site type with that price as its Monthly Rate (or Weekly Rate).
- The renew tick is a note to yourself. Nothing renews a contract automatically — next season is never booked for you. When a guest is coming back, make the new booking for next season yourself.
More detail: troubleshooting and best practices
Troubleshooting
My new contract isn't on the Contracts list. The contract box was not ticked when the booking was made. Open the booking, click Edit, tick This is a seasonal / long-term contract, fill in the contract fields and click Update Reservation.
The contract booking was refused. The same rules apply as for any booking — a long stay can run into a blackout period, another booking on the same site, or the 365-night limit. See Reservations.
The Contracts tab has disappeared. Seasonal / long-term contracts has been switched off in Settings. Existing contracts are kept; switch it back on to see them.
Best Practices
- Give every seasonal camper a specific site. A contract on Auto-assign shows TBD until check-in.
- Check Expiring Soon at the start of each month so renewals are sorted before the season ends. Book next season for anyone marked Renewing yourself — it is not done for you.
- Keep the agreed rate on the contract even though it does not set the price — it is the one place the whole team can see what was agreed.
- Price seasonal sites with their own site type, so the booking total matches what you agreed.
What's Next?
- Reservations — the booking behind every contract.
- Rates & Seasonal Pricing — weekly and monthly rates for long stays.