Save time at reception and welcome travelers with everything ready
Have your guests register easily before arrival, saving time at your agency’s reception and improving their experience from the very beginning.
When you manage bookings, every minute counts. Online Check-in lets you complete the entire registration process and reduce administrative workload. It also gives you peace of mind: guests arrive with everything prepared, and you have validated, organized information before they check in.
What is Online Check-in?
Online Check-in is a feature available exclusively to customers who have a website or booking system contracted with Avantio. It allows travelers to complete their registration before arriving at the accommodation, enabling you to request data, documents, and a digital signature. You decide how to configure your Online Check-in process.
Main benefits
Time savings: fewer queues at reception.
Smooth guest experience: early, fast, and convenient registration.
Flexibility: customizable fields based on your needs.
Where to find the Online Check-in module?
Go to the Web menu → Online Check-in. Then click Edit.
Disable Check-in per accommodation
You’ll have the option to unassign or disable Online Check-in at the specific accommodation level. This way, each property can independently choose whether to enable digital registration for its guests, giving you granular control over the tool’s availability.
This option makes it easier to adapt the tool to different operational scenarios, meeting each property’s internal management requirements without affecting the rest of your accommodation portfolio.
General settings
Show booking price: choose whether to display the booking price. Useful for bookings from partners like tour operators or travel agencies that add their commission. Applies to both Online Check-in and the Guest Area (if you have it enabled in your VRMS).
Show credit card component: allows card linking from Online Check-in (available only with PCI Wallet or Avantio Payments). To use it, enable Step 5 – Credit card in the configuration.
Specify occupant type: option available only for companies in Italy or with accommodations in Italy.
Deadline to complete online check-in: set how long it can be completed (until check-out, until check-in, up to X days before or after).
Show “Other” option in the country selector: allows adding this field manually during traveler validation.
Notifications
You decide whether to enable them. They will be sent to the main occupant and your agency delegates:
Online check-in validated: when the booking’s overall status changes to Validated.
Online check-in invalidated: each time an occupant’s check-in is invalidated.
Online check-in shared: whenever the main occupant shares the check-in.
You can configure the template linked to each notification.
Alerts to the occupant
The main occupant will receive an email days before check-in to remind them to complete Online Check-in. You can set up to two reminders and choose the booking statuses the system should consider.
In custom templates, you must insert the online check-in link using Insert field → #checkInOnlineLink#.
The reminder will be sent only to bookings in the configured status, except for bookings from the Muchosol portal, where reminders will only be sent if the status is Confirmed at the time of sending.
Step by step: configuring Online Check-in
On the same screen, go to the Occupants’ registration process section and complete the following steps:
Step 1 – Select the identity validation method
Choose one of the following validation options:
Do not display
ID photo → MRZ capture and reading.
ID photo + selfie → MRZ capture and reading, plus selfie verification.
Update your terms and conditions (GDPR)
Companies that choose ID photo or ID photo + selfie must update their website’s terms and conditions in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Sample text for Terms & Conditions
To ensure and streamline the check-in process, the traveler will be asked to provide an image of their identity document and a selfie, which will be processed in accordance with current regulations (GDPR). Both images will be deleted up to 24 hours after the accommodation’s check-out date.
Image retention limit configuration
The Online Check-in tool includes a new feature that lets you define, in a customized way, the retention period for images captured during registration.
Purpose of this feature
This enhancement allows you to:
Adjust image storage times according to operational or regulatory needs.
Ensure automatic deletion of images once the configured period ends.
Strengthen control over the sensitive data processed in the system.
Easily comply with legal obligations and audit or regulatory requirements.
When the configuration option appears
The image retention limit field is shown only when one of the following identity validation options is selected:
ID photo
ID photo + selfie
Available retention options
Once enabled, you can choose among three retention periods:
Scenario | Declared purpose | Retention period |
A – Until online check-in verification | Validate/verify the guest’s identity when registering on the platform. | Only until the validation/verification is completed in the online check-in. |
B – Until the check-in day (key handover) | Confirm that the person who arrives at the accommodation is the same person who completed the online check-in. | From the online check-in submission until key handover/physical verification. |
C – Until check-out | Prevent impersonation throughout the entire stay and allow additional verifications if necessary. | From the online check-in submission until check-out. |
Disclaimer clause
The examples of declared purpose mentioned above are for illustrative purposes only. In this regard:
It is the sole responsibility of the contracting company to define the declared purpose for processing the images, as well as to establish and configure the retention period corresponding to that purpose.
Likewise, it is the responsibility of the contracting company to keep its privacy policy up to date and to ensure that data processing operations comply at all times with the applicable data protection regulations.
Avantio assumes no responsibility arising from an inadequate definition of the purpose, an incorrect configuration of retention periods, or a lack of updates to the privacy policy by the contracting company.
It is recommended that the contracting company seek advice from a consultancy or professional specializing in data protection for the correct definition, implementation, and maintenance of these aspects.
Step 2 – Data
Configure the data you want to request from the main occupant and companions.
Drag fields from Available fields to Selected fields.
Mark fields as required or optional.
Differentiate between adults and children, and specify minors’ ages if desired.
For bookings of accommodations in Spain, the system will automatically request the data required by Annex I of Royal Decree 933/2021.
Step 3 – Trip information
Request, as required or optional:
Arrival time.
Departure time.
Means of transport.
Step 4 – Signature
Select the documents that will require a signature:
Traveler form (mandatory in some countries).
Rental agreement.
Other documents important to your agency.
In the configured templates, include the signature field so it can be imported from Online Check-in.
The traveler form has two templates:
Official A5 version: standard format required by the authorities, not editable.
A4 version: includes additional information and is editable.
Remember that, according to Decree 196/1976, the traveler form signature is mandatory for everyone over 14 years old.
Step 5 – Credit card
(Available only with PCI Wallet or Avantio Payments). If you want to request card details as a required field, enable this step.
Click Save to apply the changes.
Best practices
Review and customize your email templates in advance.
Enable reminders for the main occupant to increase completed check-in rates.
Keep your terms and conditions up to date, especially regarding GDPR if you request an ID photo or selfie.
Online Check-in helps you optimize time, comply with regulations, and offer a more streamlined experience to your guests.
Now that you know how to configure and customize it, the next step is to activate it and start automating your registrations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Online Check-in included in all plans?
Is Online Check-in included in all plans?
No. For more information, contact your Web Project Manager (if you are in the process of creating your project) or your Account Manager.
Is it mandatory to request the credit card during the process?
Is it mandatory to request the credit card during the process?
No. It is optional and only available to customers with PCI Wallet or Avantio Payments.