Property assistants: booking tenant check-ins and check-outs

Let tenants book their own move-in and move-out appointments from a few slots you open around the start and end dates of each tenancy. Create separate services for check-ins and check-outs, size the slots by property, from a studio to a family house, and say in the description what the tenant should prepare: ID, the cleaning done, meter readings, every set of keys. The agency stops chasing tenants by phone for a time, and each appointment is long enough to complete the inventory properly.

A check-in walks a new tenant through the property, the inventory and the keys; a check-out compares the property with that inventory, which can take longer if there's damage to note. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity. Leave the price empty if these appointments are part of the tenancy.

Lengths are examples: set your own, including the travel time you need between properties.

Check-ins happen on or just after the tenancy start date, check-outs on the last day. Open slots for the days around the busiest dates, such as the start and end of each month, and send each tenant your booking link with their move date. When a slot is booked, it leaves your page. Slots repeat each week on the weekdays you choose until an end date, which suits a fixed pattern of mornings for check-ins and afternoons for check-outs.

If your properties are spread over several districts, create one service per area, such as "Check-in, north side", and open its slots on the days you're there. Tenants pick a time in their area, and your day doesn't zigzag across town. Leave gaps between slots for the drive.

The booking form takes first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that reaches you in the new booking email and appears in the tenant's calendar file. Ask in the note for the property address and the tenancy start or end date. Then say in the description:

Bring the inventory, take meter readings and photos, and note the number of keys handed over or returned. Go room by room with the tenant, so any disagreement is noted on the spot rather than by email weeks later. Leave a few minutes at the end to explain the next steps, such as when the report is sent.

Some landlords like to be present at a check-out, especially when a deposit may be disputed. Ask the landlord in advance whether they want to attend, and once the tenant has booked, forward the date to them. If the landlord can only come at certain times, open check-out slots only at those times in the week of that move-out, so the tenant picks one that suits all three of you.

Some tenants will phone instead of booking online. Book them in yourself from your calendar under the right service; first and last name are required, email and phone optional, and the tenant receives a confirmation with a calendar file if you enter their email. Book doesn't send reminders, so that calendar entry is what keeps the appointment.

Tenants can't move or cancel online: they contact you, and you move the appointment from your bookings list and confirm it yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Rescheduling works across services, so a check-out booked in the wrong size can move to a longer slot. Your bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars, so the agency diary shows every appointment. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.