The next steps page is the customer's post-booking hub. It shows everything they need to do before their rental and gives them self-service tools for managing their reservation. The page is accessible at /next-steps?id={rentalId} for individual bookings or /next-steps?orderId={orderId} for order groups.
URL parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
id | Rental/booking ID -- loads a single booking view |
orderId | Order ID -- loads the order group view with all line items |
invoiceAmount | Pre-fills a payment amount for invoice payment links |
When a booking belongs to an order group, the page automatically redirects from the single-booking view to the order view.
Page sections
Booking hero
The top section displays:
- Status badge (confirmed, checked in, completed, cancelled)
- Rental dates and times
- Inventory name and location
- Add to Calendar buttons (Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook)
- Order group banner (when the booking is part of a multi-item order)
Action checklist (Next Steps)
A list of required and optional steps the customer needs to complete before their rental:
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| Sign waiver | Complete the digital liability waiver |
| Pay balance | Settle any outstanding balance |
| ID verification | Verify identity via Stripe Identity or manually |
| Safety briefing | Watch or acknowledge a safety video/document |
| Upload documents | Upload required documents (e.g., boating license) |
Each step shows its completion status with a checkmark. Incomplete required steps are highlighted.
Booking details
Full breakdown of the reservation:
- Inventory item name and photo
- Location with map embed (Google Maps or Mapbox)
- Asset assignment (if an asset has been assigned)
- Booking notes and special instructions
- Tour departure information (for tour bookings)
Pricing breakdown
Itemized costs including:
- Subtotal
- Taxes (with per-tax-type breakdown)
- Fees
- Add-ons and protection plans
- Discounts and promo codes
- Deposit paid
- Outstanding balance
- Total
Reserve & Pay schedule
When the booking used Reserve & Pay, the page includes a schedule card showing:
- The first payment already collected at checkout
- The next upcoming automatic charge
- Every scheduled payment date and amount
- Whether each scheduled payment is paid, upcoming, retrying, or failed
All scheduled Reserve & Pay charges are intended to finish before the rental starts. If a scheduled payment fails, the customer can use the Next Steps page and the payment-failure message to resolve the payment before arrival.
Messaging
Two-way messaging between the customer and your team:
- Real-time chat interface
- Message history with timestamps
- Staff replies appear with the staff member's name
Wallet pass
Add the booking to mobile wallets:
- Apple Wallet -- generates a
.pkpassfile - Google Wallet -- generates a Google Wallet pass
Participant manager
For group bookings, the customer can:
- Add additional participants with name and email
- Remove participants
- View participant payment status and waiver completion
Participant payment dialogs allow individual participants to pay their share.
Global add-ons manager
Customers can add or modify add-ons after booking (when enabled). This section displays available add-ons with pricing and lets the customer add them to their existing reservation.
Upgrade offers
When you enable last-minute upgrades for your location, an Upgrade Your Ride card appears on the customer's Next Steps page in the days before their rental. It invites the customer to trade up before they arrive and charges the difference to the card already on file. The card is entirely opt-in and configured through upgrade paths you define. If you have not turned it on, or none of your paths match the booking, nothing appears.
Every offer is driven by an upgrade path you set up. The system never guesses candidates on its own. Each path defines what the booking is upgraded to, how it is priced, and how far ahead of the rental the offer is allowed to show.
There are three kinds of upgrade path:
| Upgrade type | What the customer gets |
|---|---|
| Inventory | Trades up to a premium boat or asset type. On acceptance a free asset of the target type is reserved for them |
| Add-on | Adds a per-booking extra (for example a cheese plate or a photo package) without changing the boat |
| Private charter | On a shared tour departure with no other groups booked, buys out the remaining seats to make it private |
Each offer in the card shows:
- The offer name and the target it upgrades to
- The upgrade price (or Upgrade free when the price works out to zero)
- A Save chip when the path applies a discount off the price difference
- How many units are still available and a countdown such as "45m left", "6h left", or "2d left"
Pricing follows the path's rule. A fixed-price path charges the exact amount you set. A difference-minus-discount path charges the price gap between the current booking and the upgrade, minus any discount you configured, and never offers an upgrade whose difference is zero or negative. Add-on paths are always fixed price.
When it appears. The offer shows only while the booking sits inside the path's lead-time window (by default from 7 days before the rental up to the start time), the rental has not started, the booking is not cancelled, and at least one eligible upgrade is available. Bundle and walk-up bookings are not eligible. Offers are sorted cheapest first.
Card on file required. Accepting an upgrade charges the customer's saved card immediately. If there is no card on file, the card still displays but shows "Add a card on file to enable last-minute upgrades" and the buttons stay disabled until a card is saved.
What the customer does. The customer taps the upgrade button. If the booking's original Next Steps link is still valid, the charge goes through and a success banner confirms the new boat, add-on, or private charter along with the amount charged. If the link token has expired, a quick verification dialog asks the customer to confirm a one-time code before the charge is allowed, so the saved card cannot be charged from a stale link.
Eligible bookings can also receive a scheduled text message about the same offer once they enter the offer window, if you configured SMS on the path.
Cancellation
Self-service cancellation (when enabled in your settings):
- Displays the cancellation policy
- Shows the cancellation window
- Processes refunds according to your cancellation rules
Reschedule
Self-service rescheduling (when enabled):
- Opens a date/time picker to select a new rental slot
- Checks availability for the requested time
- Adjusts pricing if the new slot has different rates
Tipping
After the rental is completed, a tipping section appears:
- Suggested tip percentages
- Custom tip amount field
- Secure payment processing via Stripe
Pay balance
When there is an outstanding balance (deposit bookings or additional charges):
- Shows the amount due
- Provides a secure payment form
- Supports partial payments
Card for damage deposit
When the Collect card for damage deposit setting is on for your location and a booking has an upcoming refundable deposit, a Card for damage deposit step is added to the top of the customer's checklist. It asks the customer to save a card ahead of time so the deposit hold can be placed automatically before the rental, without anyone having to chase them for a card on the day.
The step appears only when all of the following are true:
- The location setting is enabled.
- The booking has a damage deposit that has not been held or released yet.
- The deposit is not waived and is not being collected as cash.
- No usable card is already on file. The check mirrors the automated deposit process, so a card counts only if the deposit hold would actually be able to use it.
The step also appears for bookings sent a "nothing due today" invoice, since asking for a deposit card is the point of that flow, even if the location setting is off.
What the customer does. The customer opens the step and a Card for damage deposit dialog shows the refundable hold amount and a secure card entry form. They enter a card and tap Save card. The card is not charged at that moment. A refundable hold for the deposit amount is placed shortly before the rental and released after the return. Once the card is saved, the step is marked complete and shows the saved card's brand and last four digits.
The deposit amount shown is the full hold that will be authorized: the per-unit deposit multiplied by the number of units, grossed up for tax when your location includes tax in the deposit.
AI Sidekick chat
An AI-powered chat assistant that answers common customer questions using:
- Booking details
- Location information
- FAQ content
- Operating policies
Nautras navigation
When the Nautras integration is enabled, displays navigation instructions and links to the Nautras app for on-water navigation.
Reviews display
Shows Google and TripAdvisor review ratings and counts for your location (when configured).
Order group view
When accessed with an orderId, the page shows all bookings in the order as a unified view:
- Order-level banner with total items and pricing
- Individual booking cards for each line item
- Shared waiver and payment status across the order
- Unified messaging for the entire order
Custom styling
The next steps page supports custom styling through the NextStepsStyleProvider. Different visual themes can be applied based on your branding configuration.
Include the next steps link in your confirmation email so customers can easily find it. Enable all relevant checklist items to reduce day-of friction. Messaging reduces inbound phone calls. Tipping becomes available after the rental is completed. The AI Sidekick uses your booking data and location details to answer customer questions automatically.
Waiver showing as incomplete -- The customer may need to clear their browser cache and refresh the page. The waiver status is checked in real time.
Cannot add to calendar -- Some email clients block calendar file downloads. The customer can manually add the event using the displayed date and time.
Payment link expired -- Send the customer a new payment link from the booking detail page. Include the invoiceAmount parameter in the URL.
Reserve & Pay schedule missing -- The schedule appears only for bookings with an attached Reserve & Pay plan. Standard full-payment, pay-half, and Deposit Payment Plan bookings use the normal pricing and Pay Balance sections instead.
Customer cannot cancel -- Self-service cancellation may be disabled or the cancellation window may have passed. Check your cancellation policy settings.
Order view not loading -- Verify the order ID in the URL is correct. If the booking was created before the orders feature was enabled, it may not have an associated order.