The two-hour hold, explained

The hold is the funnel’s oversell guard: the moment a payment proof lands, one unit is locked while a human verifies the money. Two guests can never chase the same nights, and nobody has to remember to release anything.

Screen /inquiries · Roles: everyone who works the funnel

What takes the hold

• You record the proof. The wizard’s final step - Record & lock unit - records the guest’s payment claim and locks one free unit of the quoted type for the stay.
• The guest uploads proof themselves through the quotation link. The upload walks the inquiry forward and takes the hold automatically.

Either way the inquiry’s status becomes Locked, verifying payment, and a live countdown appears on the funnel list, the inquiry page, and Today’s Needs-attention card (“Hold expires …”).

How long it lasts

Two hours by default. The exact length is a workspace setting - Settings → Operations → “Listing hold (minutes)” - adjustable between 15 minutes and 24 hours. A hold never extends; its length is decided once, when it starts.

While the hold is active

• The held nights cannot be sold to anyone else - the block is enforced at the database, not just on screen.
• The clock is running on a person: an Account Manager should verify the payment and confirm the unit before it lapses.
• Verifying flips the hold into the booking itself; nothing re-enters the market.

When it runs out

An expired hold releases the nights automatically - nothing to clean up. The inquiry surfaces under the Lapsed holds tile on the funnel list; if the money is real, you can record the proof again and take a fresh hold, availability permitting.

Paid, but no unit held

Occasionally the automatic hold cannot be taken when a guest uploads proof - no unit or unit type is set on the inquiry yet, or another hold raced it. The inquiry then shows a “Guest has paid - no unit is held” alert: the money is in and the nights are still sellable. Continue in the funnel and record the proof to lock a unit - choosing a unit type first if none is set. This is the one hold state that does need a human, which is why it is called out loudly everywhere.

Group inquiries hold every unit

A group inquiry takes one hold per unit. Converting requires every hold still active - a group confirms whole or not at all.

What’s next

• Confirm the unit
• Clear the Needs-attention queue