Booking Status vs Payment Status vs Check-In Status

Booking Status vs Payment Status vs Check-In Status

This article will help you to understand the difference among booking status, payment status, and check-in status in Activate-related workflows, as they describe different parts of the same reservation and should not be used interchangeably.

Key rule: A booking can be confirmed without being paid, paid without being checked in, or cancelled after payment and still require refund handling. Always review all relevant statuses before replying to a customer.


Booking Status

Booking status reflects the reservation lifecycle. It tells you whether the booking is live, awaiting action, rejected, or no longer valid.

In Activate, bookings and booking management are treated as their own operational layer. Payment and check-in sit alongside that layer, not inside it.

The available booking statuses are:

  • Confirmed: The booking is active and accepted.

  • Pending Confirmation: The booking exists, but it still requires action from you before it is fully confirmed.

  • Rejected: The booking request was declined and was not accepted by the Activate user. The guest would have received a cancellation email. (Details in log)

  • Cancelled: The reservation is no longer active and was cancelled by the guest or the Activate user. (Details in log)


A cancelled booking does not automatically mean:

  • For the customer: that it has already been or will be refunded. Always check payment status before confirming refund outcomes.

  • For Activate account users: that it will not be paid as part of the payout, as that is dependent on the payment status.


Payment Status

Payment status reflects the current state of the collection for the booking in three payment methods: card, coupon, and points. The valid payment statuses are PENDING, PAID, REFUNDED, PARTIALLY REFUNDED, and NOT APPLICABLE. It does not indicate whether the booking is confirmed or whether the guest has checked in.

Payment behavior can vary based on the experience's payment type, including:

  • Instant Charge: the card is charged immediately at booking.

  • Manual Charge: card details are saved, but the hotel must manually process payment from the booking dashboard. 

  • Scheduled Charge: card details are validated and tokenized at booking, but funds are not captured later in line with the cancellation policy.

  • No Charge: no credit card is required at booking regardless of the booking value.

TIP: If a customer says “I made a booking but haven’t been charged,” that may be correct behavior under Scheduled Charge, Manual Charge, or No Charge. Do not assume a failed payment.
Common payment status meanings (Regardless of payment method)
  • PENDING: Payment has not yet been captured; the amount due must not be treated as collected.

  • PAID: Payment has been successfully collected.

  • PARTIALLY REFUNDED: Some, but not all, of the collected amount has been returned to the guest.

  • REFUNDED: The collected amount has been returned in full.

  • NOT APPLICABLE: No payment is applicable, such as for complimentary experiences or for those where no payment details will be requested at the time of checkout.


Check-in Status

Check-in status reflects whether the guest has arrived, redeemed, or been admitted to the booked experience. It is separate from booking creation and separate from payment collection.

  • A guest can be paid and confirmed but still not checked in yet.

  • A guest can be checked in only once the operational check-in step is completed.

  • Check-in status should be updated by the Activate user when the customers have already used, redeemed, attended, or arrived for the experience.

Available check-in options:

  • PENDING: The default initial status. The experience has not yet taken place, and no check-in action has been recorded.

  • CHECKED IN: The guest has arrived and been admitted to the experience or has received their product. The Activate user has confirmed their attendance.

  • CHECKED OUT: The guest has completed and left the experience. The check-in process is fully closed.

  • NO SHOW: The guest did not arrive for the experience and was not checked in by the Activate user.

  • OVERDUE: The experience date or time has passed, but the guest has not yet been checked in or marked as a no-show.


How the statuses can combine

The most common misunderstandings happen when one status is assumed from another. Use combinations instead.

Scenario 1: Reservation completed and charge captured, but experience date is in the future
Booking Status: Confirmed
Payment Status: Paid
Check-in Status: Pending
What it means: The reservation is active, payment has been received, and check-in will happen closer to arrival or use.

Scenario 2: Reservation accepted, card stored, charge to happen later
Booking Status: Confirmed
Payment Status: Pending
Check-in Status: Pending
What it means: The booking is active. Payment has not been captured yet because this experience uses a deferred collection flow.

Scenario 3: Reservation cancelled after payment
Booking Status: Cancelled
Payment Status: Paid, Partially Refunded, or Refunded
Check-in Status: Not checked in.
What it means: The booking is cancelled. Refund outcome depends on the payment status and the cancellation policy.

Scenario 4: Guest attended experience
Booking Status: Confirmed
Payment Status: Paid, Partially Refunded, Refunded, or Not Applicable
Check-in Status: Checked in.
What it means: The guest has already checked in for the booking.

 Summary


Booking status

  1. What it describes: This tells you whether the reservation is confirmed, pending, rejected, or cancelled in the booking lifecycle.
  2. What it does not describe: It does not tell you whether payment has been collected or whether the guest has arrived.
  3. Best support use: Use booking status to understand whether the reservation exists and whether it is still valid.

Payment status

    1. What it describes: This tells you whether the payment is pending, collected, fully or partially refunded, or not applicable.
    2. What it does not describe: It does not tell you whether the booking is operationally confirmed, rejected, or cancelled, or whether the guest has checked in.
    3. Best support use: Use payment status to understand charges, refunds, and whether payment is still due.

    Check-in status

      1. What it describes: This tells you whether the guest has been checked in for the experience or service.
      2. What it does not describe: It does not tell you whether your booking is cancelled or whether payment has succeeded.
      3. Best support use: Use check-in status to understand arrival, redemption, admission, or attendance.