Dashboard instructions and setup

Stripe payment setup

Stripe is needed when an accommodation business wants to accept payments on the Nordkeys direct booking page or through a custom booking link. Nordkeys does not receive the customer's money. Payments go directly to the accommodation business's own Stripe account.

1. Before you start

• The customer must have their own Stripe account. The account can be created at stripe.com.
• The Stripe account must include the company details, bank account, contact person, business category and the required verifications.
• If Stripe asks for extra information, such as company details, identity verification or bank account verification, the customer must complete these steps directly in Stripe.
• Nordkeys only needs the Stripe keys for the technical connection. Nordkeys does not manage the customer's Stripe account, payouts, refunds or payment disputes.

2. Where can the Stripe API keys be found?

1. Log in to Stripe using the customer's own account at dashboard.stripe.com.
2. Open Developers from the Stripe menu.
3. Open API keys.
4. Copy the Publishable key. This usually starts with pk_test_ or pk_live_.
5. Click Reveal live key or the corresponding option to view the Secret key. This usually starts with sk_test_ or sk_live_.
6. Add the keys in Nordkeys under Stripe.

3. Live keys for publishing

When direct bookings are published for real customers, the customer should use the live keys from their Stripe account. Nordkeys support can guide where the keys are found, but the customer must log in to their own Stripe account and make sure that the Stripe account is approved to receive payments.

4. Stripe Checkout and direct booking

Nordkeys can send the booker to the Stripe Checkout payment page. The booker pays on Stripe's page and then returns to the Nordkeys confirmation page. Stripe Checkout is Stripe's own payment page and handles payment card details on behalf of the customer.

5. Check the setup

6. Common issues

• The payment page does not open: the Stripe keys may be wrong, live keys may be missing or the Stripe account may not be fully verified.
• The payment succeeds but the booking does not appear: check the Nordkeys reservation log, the payment reference and whether availability changed during payment.
• Stripe asks for company details: the customer must update these directly in their Stripe account.
• A refund must be made: the customer makes the refund in the Stripe dashboard. Nordkeys does not make refunds on behalf of the customer.

Setting up direct bookings

Direct bookings mean that a guest can book accommodation from the accommodation business's own Nordkeys booking page. This is suitable for the company's own website, email offers and campaigns.

1. Required basic details

• Company name, business ID, address, country, email and phone number.
• Logo and possible main image that are shown on the booking page and in emails.
• Currency, time zone, check-in time and checkout time.
• VAT and receipt details, if receipts or tax information are shown to the booker.

2. Accommodation type settings

1. Open Accommodation Types.
2. Check the accommodation type name, number of units, capacity and images.
3. Add a clear description and make sure it matches the real property.
4. Check how many guests can book the accommodation type.
5. Save and check the public booking page to make sure the details are shown correctly.

3. Prices and availability

• Set the direct booking price under Pricing.
• If the direct booking price is different from the OTA price, check the discount and extra guest prices.
• Close dates that should not be sold directly.
• Make test searches with different dates and guest amounts.

4. Payments

If you want to take payment immediately when the booking is made, Stripe must be connected. If Stripe is not in use, the direct booking process should not be published as a paid booking process without a separate operating model.

5. Publishing checklist

Creating custom booking links

A custom booking link is useful when sales wants to send a prepared offer to a specific customer for specific dates and a specific price.

When should a booking link be used?

• A customer asks for an offer by email or phone.
• You want to give a special price to a specific customer.
• You want to lock the dates, guest amount and price in advance.
• You want to reduce manual data entry on payment pages.

Creating the booking link

1. Open Direct Bookings → Create booking link.
2. Select the accommodation type and dates.
3. Add the guest amount and final price.
4. Check that the dates are not in the past and that availability is correct.
5. Save the link and copy it to the customer.

Good practice

• Do not keep old offer links open unnecessarily.
• Delete the link if the offer expires or the dates are no longer available.
• If the customer pays through the link, check that the booking appears in the calendar.

Selling extras and activities

Extras allow the accommodation business to sell transfers, activities, products, equipment, extra cleaning or other services.

Creating an extra

1. Open Extras & Services → All extras.
2. Add the title, description, price, VAT percentage and category.
3. Add an image if you want to make the card more visual.
4. Choose whether the product is shown on the booking page, confirmation page or separate extras page.
5. Save and test the purchase from the customer's view.

Availability and closed dates

• If the service should not be sold every day, use the availability calendar.
• Close dates when the service cannot be delivered.
• Check seasons and service provider schedules before publishing.

Following orders

• New orders are shown under Extra orders.
• Reports are shown under Reports.
• The customer is responsible for delivering the service, cancellations, refunds and communication.

Sales channel management

Sales channel activation is done with Nordkeys support. The customer does not need to complete the technical setup alone.

Activating a sales channel

1. Contact Nordkeys support.
2. Tell which sales channel should be activated, for example Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia, Hotels.com or Trip.com.
3. Tell which accommodation type or which accommodation types should be synchronized with the sales channel.
4. Nordkeys support checks the required details and activates the connection with you.
5. When the connection has been activated, check together with Nordkeys support that availability, prices and bookings are shown correctly.

What should the customer prepare?

• The accommodation type name in Nordkeys.
• The sales channel that the accommodation type should be connected to.
• Possible channel IDs or details, if Nordkeys support asks for them.
• Confirmation that the accommodation type prices, capacity and details are correct before synchronization.

Calendar and reservations

The calendar is a daily view for bookings, arriving guests, departing guests, closed dates and cleaning.

Using the calendar

• Booking bubbles show the booking source, for example Direct booking, Manual or OTA.
• Click a booking to see more detailed booking information.
• Check arriving and departing guests daily from the Overview page.
• If a booking is unassigned, it must be reviewed and assigned safely.

Manual booking

1. Open Reservations or the add booking function in the calendar.
2. Select the accommodation type, dates and guest details.
3. Add the price and source, for example Manual.
4. Save and check that the booking appears correctly in the calendar.

Editing and cancellation

• Edits should be made carefully because they can affect cleaning, availability and reports.
• Cancellations should also be checked in the payment service or OTA channel.

Cleaning management

In the Cleaning section you can follow cleaning tasks, cleaner user accounts, task status and cleaning reports. Nordkeys creates cleaning tasks automatically based on booking checkout dates.

Automatic cleaning tasks

• When a booking has a checkout date, Nordkeys can automatically create a cleaning task for that date.
• The task is shown in the Cleaning section and in the cleaner's own view, if a cleaner account is in use.
• The cleaning task helps follow which accommodations must be cleaned before the next arrival.
• Check the default check-in and checkout times in the settings so tasks are created for the correct dates.

Creating your own cleaning or maintenance task

1. Open Cleaning → Cleaning Tasks.
2. Create a new custom task if you want to add a separate cleaning, inspection or maintenance task.
3. Select the date, accommodation type or unit and write the task description.
4. Save the task and follow its status from the dashboard.

Cleaner accounts

1. Open Cleaning → Cleaner Accounts.
2. Create a separate username and password for the cleaner.
3. Give the cleaner only the housekeeping link, not the main admin login details.
4. The cleaner can mark the task as completed from their own view.

Pricing and reports

Pricing affects direct bookings and possibly sales channels. Reports help follow sales, but they do not replace accounting.

Pricing

• Open Pricing and select the accommodation type.
• Check daily prices, seasonal prices and closed dates.
• Check the direct booking price and OTA price separately if they are not the same.
• If synchronization is in use, check the discount percentage and extra guest prices.

Reports

• Sales report shows completed sales for the selected time period.
• Advance/future revenue reports can show expected future income.
• Extras reports show sales of extra services.
• Always check official accounting from Stripe, OTA and accounting system reports.

Business and general settings

Business settings are shown to bookers, in emails, on receipts and in the Nordkeys dashboard. This is why they must be checked before publishing.

Most important details

• Official company name and business ID.
• Address, country, email and phone number.
• Logo, main image and brand details.
• Currency, time zone, date format and time format.
• Receiving email addresses for notifications.

Check before publishing

1. Make a test booking.
2. Check the email sent to the customer.
3. Check the company name, logo and contact details.
4. Check receipt and tax information.
5. Check that the time zone shows the correct arrival and departure times.