Frequently asked questions and troubleshooting
Quick answers to the questions we hear most, and what to check when something does not work.
Before you start
Which PHP version do I need?
PHP 8.0 or newer, 8.2 recommended, with the extensions pdo_mysql, curl, mbstring, gd, dom, json and openssl. See Requirements and installation.
Can I use it without Stripe or PayPal?
Yes. Guests can book and pay at the property, and you can sell no packages at all. Online payments are optional, but they are what allows commissions and automatic confirmations.
Which charging model should I choose?
Start with the monthly package model if you want simplicity, with the collect and pay out model if you want to earn commission and control the money, and with split payments if you do not want to handle the money of hotels. See Charging models.
Payments
A guest paid but the booking is still unpaid.
The confirmation reaches the site through the webhook. Check that the webhook address is correct, that the signing secret (Stripe) or the Webhook ID (PayPal) is saved, that the site runs on HTTPS and that the webhook shows successful deliveries in the dashboard of the provider. The guest can also press the pay button again on the booking page; the payment is verified with the provider and never counted twice.
The Stripe or PayPal test connection fails.
Check that you pasted the secret key (not the publishable key) and that the mode matches: test keys with test mode, live keys with live mode. For PayPal check the Sandbox or Live setting. The error message of the provider is shown on the page.
Unpaid bookings block the rooms.
They are released by the cron job after the hold time. Make sure the cron job runs every hour.
Can a guest pay twice?
No. A booking that is already paid does not offer the payment buttons, and every payment confirmation is processed only once, even if the provider sends it several times.
E-mails
E-mails are not delivered or land in spam.
Configure SMTP in Settings → E-mail, use a sender address of your own domain and press Send a test e-mail. Ask your host for SPF and DKIM records. See E-mail settings.
AI
I do not see the AI buttons.
The buttons appear only when an API key is saved, the master switch is on and the specific feature (rooms, properties, replies, trip search) is on. See AI settings.
The AI answers with an error.
Use Test the connection in the AI settings. Typical causes: a wrong key, an empty balance at the provider or a model name that the provider does not offer.
Calendars (iCal)
The calendar of Booking.com or Airbnb shows an error.
Open the room, read the message under the calendar and press Synchronise now. The usual causes are a link that was copied incompletely (it must start with https and often ends with .ics) or a link that the platform has disabled. Create the export link again on the platform and paste it again. See iCal sync.
Calendars are not refreshed automatically.
The automatic refresh is part of the cron job. Check the cron job.
A booking made here does not appear on Airbnb yet.
Platforms read your calendar link only every few hours. This is a limit of the iCal standard.
Website and languages
Search friendly URLs give a 404 error.
The server must allow .htaccess files and have mod_rewrite enabled (AllowOverride All in Apache). On Nginx add the rewrite rules to the server configuration. Switch the setting off to return to normal addresses.
The language dropdown is not visible.
Multi-language must be switched on and at least two languages must be active. See Languages and translations.
The interface texts cannot be saved.
The folder /languages and the files in it must be writable by the web server. The same applies to /locations for the locations editor and to the template file for the template editor.
Photos do not upload.
Check that /uploaded_images and /thumbnails are writable, that the PHP extension GD is installed and that upload_max_filesize and post_max_size are large enough for phone photos (8 MB or more).
Installation
The installer cannot connect to the database.
Check the host (often localhost, but some hosts give a special name), the user, the password and that the user has all rights on the database. Use an empty database.
I see a blank page or a server error.
Set $DEBUG_MODE = true; in config.php to see the error, fix the cause (usually a missing PHP extension or a wrong folder permission) and set it back to false.
Where do I get help?
Use the search box of this manual, or contact the support of the product from the product site.
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