Accept inquiries, create quotes, manage room inventory, register participants, generate BEOs - for group rentals and other events.
Updated February 2, 2025
A rental is a relationship where you provide services - registrations, lodging, meals, meeting rooms - to an individual or organization (your client) so that they may conduct their retreat, workshop, or event on your property.
It’s a business-to-business relationship.
Rental workflows typically include steps like:
- Inquiry - a potential rental client expresses interest.
- Quote - you describe your services and set a fee structure.
- Agreement - the event is scheduled, and a deposit is accepted
. - Program - you build the event listing for viewing by prospective participants.
- BEO - you create a Banquet Event Order to share event details with your team.
- Registration - participants are engaged and complete the event.
- Invoice - your client receives a statement and makes the final payment.
The following topics are covered in this article:
-
- Email
- Custom email templates
- Email history
- Email
- Program creation
- Automatic actions
- Rental information
See also,
- Rental Program Reconciliation
- Configure a New Program
- Create or Edit Registration Questions
- Banquet Event Order (BEO)
- Remote Registration
- Designate an Event Group Leader
Rental inquiry forms
Welcome to Bixby Creek Retreat Center, a fictitious organization we've created to demonstrate features covered in this article.
To help attract potential clients, Bixby Creek includes a Rent our center page on their website with a link to a rental inquiry form.
When a prospective client clicks on the INQUIRE NOW, they are directed from Bixby Creek's website to the rental inquiry form within Retreat Guru.
The rental inquiry form shown below is a sample. You can design your own custom set of fields (questions) to meet the needs of your center.
Creating rental inquiry fields
Go to Questions > Rentals to configure fields (questions) for the Rental Inquiry Form.
See Create or Edit Registration Questions to learn more about configuring questions.
To create a field on the initial Rental Inquiry Form, go to Questions > Add New > Edit Question and set the Form to Rental and Display > Forms to Initial Inquiry.
In the Display > Reporting section, check the Rental list box to make this field a Screen Option (available column) on the Rentals dashboard view.
Display > Forms options also include Admin-only and Secondary form.
- Admin-only rental fields allow you to capture additional information about the rental in fields that do not appear on the inquiry forms.
- Secondary form rental fields facilitate a 2-step rental inquiry process.
In our Bixby Creek example, we have configured these admin-only fields. You may create your own set of admin-only fields.
You can include responses to admin-only fields in the Quote and the BEO using shortcodes associated with these fields. More about that later.
The 2-step rental inquiry process (optional)
Some centers prefer a 2-step approach to the rental inquiry process where prospective renters first complete a screening form.
The typical screening form (initial rental inquiry) has only a few key questions to help you gather the basics.
- Is this the kind of group you want on the property?
- Do you have meeting spaces (venues) available?
- Do you have lodging (beds) available?
Consider the responses to the initial inquiry to see if you'd like to pursue this prospect. If you decide to proceed, you can send a secondary inquiry form to those who pass the screening.
The use of a secondary inquiry form is optional. If you'd like, you can include all the inquiry questions on the first form.
To configure a field (question) on the secondary form, set Display > Forms to Secondary Form.
Manually creating a new rental
If a prospect contacts you by phone to ask about bringing their event to your center, you can either direct them to the rental inquiry link on your website or manually complete an inquiry form for them.
Go to Rentals and click on Add New.
We'll cover more about creating and editing rentals in a later section.
Settings for Rentals
Viewing the rental inquiry form
To view the inquiry form - to see how it looks to prospective renters - go to Settings > Contract Management >Rentals Inquiry Form > Inquiry Form Links.
There are also handy links on the Edit Rental > Details tab for that rental. We'll discuss viewing/editing rentals and the details tab in a later section.
Choose the template for creating new rentals
On the same page, at Settings > Contract Management >Rentals Inquiry Form > Rental Template, you can choose an existing Rental that will be used to create a new rental when you get a new lead.
Configure the rental process
At Settings > Contract Management >Rentals Inquiry Form, you can customize specific field titles, page footer, notes, and the thank you page to personalize the form for your center.
Inquiry thank you page
When a prospective renter completes the inquiry form, a thank you page will be displayed, and the rental details will be automatically updated in Retreat Guru.
Automatic email notifications
Retreat Guru can automatically send email notifications to the address you specify as Admin Contact Email. You can also configure an Admin Email BCC address.
See also, Sending Emails - Create Custom Email Templates.
Later in this article, we'll discuss manually sending emails via Rentals.
Go to Settings > Contract Management > Rental Email Notifications and enter the address you want to receive Rental notifications.
By default, admin notifications will be delivered to the address you specify for Admin Contact Email, and customer replies will be directed there. You may override this global setting by configuring a custom address for a specific rental.
The image below shows a sample notification sent to your designated admin address when an initial inquiry form was received.
Rentals dashboard
Go to Rentals from the main menu to view the rentals dashboard. This page lists Leads (rental inquiries) and other rentals currently in your workflow.
Click on Filters and check the box next to Status > Lead to show only rentals (inquiries) with a status of Lead. Apply other filters to create other views.
Click on the plus sign ( + ) in the column header row to select the columns you wish to display in the view.
If you view a particular set of filters and columns often, you can Save it as a new view for easy future reference.
Built-in systems views and custom views can be accessed by clicking the View drop-down menu on the rentals dashboard.
Screening leads
Review incoming leads to determine:
- Is this the kind of group we want to be on our property?
- Do we have meeting spaces (venues) available?
- Do we have lodging (beds) available?
For example, Bixby Creek Retreat Center received the Silent Retreat for Singles lead.
Select this lead from the Rentals dashboard by clicking on the title.
The Edit Rental page appears, opening to the Details tab.
Your first step will likely be to change the rental Status.
When a new lead is received, Retreat Guru automatically assigns the Lead status. Change the status to Evaluating to indicate that we have begun the screening process.
In addition to the built-in statuses, you may create custom statuses to support your workflow. To create a custom status, go to Settings > Contract Management > Rental Statuses.
When you open an existing rental to the Details tab, you will initially be in View mode - you can view values in the Event Information and Secondary Form sections, but you cannot make changes.
An Edit form action link appears in the Event Information and Secondary Form sections. While in Edit mode, you can click on Cancel changes (or click on the "x") to reverse any updates you made to the section. To apply your changes, click on Save.
Now that you've reviewed the Event Information (responses from the initial inquiry form) and Additional Information (responses from the secondary inquiry form) and determined that this is the kind of group you would like to host, the next step is to confirm you can accommodate them.
To see if meeting spaces are available, open the Venues tab and click the See Venue Bookings link.
The Venue Bookings view is also called the program planning calendar, as it displays all scheduled programs organized by meeting space (venue).
In our example, we can see that some programs are scheduled 7-11 September and another begins 14-September, but venues appear to be available 12-14 September.
We have venues available for the Silent Retreat for Singles event 12-14 September.
If we hover over an existing entry, a pop-up window shows the program's max capacity and other details.
Next, open the Rooms tab and click the See Room Bookings link to determine if we have bedroom accommodations available.
As we scroll down the page, it appears we have lodging available - we have enough beds for the Silent Retreat for Singles event from 12-14 September.
Everything is looking good. It's the kind of group we'd like to host on our property, and we have enough meeting spaces and bedrooms to accommodate the group.
In our example, we change the rental status to Quoting. The next steps include configuring the venue and room blocks and building the quote.
Configure a rental
Go to Rentals and locate the rental (inquiry) that you wish to configure.
Click on the rental name to view that rental.
Details
Let's continue with our Silent Retreat for Singles example. The rental will open to display the Details tab.
Sidebar
In addition to the responses provided by the prospective renter (Event Information and Additional Information), a sidebar includes an activity log, room block summary, pricing, and information about the organization associated with the rental.
This sidebar is displayed on all of the tabs on the Edit Rental page.
In the sidebar, you can configure tasks to track your progress. These tasks and their current statuses are visible to all members of your team who have access to view the rental.
Admin notes
On the Details tab, a section is available for custom admin notes.
Like all the fields on the Details tab, admin notes have shortcodes that you can (optionally) embed in the rental quote/agreement, and Banquet Event Order (BEO, a summary of event information for your internal teams).
These custom admin notes might include room set-up details, notes for the kitchen and housekeeping, and a description of payment terms for reference by your finance team.
Here are the admin notes we configured for our sample Bixby Creek Retreat Center and the Silent Retreat for Singles rental. You may create your own custom set of admin notes.
Rooms
Continuing our Silent Retreat for Singles example, it's time to prepare a quote for the renter. On the Rooms tab, configure a room block to allocate specific rooms to the event. Creating a room block at this stage will help you manage your room inventory so you don't overlook your center.
Rooms are listed within Lodging Types (also called Room Types). Click on the arrow at the far right of each Lodging Type to expand the selection to show the rooms.
If some rooms are greyed out, those rooms are already booked or blocked - those rooms in that Lodging Type are unavailable for this event.
Notice that some rooms appear in multiple Lodging Types. This means that the room can be sold in different ways. Choose the room within the appropriate Lodging Type based on how you plan to sell this room for this event.
Click SAVE when you have created the room block.
Venues
Continuing with our Silent Retreat for Singles example, let's configure a venue block to allocate specific meeting spaces to the event.
Creating a venue block at this stage will help you manage your meeting room inventory so you don't overbook your center.
Given the size of the group, we will block the Creek 1 Meeting Room for the event dates and add a note to indicate 10 guests are expected. We'll also add a note indicating that this will be the main session room for the event, 9am to 5pm daily.
You may configure custom dates for the venue. For example, you can block the room for an extra day before the start of the event to allow the group to set up the room and for an extra day after the end of the event to allow the group to dismantle their setup and exit the property.
You may configure multiple venues for an event and multiple date ranges per venue.
For example, we can specify an expanded date range for the Forest View Meeting Room, blocking the venue a day before the event starts and extending the block a day after the event ends.
Click Save when you have created the venue block.
Pricing
Go to Rentals > (Choose an event) > Pricing.
Continuing with our Silent Retreat for Singles example, on the Pricing tab, you can add line items to build the quote.
Line items on the quote
Enter the line items that will comprise your price quote for the event. The line items on this Pricing tab are for the rental quote only - they will not be automatically added to the package builder in the program used for participant registration.
The quantities and prices listed here can be configured as estimates. Prices for bedroom accommodations are often expressed as blended rates as you may not know what the actual mix of room types will be booked.
You have the option to copy the pricing matrix from another rental.
For our example, we'll copy the pricing matrix from another rental, the Like Totally Excellent Event - 2025-Jun, as we expect these events to be very similar.
Here is the result after we copied the pricing matrix.
You can edit this pricing matrix as needed. Click on + Add to include more line items. click the "X" to delete a line item. Grab the hamburger icon to the left of each item, and drag and drop to change the order of the listings.
Click on the Pricing total in the sidebar to view the pricing matrix as it will appear in your quote.
Copy transactions to renter's program registration
When the renter accepts your quote, usually with a deposit, Retreat Guru will automatically:
- Create a program where the participants will be registered,
- Register the renter in that program, and
- Apply the deposit to the renter's registration.
You may check Copy transactions to the renter's program registration to copy the line items from the quote's pricing matrix to the renter's registration for the program.
A common rental model is referred to as Renter Pays.
In this model, the renter collects money directly from participants for registration fees, meals and lodging, and other costs. You sum all the charges for the event on a single invoice to the renter, and the renter remits. In this model, you deal primarily with the renter and may have little direct contact with participants before their arrival.
In the Renter Pays model, you would likely check the check Copy transactions to the renter's program registration box to copy the quote pricing matrix line items to the renter's program registration. Once copied, you can adjust the line items on the renter's registration to create the final reconciliation document.
The most common rental model is referred to as Participant Pays.
In this model, participants register themselves and make payment. You would likely not check the check Copy transactions to the renter's program registration box.
Of course, there are many variations of the rental model - renter pays for some but not all, participants pay for some but not all.
The general rule for checking or not checking the box is to consider how many line items on the rental pricing matrix will be paid by the renter directly. If the renter will pay for most, check the box. If the renter will pay for only a few, or none, don't check the box.
If needed, you can easily update the line items on the renter's program registration to reflect the charges they will remain responsible for.
Deposit to secure the rental
If you require a deposit to secure the booking, specify the deposit on the Pricing tab.
If you leave this deposit box blank, your client can accept the agreement without making a payment.
Alternative payment
If you wish to allow an alternative payment method - a payment method other than by card - you may configure the alternative payment in Settings and enable that option on a rental-by-rental basis.
If alternative payment is enabled for a Rental, the global configuration in Settings will be used. It's best to configure the global setting to include the title and description you wish to use in Rentals.
You may enable or disable alternative payment at the program level (for participant registrations). If enabled, you can use the global setting or override the alternative payment configuration for a specific program at Edit Program > Registration > Advanced Options > Alternative Payment.
Quote
Now that the fields on the Details tab have been populated, the Room and Venue blocks have been created, and the Pricing tab configured, it's time to create the Quote.
There are three ways to create a Quote for your prospective client.
Copy a previous Quote
Use the Load quote from the drop-down menu on the Quote tab to copy a quote from a previous rental. Once copied, you may modify the copied version for the new rental.
Enter text directly into the Quote editor
Type text directly into the quote editor to describe your services and rental terms, embed images, apply styling and formats, and include Template Codes that will be replaced with information from the rental inquiry form and your admin-only rental notes when the quote is viewed.
You may use the formatting bar in the Quote Editor to apply a paragraph style, bold, italics, alignment, links, and more.
Use template codes (from the Template Codes drop-down menu) to insert responses from the Details tab into the quote (agreement).
Copy and paste content from an external source
If you copy and paste content from another source, please make sure the copied text includes only basic markup.
Word processing applications like Microsoft Word and Google Docs often include (hidden) special formatting that can yield unexpected results when you copy and paste content to your rental quote.
A sample rental quote appears below.
In the sidebar, click View Quote to see a preview of this quote - a view similar to what your client will see.
Here is an example rendered from our Silent Retreat for Singles example.
Additional agreements
Enter the titles for any additional agreements and the URLs to web versions of those agreements. These will appear with a checkbox on the agreement presented to your client.
When you include one or more Additional Agreements, your prospective client must check the box(es) before the agreement can be submitted.
Admin settings
When the renter accepts your quote, usually with a deposit, Retreat Guru will automatically create a program where the participants will be registered, register the renter in that program, and apply the renter's deposit to the renter's registration.
In the admin settings section at the bottom of the Quote tab, specify the program to be used as a template when automatically creating the program where participants will be registered.
Select Use blank template if you wish to start with a blank program.
In this section, you may enter an email address for the person who should receive email notifications related to this rental. This person is usually a member of your center’s conferences and events team or a person with similar responsibilities.
If the box on this page is left blank, the default Registrar's address (from Reg Settings) will be used.
You can initiate emails to the renter on the Email tab.
See also, Sending Emails - Create Custom Email Templates.
Select a pre-defined email template from the Template drop-down menu or create a new email from scratch. Or, use the drop-down menu to select a template as a starting place and make modifications to tailor a copy of that template content.
Built-in email templates
Some special email templates are automatically created when the Rentals module is first enabled. Some of these are sent automatically, tied to certain actions.
Included in the auto-send to client emails are Rental Inquiry Received and Rental Agreement Accepted to confirm those actions for the renter.
Included in the auto-send to the admin user that you designate on your team are Rental Inquiry Received, Rental Secondary Form Received, and Rental Agreement Accepted.
Select a template
Once you select a template, the template content will be copied into the email you are currently editing - making changes to this copy will not change the template.
To insert an Email Template Code, place the cursor where you would like the code to appear in the document, then select a code from the drop-down menu.
For example, the template code {{rental_agreement_link}} will insert a link into the email that your prospective client can follow to view and accept the Quote, and make a deposit.
When you send your email, change the Rental status to Quoted.
When your client accepts the agreement, change the Rental status to Confirmed.
Email history
A link to a copy of emails sent from within the Retreat Guru Rentals will appear in this email history section. Click on an email to see the content.
In our example, here's the email that Ima Lonely received.
When Ima Lonely clicks on agreement in the email she will see the quote and can complete the required items and make payment.
You may customize a thank you page displayed when the quote is accepted.
Program creation
When your client accepts the rental quote by providing a deposit (if required) and clicking I AGREE, Retreat Guru will automatically create a program for participant registrations.
Automatic actions
- A new program for participant registration will be created using, as a template, the program specified at Quote > Admin settings > Program Template.
- The renter will be automatically registered for the program.
- The rental deposit (if applicable) will be applied to the renter's registration for the program.
- If you checked the Copy transactions to the renter's program registration box on the Quote tab in the pricing matrix section, the pricing matrix line items will be copied to the renter's registration for the program.
- The Room Blocks and Venue Blocks created in the Rental will be transferred to the Program as Program Restricted Room Allocation type.
- The Lodging Types used when creating the Rental will be automatically selected at Programs > (select program) > Pricing > Lodging Prices.
- Inquiry fields and admin-only fields from the rental will be available to the program. For example, you can include rental and program template codes in a Banquet Event Order (BEO) to easily share this important information with your team.
Rental information
On the Edit Program > Information tab, a new section will appear called Rental Information.
On the Edit Program > Pricing tab, an image of the pricing section from the associated rental will be displayed. Updates on the associated rental's pricing tab will be automatically reflected in this Rental Quote information display.
See also,
- Rental Program Reconciliation
- Configure a New Program
- Create or Edit Registration Questions
- Banquet Event Order (BEO)
- Remote Registration
- Designate an Event Group Leader
We love rentals! If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for improvement, please contact your friendly support guru.