> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gridbeds.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Arrival queue

> A guest who arrives before their room is ready waits in a queue; when housekeeping releases the room, the guest is checked in or told, and never earlier.

A guest often arrives before their room is ready. Instead of keeping a list on paper, put them in the **arrival queue**: the moment housekeeping releases the room, Gridbeds checks the guest in or tells them their room is ready. Nothing happens before the room is released, whatever the time.

## Turning it on

The queue is **off** for every property until you turn it on. Open **Properties**, pick the property, and on the **Details** tab find **Arrival queue** (you need permission to manage properties):

| Setting | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Use the arrival queue** | Turns the queue on for this property. |
| **Released to a waiting guest when** | **the room is inspected** (the default for a hotel) or **the room is clean (or inspected)** (the default for a guesthouse or a rental, where nobody inspects rooms). |
| **By default** | What the queue does when the room is released: **Tell the guest the room is ready** (the default) or **Check in and tell the guest**. You can choose differently for each guest. |
| **Check in automatically even when a balance is owed** | Off by default: a guest who still owes money is handed to the desk instead of being checked in. |

Turning the queue on also creates two guest messages in [Automation](/en/automation) — "room ready, checked in" and "room ready, come to reception" — **switched off**. Read and adjust them, then turn them on; until then no guest is sent anything.

## Queuing a guest

Open the booking from **Dashboard → Today** (or anywhere else). Under the stay details, **Arrival queue** shows **Queue for room**. Choose what happens when the room is ready, or leave the property's default, and press **Queue for room**.

A guest can be queued when the booking is confirmed, arrives today and has a room assigned. Otherwise the button is greyed out and says why — for example **Assign a room first.**

While the guest waits, the drawer shows **Queued since 10:15** and the mode. You can change the mode or press **Take off the queue**. On **Dashboard → Today**, the **Arrival queue** card lists everyone waiting today, their room and whether it is ready; pressing a name opens the booking.

## When the room is released

When housekeeping marks the room with the property's release status — from the board, in bulk, or from the staff app — Gridbeds checks everything again:

* **The room**: released, in service, and **the previous guest has checked out**. If not, the guest keeps waiting and the card says why (for example **Waiting: the previous guest is still in the room**).
* **The stay**, when the guest is to be checked in: the same rules as the Check-in button, **the guests' details for the occupant record complete** (even where the desk does not require them), and nothing owed unless the property allows it.

Then:

| What you see | What happened |
| - | - |
| **Checked in automatically at 10:42** | The guest was checked in and told their room is ready. The desk is notified ("room 204"). |
| **Room ready, guest told at 10:42** | The guest was told to come to reception; check them in at the desk. |
| **Room ready, needs you: occupant details missing** | The room is ready but the stay needs the desk first. The guest is asked to come to reception and the desk is notified. Fix what is missing, then check in as usual. |

Notifications to staff name the room, never the guest, so nothing private appears on a locked phone. Messages to guests are sent only through the automation rules above, only while they are switched on, and only on the channels open for your organization.

## When the stay changes

* Checking the guest in at the desk ends the wait (**Checked in at the desk**); nothing is sent.
* Cancelling the booking, marking it as a no-show, removing its room or moving its arrival date takes it off the queue.
* Moving the guest to another room makes them wait for that room instead.
* The [Day close](/en/day-close) expires anyone still waiting (**Expired at the day close**).

On the [Housekeeping](/en/housekeeping) board, a room someone is waiting for shows **Guest waiting**, so it can be finished first.

Every step — queued, taken off, checked in automatically, handed to the desk — is recorded in the booking's activity with who did it.


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