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Configure Guest Data & Retention

The Guest Data & Retention settings page controls, per Property, whether guests are asked to upload an identity document during check-in and how long uploaded documents are kept before they are deleted automatically. This lets each Property meet its own legal requirements and delete identity documents within a GDPR-compliant period.

1. Who Can Use This Feature?​

👤 The page is available in the Operations Platform under Settings → Guest Data & Retention in the Guest Journey section, for a selected Property. Property Admin (property-admin) and Admin (admin) can edit and publish the configuration. Property Viewer (property-viewer) sees the page read-only.

ℹī¸ The setting is managed per Property. If you work at Account level, switch to a specific Property to see the Guest Data & Retention entry in the Settings navigation.

2. How Publishing Works​

⚙ī¸ Your edits are staged first and only take effect once you publish them. The banner at the top of the page shows where you stand: "No unsaved changes." when everything is published, "Ready to publish." when you have staged edits, and "Please resolve the highlighted errors before saving." when a field is invalid. If your draft collides with a change published in the meantime, the banner asks you to resolve the conflicts first.

Publishing opens a Confirm Configuration dialog with a mandatory disclaimer checkbox. You confirm that guest documents will be processed and retained according to the selected retention setting. Only after ticking it can you select Confirm and publish. When you choose to keep documents indefinitely, the disclaimer is stricter (see section 4).

3. Enable Document Upload​

The master toggle Enable Document Upload ("Let guests upload identity documents during check-in") controls whether guests are prompted to upload an identity document during the Pre-Check-In Flow:

  • On: the upload step is offered to guests, and the Document Retention and passport-restriction sections below become available.
  • Off: guests are not asked to upload identity documents. The page shows "Document upload is disabled. Guests will not be asked to upload identity documents." and the retention settings are hidden, because no new documents are stored.

ℹī¸ Unless it has been changed for your Property, document upload is on. Check the toggle per Property before you rely on either state.

ℹī¸ The Identity check overview in the Operations Platform stays available regardless of this toggle, so staff can keep working with documents that were uploaded earlier.

4. Document Retention​

When document upload is enabled, you choose exactly one retention mode under Document Retention:

  • Delete after ID check is confirmed: the document is removed as soon as staff confirm the guest's identity check.
  • Delete on Check-Out: the document is removed when the guest checks out.
  • Delete after a retention period: the document is removed a set time after check-out. Enter the Retention period as a value plus a unit (Days, Months, or Years); the minimum is 1 day. The period field is only editable in this mode.
  • Keep indefinitely: no automatic deletion; documents remain until removed manually. The page shows the warning "Guest documents will be kept indefinitely and will not be deleted automatically." and the publish dialog requires the stricter confirmation "I confirm and understand that guest documents will be kept indefinitely and will not be automatically deleted."

A retention mode must be selected before you can publish. Otherwise the page shows "Choose a retention option."

5. Restrict Passport Upload by Nationality​

Under Restrict Passport Upload by Nationality, you can select nationalities for which passport upload is not offered, for example where local law does not permit collecting passports from certain nationals. Guests of an excluded nationality are not asked to upload an identity document at all, and their identity check can be confirmed without one.

Use the Select nationalities to exclude field to pick the nationalities.

6. Troubleshooting​

  • Publish is blocked: check the banner and the highlighted fields. A retention mode must be selected, the retention period must be at least 1 day in the retention-period mode ("Enter a period of at least 1 day."), and the disclaimer in the publish dialog must be ticked ("You must accept the disclaimer to continue.").
  • A conflict is reported: someone else published a change while you were editing. Resolve the highlighted conflicts before publishing.
  • Guests are not asked to upload a document: check that Enable Document Upload is on for the Property (see section 3).
  • The retention period points you elsewhere: if the page shows "Set the deletion period in Settings > Actions > DELETE_IDENTIFICATION_DOCUMENTS.", the deletion automation behind the period is not set up for this Property yet. Raise a Support Ticket to have it set up, then manage the period from this page.

7. Conclusion​

With Guest Data & Retention you decide, per Property, whether identity documents are collected at check-in at all, how long they are kept, and which nationalities are excluded from passport upload, with automatic deletion doing the compliance work for you. For how the upload and scan work in the guest flow, see ID Scan & Verification; for how staff review uploaded documents, see Identity Check.

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