Digital check-in and check-out: 4 phases tenants follow alone
September, a 150-bed student residence, 60 arrivals in two weeks. Before each one, your team needs a signed contract, a paid deposit and first rent, an arrival time, the house rules accepted and often an ID or enrolment certificate. Without digital check-in, that means 5-8 WhatsApp messages per tenant just to find out what is missing, 300-480 messages for one intake, and a front desk that still discovers on the day that someone never sent their arrival time. Departures repeat the story: keys, cleaning, the room check, the deposit reply.
VIVIN's Check-in / Check-out Process turns that chase into a checklist the tenant follows on their own. Every stay is split into four phases, each with its steps, files and deadline. The tenant works through them in the tenant portal, and your team sees where each booking stands without asking.
Why chasing arrivals by message does not scale
- Nobody knows what is missing - the contract is in one place, payments in another, the arrival time in a chat.
- The same instructions, typed again - house rules, where to collect the card, how the heating works, sent 60 times.
- Surprises on the day - an unsigned contract at the door, or a room not ready because nobody knew the arrival time.
At 10-15 minutes of follow-up per arrival, 60 arrivals cost 10-15 hours of chasing before anyone opens a door.
How digital check-in works in VIVIN
1. Four phases, each with its own window
In Settings > Check-in / out, a strip shows the stay phase by phase:
- Before check-in - what the tenant settles before arriving. Opens 7 days before check-in by default and closes when the arrival is recorded.
- After check-in - settling in and checking the room. Opens on arrival and is due 7 days later.
- Before check-out - getting ready to leave. Opens 7 days before check-out.
- After check-out - the inspection result and the tenant's reply, within a Response window (days) of 5 days by default.
Every window can be changed, each phase can be switched off with Phase on, and Rules shown to the resident explains in your own words what the phase is for.
2. Steps that carry their own files
Each phase holds a checklist built from seven step types: Contract, Payments, Arrival / departure time, Acknowledgment, Information, File upload and Inventory check. A step can be Visible and Required or not, and Attachments takes up to 10 files, such as an entrance video or a house-rules PDF. Start from a template offers ready-made checklists like Student residence, Coliving · room and Self check-in · electronic lock.
3. The tenant follows the steps in the portal
The portal's Check-in/out page shows the four phases as Before you arrive, After you arrive, Before you leave and After you leave, each marked Open, Due soon, Overdue or Done. Contract and payment steps open the tenant's own contract and payments. The arrival step asks "What time will you arrive?" and Save time writes the hour onto the booking. Acknowledgments end with I have read and accept, and the Inventory check step opens the room inventory and condition report.
4. Your team sees the progress, without asking
On each booking, the Check-in / Check-out tab shows every phase with its dates and steps. Staff can Mark done or Reopen a step, and Record arrival or Record departure. If required steps are still open, VIVIN warns you and offers Record anyway with a note. In Operations > Check-in/out, the Process column counts the required steps done for each arrival or departure, for example 2/3.
5. An email when each phase opens
In Settings > Emails, New Rule offers an event per phase: Check-in steps open, Settling-in steps open, Check-out steps open and After check-out opens, plus Check-in tasks not finished for tenants who still have something to do.
What makes a check-in "Ready"?
The Ready column in Operations > Check-in/out follows the Check-in Ready rule you set once in Settings > Global Settings: Move-in payments settled, Contract signed and, if you want, Closed tickets of the categories you pick, so an open repair on the unit keeps the arrival Not Ready.
Digital check-in vs messages and spreadsheets: the numbers
Illustrative figures for an intake of 60 arrivals:
| Item | Messages and spreadsheets | VIVIN process |
|---|---|---|
| Messages to chase what is missing | 300-480 | 60-120 |
| Arrival time unknown the day before | Often 1 in 4 tenants | Visible days ahead in Process |
| House rules and instructions | Re-typed 60 times | Written once, attached to a step |
| Hours of chasing per intake | 10-15 | 2-4 |
At €20-25 per hour, that is roughly €160-275 of staff time per intake, and far fewer surprises at the door.
How to set up digital check-in and check-out
- Turn on Enable check-in / check-out process in Settings > Global Settings. The module stays off until you do.
- Open Settings > Check-in / out and click Start from a template.
- Adjust each phase's window and rules, and attach your house rules and access videos.
- Create the phase emails in Settings > Emails and set the Check-in Ready rule.
- Click Preview as tenant to see the portal the way a tenant in each phase sees it.
Pair it with keyless check-in with Nuki and nobody needs to wait at the door. Running a student residence? Book a demo and walk through an intake with your own checklist.
Frequently asked questions
What is digital check-in for rentals?
Digital check-in replaces the WhatsApp chase before a move-in with a checklist the tenant completes online: signing the contract, paying the move-in amounts, booking an arrival time, accepting the house rules and uploading documents. In VIVIN it lives in the tenant portal, and your team sees each tenant's progress on the booking.
When does the tenant see the check-in steps?
By default, the Before check-in phase opens 7 days before the check-in date and closes when your team records the arrival. You can change the window of each phase in Settings > Check-in / out, and send an email the moment a phase opens with the Check-in steps open event.
Does digital check-in replace the room inventory?
No, it holds it. The Inventory check step, in the After check-in and Before check-out phases, is where tenants fill in the room-by-room condition report when room inventory is on. Without it, the step shows as Not applicable and the rest of the checklist works exactly the same way.
An arrival should be a moment, not a project. With four phases and one checklist per phase, tenants arrive with everything done, and your team knows it before they ring the bell.
