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Home / Pet grooming and care / SB-022

Manage holiday boarding requests with waitlist and deposit drafts

Sort holiday boarding requests against your open kennel space and draft waitlist and deposit reminder messages using only your own policy.

Who it suits
Boarding kennel owner, in-home boarding host, pet resort front desk
Time saved
About 3 to 6 hours across the holiday booking rush (estimate)
Level
Advanced
Updated
Oct 14, 2026

Why this task

A ten-run kennel can get forty requests for the week of a major holiday in one afternoon. Each needs a check against nightly space, a reply, and for confirmed stays a deposit reminder that matches the written policy. When this is done by hand, people slip through, the waitlist order gets fuzzy and deposit messages say slightly different things. An agent can sort requests against your capacity and draft every message from your own policy text. The owner approves each one before it goes out.

The prompt

You help [BUSINESS NAME], a [BOARDING KENNEL OR IN-HOME BOARDING] business in [TOWN], manage holiday boarding requests.

Holiday period: [START DATE] to [END DATE]
Nightly capacity: [PASTE RUNS OR ROOMS BY SIZE, for example 6 large runs, 4 small suites]
Already booked: [PASTE BOOKED STAYS BY NIGHT AND SIZE]

Our deposit and cancellation policy (copy it exactly, never change it):
[PASTE POLICY TEXT, INCLUDING AMOUNTS AND DEADLINES]

Booking rules: [PASTE, for example existing clients first, current vaccination records required before confirming]
Texting and email rules: [PASTE OPT-OUT WORDING IF REQUIRED]

Requests (in order received):
[PASTE FIRST NAME, PET NAMES AND SIZES, CHECK-IN, CHECK-OUT, DATE RECEIVED, EXISTING CLIENT YES OR NO, RECORDS ON FILE YES OR NO, CONTACT CONSENT YES OR NO]

Do this:
1. For each request, check every night of the stay against capacity by size. Mark it CAN CONFIRM, WAITLIST or NEEDS OWNER (for example missing records, multiple pets with mixed sizes, or anything unclear).
2. Follow our booking rules. Keep waitlist order by date received unless the rules say otherwise.
3. Write a draft for each request with contact consent:
   - CAN CONFIRM: a warm confirmation with the exact dates, plus the deposit amount and deadline copied from the policy.
   - WAITLIST: a kind note with their place in line and what happens next.
   - Deposit reminder: a short, friendly note for confirmed stays still unpaid, quoting the policy exactly.
4. Add the opt-out line where our rules require it.
5. Never state an amount, date or rule that is not in the policy above. If something is missing, write OWNER TO CONFIRM.
6. Do not give health or vaccination advice.

Return a nightly space table, the sorted list with reasons, then the drafts. Do not send anything.

Replace each highlighted placeholder with your own details before you run it.

Steps

  1. Put your holiday dates, nightly capacity by run or room size, and your written deposit and cancellation policy in a shared spreadsheet. The policy wording must come from the owner, never from the AI.
  2. Log each request as it arrives with the pet parent's first name, pet names and sizes, check-in and check-out dates, date received, whether they are an existing client with current records, and contact consent.
  3. Paste the capacity, policy and requests into the prompt below once or twice a day during the rush.
  4. Check the AI's sorting against your booking app. Confirm a stay only after you see the space is truly free every night of it.
  5. Read each draft. Make sure deposit amounts, due dates and cancellation terms match your policy word for word.
  6. Send approved confirmations, waitlist notes and deposit reminders from your own email or texting tool. A person always sends.
  7. When a deposit is not paid by your policy's deadline, or a booked client cancels, rerun the prompt to see who is next on the waitlist and draft the offer.
  8. After the holiday, review which requests were turned away and update next year's capacity plan and policy wording with the owner.

What you get

A nightly table showing remaining space by size, every request sorted into confirm, waitlist or owner review with a reason, and a ready message for each. Every deposit amount, deadline and cancellation term is quoted exactly from the owner's policy. Anything the policy does not cover is marked for the owner.

What can go wrong, and the check for each

Two pets are confirmed into the same run on one night.

CheckThe prompt checks every night of each stay, and a person confirms space in the booking app before sending any confirmation.

A deposit amount or deadline is invented or reworded.

CheckThe prompt quotes only the owner's written policy and marks gaps OWNER TO CONFIRM, and the owner approves each message. This playbook gives no legal or financial advice on what your policy should say.

Messages go to pet parents who did not agree to texts.

CheckDrafts are written only for requests with recorded consent, and the opt-out line is added where your rules require it.

Waitlist order is changed unfairly, upsetting loyal clients.

CheckWrite your order rule down once, let the prompt apply it, and have a person check the list before offering any freed space.

Stays are confirmed for pets without current records your policy requires.

CheckMissing records mark a request NEEDS OWNER, and the owner checks with the pet parent, who should speak with their vet about any vaccination questions.

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