Rental Connection : Groups

Smily’s Rental Connections : Groups (evolution of our “Rental Links” feature) is designed for professional property managers handling multi-unit rentals, such as 2 villas next to each others that can be rent as a large group accomodation together, villas with independent rooms, estates with guesthouses, or apartments with lock-off configurations.

It helps you:

• Prevent double bookings and overblocking
• Keep availability perfectly synchronized
• Manage complex property structures effortlessly

In this article: 

I. Understand the feature logic

• Parent–Child Structure
• Smart Availability Logic
• Example Scenario

II. Step-by-Step Setup Guide

👉 WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL

• Step 1 : Prepare Your Rentals
• Step 2 : Create the Rental Group
• Step 3 : Assign Rentals
• Step 4 : Test and Verify the Setup
• Visual Indicators

III. OTA-Compatible Sync

• ⚠️ Important Limitations
   

I. Understand the feature logic

Parent–Child Structure

Define logical relationships between main properties (Parents) and their sub-units (Children).

Examples:

• 2 villas next to each others → rent as a large group accomodation together (wedding, birthday, company event, etc)
• A villa → its individual rooms or suites
• An apartment → separate lock-off studios

Smart Availability Logic

💡 Benefit: This logic avoids overblocking, increases occupancy, and ensures every space can generate revenue independently.

Example Scenario

Villa with three bedrooms

II. Step-by-Step Setup Guide

👉 WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL

Step 1 : Prepare Your Rentals

✅ Make sure the Parent and all Child units already exist in your account.

Step 2 : Create the Rental Group

• Go to your Smily Account → Rentals → Rental Connections
• Click Create a Rental Connection

• Choose Group as the connection type

• Fill in the fields:

• Click Save changes

Step 3 : Assign Rentals

• Scroll down and click Assign rental

• In the pop-up:
  • Check each Child unit belonging to the group
  • Select all units that should be blocked when the Parent is booked
  • Click Apply → Assign

✅ Confirmation: “Rentals have been assigned to the group.”

Step 4 : Test and Verify the Setup

Open Calendar view and perform two quick tests:

Test 1 – Child Booking

• Create a test unavailability on a Child rental.
• Verify:
  • The Child shows as unavailable
  • The Parent shows a ghost booking (unavailable but not a reservation)
  • Other Children remain available

Test 2 – Parent Booking

• Create a test unavailability on the Parent rental.
• Verify:
  • Parent shows as unavailable
  • All Children show ghost bookings

🧹 Once verified, delete your test bookings.

Visual Indicators

Ghost bookings appear as greyed-out blocks in the calendar.

Hover to view the reason (e.g. “Blocked due to “Countryhouse”  being booked”).

💡 These do not create booking records and do not affect reports or revenue analytics.

III. OTA-Compatible Sync

Smily’s Rental Connections feature is fully transparent and compliant with OTA standards (e.g. Airbnb, Booking.com).

However, note:

• Some OTAs or regions require a unique license number for each listing.
• If both Parent and Child rentals aren’t individually registered, you may not be able to publish them all on the same channel.
• In more flexible regions, you can list both the group and its sub-units without issue.

✅ Recommendation: Confirm your configuration with your OTA account manager to ensure full compliance and maximum visibility.

Common question on OTA sync:

“Will this mess with my OTA listings or get me delisted?”

Smily’s answer: No, Rental Connections is OTA-aligned and keeps your listings in perfect sync. Just make sure local licensing rules allow multi-listing under one property.

⚠️ Important Limitations

• Group Exclusivity: A rental can belong to only one group.
• Parent Changes: To change the Parent rental, you must recreate the group.
• Ghost Bookings: Indicate blocked availability only — not actual bookings.

Ready to Go!

You’re now ready to set up your first multi-unit property group and enjoy smarter, automated availability management across your rentals.

👉 Access it now:

Go to Rentals → Rental Connections → Create a Rental Connection