Splitting Reservations |
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This function is only available from the right-click menu on the Rack view. The typical reasons to split a reservation include moving a customer to a different site in the middle of their stay, or adding a gap in the reservation when the customer leaves and will come back shortly.
Either way, you are actually creating an additional reservation. The Split function simplifies the process by copying all of the details to the new reservation automatically, and adjusting the dates so that the original reservation ends early (on the day before the split) and the new reservation starts the next day (the day of the split). Note that a split must be done in the normal range of the reservation, it can't be done in a Blocked date range. If you have other linked reservations synchronized with this one then they will also be split (assuming you confirm the prompt to keep them synchronized), resulting in two sets of synchronized reservations.
To execute the split, right-click on the reservation in the Rack on the day you want to start the split (the date that you want the 2nd half to start one). Select Split Reservation at this date. You will be prompted for how to link the resulting reservations -- you will almost always want to select the "RECOMMENDED" option, which is to make the 1st part a sub-member of the 2nd part. This will keep the later reservation as the "linked master", so it will have all of the transactions going forward.
If the split date is today or in the future, the second half will not be checked in yet (it will show a Pending status), even if the original reservation was checked in. If the split date is in the past, then both halves will keep the checked-in status (assuming it is checked in now). If both halves are the same status after the split, it may still appear like a continuous reservation on the Rack (if you don't have the start & end "bars" enabled), since it's still all one color and the same name. If you lose track of the split, you can double-click on the reservation to see the First and Last dates, so you can tell which of the two reservations you're clicking on.
After splitting the reservation, you can make the necessary changes to the new reservation just like any other reservation (change the start date, change the site, etc.).
Also note that transactions are not carried over in the split, since they can only be related to one reservation. If the original reservation had an outstanding balance, you may want to adjust its transactions to balance out to the day of the split and move the appropriate charges to the new reservation.
However, the Paid-Through date is automatically adjusted appropriately. If the original reservation was paid through the split date or later, that date will carry over to the new reservation and the old reservation will show that it's paid through its new last date. If the original reservation was not paid through the split date, then the new reservation will not have a paid-through date (none of it has been paid).
Linking options for split reservations
When you split a reservation, you will be given a choice of whether to keep the two parts separate from each other (not linked), or to link them as non-synchronized (for separate billing), or to link them as sub-members (for combined billing). If you're splitting the reservation for purposes of "starting over", for instance to start a new year for a long-term resident, then you probably want to leave them unlinked, or linked as non-synchronized so the billing is separated. If you're splitting them because you need to move the person to a different site but the stay is continuous, then they should be linked as sub-members so the billing is still combined. It's recommended to choose the sub-member option which makes the later half the new transactions master, so that this new portion carries all of the billing information.
What to do if there's no room to 'split'
Sometimes you want to make a new reservation linked to an existing one, but there's no room to use the Split function on the correct date. One option is to split it a day early, then move that extra day to the new site, then fix up the dates.
Another option, as of version 11.0, is to use the function Add a New Linked Master reservation. This will make the new one a sub-member of the existing one, keeping the recommended organization where the later part shows as the main site on receipts and carries the transactions, since it will be checked out later than the old part.
1. Locate the existing reservation on the Rack (or On Site, etc).
2. Right-click on it, select Linked Reservations, and then Add a New Linked Master reservation (making this its Sub-member).
3. The standard "New Reservation" dialog will open -- select the dates and then select the site for the new reservation as usual, and click Done.
'Undoing' a Split
If you split the reservations and then decided you didn't need it split, you can fix it but it may take a little effort. This assumes they are still on the same site, just appearing one after the other.
First figure out which of the two reservation halves has the transactions (assuming there are any transactions added yet). If the split was done with a sub-member option, it may actually look like transactions are on both reservations, but they will actually be linked to only the "Linked master" reservation. You can see which one is the Lined master by double-clicking on one of the reservations to get the quick-info window. At the bottom of this window it will show "This reservation is linked...", and one of them will have "[Linked master] after it. Make a note of which dates are shown for that. Also be sure to make a note of the overall first and last night of the combined reservations, and also the Auto-charged-through and Paid-through dates, , since you'll need to know those to fix them later.
Now you need to go into Reservation Details for the reservation that is *not* the Linked master (the one without the transactions), and Delete it (click the Delete button at the top).
Next, go into Reservation Details for the remaining reservation and correct the dates and status. This may require undoing a check-out and/or check-in so the First and Last night can be changed, depending on the situation -- to undo Check-in or Check-out, click on the "Checked in" or "Checked out" box in the Status area of Reservation Details.
Now correct the First and Last Night to what they should be for the whole stay, and then if necessary do the Check-in again if they're a current reservation (be sure to answer "No" when it asks if you want to make it start today).
Finally, double-check the Auto-charged-thru date (if applicable) and the Paid-through date, which may have changed when the split was done, and update those to what they should be.
Fixing mistakes when splitting reservations
If you attempted to create a split reservation ended up with a mess, it can be challenging to correct the situation. Usually the best solution is to simply delete the "extra" reservations, put one back to the original site and dates, and start over. You'll need to locate the reservation that has any existing transactions and be sure to keep that one to start over from. There are some Newsletter articles that also offer tips (see our web site, or go to Newsletters under the Help menu).
This one has the most details:
https://campgroundmaster.com/help/fixing-reservations-split_link.html
There are also some functions for managing linked reservations that may help out (for linking and unlinking existing reservations), if you know more precisely what you need to fix.