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

# Amenities and bookings

> Define shared facilities, set access policy and fees, and manage resident bookings.

**Operations → Amenities & Bookings → `/amenities`**

An amenity is a shared facility residents can use — a clubhouse, gym, pool, rooftop, function room,
guest parking bay. The module defines the facility, its rules and its charges, and manages the
bookings against it.

## Defining an amenity

| Section                      | Fields                                             |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| **Basic info**               | Name, code, description                            |
| **Access policy**            | Who may use it and under what conditions           |
| **Require booking**          | Whether use must be booked in advance              |
| **Guests**                   | Whether guests are allowed, and the maximum number |
| **Default fees & penalties** | Guest fee, overstay fee, no-show penalty           |
| **Appearance**               | How the amenity presents in listings               |
| **Status**                   | Active or inactive                                 |

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the amenity">
    Name and code first — the code appears in reports and should stay stable.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the access policy">
    Decide who may book: all residents, residents in good standing, specific blocks.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Decide whether booking is required">
    A gym may be open access; a function room almost certainly is not.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set guest rules">
    Whether guests are allowed and the maximum per booking.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set fees and penalties">
    Guest fee, overstay fee and no-show penalty. Set them even if they are zero, so the policy is
    explicit rather than assumed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Bookings

An amenity booking records:

| Field                         | Meaning                                           |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **Amenity**                   | What was booked.                                  |
| **Context**                   | The resident, unit or lease booking it.           |
| **Starts / Ends**             | The booked window.                                |
| **Actual start / actual end** | When it was really used.                          |
| **Guests**                    | Number of guests brought.                         |
| **Pricing snapshot**          | The fees as they stood when the booking was made. |
| **Notes**                     | Anything relevant to the booking.                 |

### The pricing snapshot

Fees are **snapshotted onto the booking** when it is made. Changing an amenity's fees afterwards
does not re-price bookings already taken — which is what stops a fee change from silently
re-charging past users.

### Actual times and penalties

The gap between the booked window and the **actual times** is what drives charges:

| Situation                     | Charge                                  |
| ----------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Used within the booked window | Base fee only.                          |
| Stayed beyond the booked end  | Overstay fee.                           |
| Never turned up               | No-show penalty.                        |
| Brought guests                | Guest fee per guest, up to the maximum. |

Recording actual start and end is therefore not administrative detail — it is what makes the fee
policy real.

## Charging for amenity use

Amenity charges reach the resident as invoice lines against their lease, billed to an amenity
service type. See [Invoices](/guides/invoices-and-payments) and
[Chart of accounts](/guides/chart-of-accounts).

<Tip>
  Create a dedicated amenity service type rather than folding the charges into service charge.
  Amenity income is one of the few figures a residents' committee will ask about directly, and it is
  much easier to answer when it is its own line.
</Tip>

## Resident-facing booking

Where the [tenant portal](/guides/tenant-portal) is enabled, residents book amenities themselves
within the access policy you set. Bookings made in the portal appear in the same list as those made
by staff.

## Managing the facility

<Steps>
  <Step title="Review upcoming bookings weekly">
    Especially for facilities that need preparation or supervision.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record actual times">
    Otherwise overstay and no-show policies are unenforceable.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Reconcile fees to invoices">
    Bookings with fees but no corresponding charge mean uncollected income.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Deactivate rather than delete">
    A closed facility keeps its booking history.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Common problems

| Symptom                            | Cause                                                                                                 |
| ---------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Residents double-booking           | Booking not required on an amenity that needs it.                                                     |
| Fees not charged                   | No amenity service type, or actual times never recorded.                                              |
| A fee change applied retroactively | It did not — bookings hold a pricing snapshot. Check the booking's snapshot before assuming an error. |
| Guests exceeded the limit          | Maximum guests not set on the amenity.                                                                |