Setting Up Agreements

Overview

Agreement steps are added to guest checklists. When a guest opens their checklist, they see the agreement inline and sign it as part of their check-in flow. You choose the signing tier, document type, and agreement content when creating the step.

Want a visual walkthrough? See our blog post: Guest Checklists, Waivers & E-Signatures

How it works

Creating an agreement step

1. Go to Setup > Checklists and open the checklist you want to add an agreement to (or create a new one).
2. Click Add Step and set the step type to Agreement.
3. Choose the signing tier:
   • Acknowledgment (Tier 1) -- Guest reads and confirms. Available on all plans.
   • E-Signature (Tier 2) -- ESIGN Act disclosure, section initials, locked PDF. Requires Host plan or higher.
4. Choose a document type from the dropdown. This determines the legal classification of the agreement.
5. Enter the agreement text in the content area, or use AI Import from PDF to pull text from an existing document.
6. For Tier 2, configure initials sections -- the sections guests must initial individually.
7. Click Save.

Document types

ArrivHQ supports 11 document types. The type determines the default signing tier and whether ESIGN Act disclosure is required:

You can escalate any document type to a higher tier (for example, treat a damage policy as Tier 2 for extra legal weight), but you cannot de-escalate below the default.

Configuring Tier 2 initials sections

For Tier 2 agreements, you break the agreement into sections that guests must initial individually:

1. In the step editor, scroll to the Initials Sections area.
2. Click Add Section.
3. Enter a section title (e.g., "Guest Damage Responsibility") and the section content -- the exact text the guest will read and initial.
4. Repeat for each section.
5. You can also click AI Extract Sections to have ArrivHQ automatically identify logical sections from your agreement text.

Each section is presented to the guest one at a time during signing. The guest must scroll through and initial each section before proceeding.

Confirmation emails

• Tier 2 agreements always send a confirmation email to the guest with the signed PDF attached.
• Tier 1 agreements have an optional Send confirmation email checkbox you can enable per step.
• Emails include the document title, signed name, date, and a copy of the signed document.

Limits & requirements

• Agreement steps can only be added to guest checklists (not operational checklists).
• One agreement step per document type per checklist is recommended to avoid guest confusion.
• Tier 2 requires the Host plan or higher. Attempting to save a Tier 2 step on the Comply plan returns an error.
• AI section extraction requires the Host plan or higher (AI Concierge feature).
• Maximum agreement content: 50,000 characters.
• Maximum sections per agreement: no hard limit, but 3--8 is typical.

FAQ

Can I have multiple agreement steps in one checklist?

Yes. You might have a Tier 1 house rules acknowledgment and a Tier 2 rental agreement in the same checklist. Guests complete them in order.

What happens if I change the agreement text after guests have already signed?

Edits only affect future signers. Every signed copy stores the exact text the guest saw, so existing records are not affected.

Can I use a custom document type?

Yes. Select Custom from the document type dropdown. Custom agreements default to Tier 1 but can be escalated to Tier 2.

How do guests access the agreement?

Guests see the agreement as a step in their assigned checklist. They access checklists from the Checklists tab in their guest portal. If you send the checklist with a reservation, the guest sees it when they open their stay details.

Can I preview what the guest will see?

The step editor shows a preview of the agreement content. For Tier 2, you can see the section breakdown and initials configuration. The guest's actual experience includes the scroll gates, consent checkboxes, and signing flow that are not shown in the editor preview.