Reopening after winter: the get-ready-for-the-season checklist

The first warm weekend arrives, someone tries to book, and nothing works: no available times, locks that were switched off for the winter, no PIN codes. None of these are faults — they are what an account looks like after a winter of an ended season, drained batteries and lapsed lock-vendor connections. These checks, in this order, put it back.

If this is your very first season, follow the new operator setup checklist instead — this guide assumes everything worked last year.

1. Look at Home first: which locations are not taking bookings

Log in and read the top of Home. A location whose season has ended shows up in the Locations not taking bookings warning:

One location: "{location} is not taking bookings." with Open location.
Several: "{n} locations are not taking bookings." with View locations. On the Locations list, hover the warning icon next to a location's name to see why — after the winter it typically reads "Last time period ended" followed by the last day of last season.

On the location itself, the box under the Save bar says This location is not taking bookings and lists what is missing (an ended season shows there as No time periods set), and the Open dates tab is marked with No active or upcoming open dates. The Active open date column on the Locations list shows the same status for every location at a glance.

A location with an ended season looks perfectly healthy everywhere else, so this is the check that matters most. If Home also says "No location can take bookings until payments are set up.", start with step 9.

Read the other warnings at the top of Home too, and the red or amber marks next to Locations, Products and Settings in the menu:

igloohome connection needs attention — Igloohome refuses your saved login or your Igloo Connect payment method has lapsed (step 2).
Bookings without PIN codes — locks customers can book that can't create codes (step 4).
Lock units offline — a box station or Allockate unit has not reported for a while (step 3).
Stripe needs your attention — Stripe has paused payments or payouts, or has a deadline running (step 9).
Worth reviewing — contact details missing, terms that need a look, or an opening period that ends soon with nothing after it (steps 7 and 12).

What each warning means is in the guide to the admin menu and Home warnings.

2. Reconnect the Igloohome side

Skip to step 5 if you have no Igloohome locks.

The connection warning. In the months before your Igloohome connection runs out, a Warning! dialog opens when you log in: "Your Igloo home connection expires in" so many days — or "Your Igloo home connection have expired!" — with Reconnect with Igloo home. Reconnect rather than closing it. Under Settings → Integrations → Smart locks the connection shows Connected or Not connected; note that Connected only means Rentalbuddy holds a connection, not that codes are working — steps 4 and 11 test that.
The nightly connection check. Rentalbuddy asks Igloohome every night whether your saved login still works. If Igloohome keeps refusing it, Home, Settings → Integrations and your Locks tabs show igloohome connection needs attention: "Rentalbuddy can no longer reach your igloohome account (since {date}). Until you connect again, new bookings will not get PIN codes." Connect again with Connect with Igloohome app.
The payment method in Igloo Connect. If the card in Igloohome's Igloo Connect portal lapsed over the winter, syncing stops with Payment method required: "Please add a valid payment method in the Igloo Connect portal to sync your locks." The nightly check also shows it on Home: "igloohome is refusing requests because your Igloo Connect account has no payment method (since {date})…". Use Open Igloo Connect portal and fix it there (on Igloohome's side, under Settings → Payment Method) before the season, not while a customer waits.

Setting up or migrating the Igloohome account itself is covered in the guide on the Igloohome account and Igloo Connect.

3. Charge the locks and look them over

Hardware care belongs to your lock vendor, so follow their guidance. Two things are worth knowing before you panic: batteries drain in storage, and a lock that sat uncharged all winter can seem completely dead until it has spent real time on the charger. Charge every lock, then check the basics — locker numbers and stickers readable, QR codes still on the units, shackles and doors moving freely. If a lock will not open even with the right code, see the guide on a lock that does not open.

If you run a Gokaya box station or an Allockate unit, check its status chip on the location's Locks tab before the season: Online, No signal (box stations only: not heard from recently) or Offline — hover it for the last contact. Rentalbuddy checks units every hour; a unit confirmed offline shows as Lock units offline on Home and in red on the Locks tab ("Check that the unit has power and a network connection. This notice clears by itself once the unit reports again."). While the location is closed for the season this is only a blue note, and it turns into a warning if the unit is still offline a week before you open.

4. Re-sync your Igloohome locks and test each one

Go to Locations → open the location → Locks.
Press Sync Igloohome locks. The dialog fetches your locks from Igloohome (Fetch again repeats it). Locks you paired in the Igloohome app over the winter appear here, ready to add with Choose location and Add locks; locks already placed show Placed. The sync also clears the warning "Igloohome no longer lists some Igloo locks at this location" for every lock Igloohome still lists for you.
On each Igloo lock, use Sync this lock from Igloo (on the lock's row). It also tries to get a PIN code for the lock. You want Lock synced from Igloo; if it says Rentalbuddy could not get a code, check that Igloohome is connected and the lock is paired in the Igloohome app, then try again.
Read the warnings at the top of the Locks tab. A red banner such as "Lock {lock} can't create PIN codes. Customers who book it get no code." (the Locks tab name turns red too, and Home shows Bookings without PIN codes) means customers booking that lock get no code; the lines under it say why, and the marked rows tell you which lock. Fix the cause and sync: bookings still waiting are retried automatically and get their codes within a few minutes. An amber "Warning: Some Igloo locks at this location cannot create PIN codes." is about old locks typed in by Bluetooth ID; use Sync Igloohome locks to link them. Don't wait for an email: one only goes out when a failing lock has a booking starting within 12 hours, so check this tab yourself.

If you have locks at several locations, repeat the check on each location's Locks tab. The whole lock lifecycle — adding, moving, replacing, warnings — is in the locks guide.

5. Switch your locks back on — within your lock limit

If you switched locks off for the winter, they are hidden from the booking flow until you switch them on again.

One lock: flip its Active switch. The admin asks Activate lock — "This lock will become available for bookings and count toward your subscription." — and saves as soon as you press Activate. You see Lock activated.
All locks at a location: when every lock is off, the tab shows "Warning: All locks at this location are inactive. Customers will not see any products in the booking widget." with Activate all locks, which asks once for all of them.

Only active locks count toward your plan's lock limit. Inactive locks are free, so you can keep spare or broken locks in the list switched off. The heading of the Locks tab shows Active locks and Inactive locks for that location, and on a plan with a limit the line under it reads "{active} of {limit} locks in use on your plan, across all locations". Settings → Billing shows Active locks for the whole account.

If switching a lock on would go over the limit, you get No active lock slots available — "Deactivate another lock or add an active lock to your subscription." — with Replace lock (swap it with an active lock that is not coming back) or Add active lock (opens Billing). Activate all locks is greyed out when it would exceed the limit: "Activating all locks would exceed your active lock limit."

The product on each lock is chosen in the lock table's Product column and saved with the Save button — unlike the Active switch, product changes wait for Save. Check that no lock that should be bookable is left without a product.

6. Replace a lock that did not survive the winter

If a unit is broken and you have a spare, don't delete the old lock and add a new one — use Replace lock on the old, active lock's row (the swap icon). Pick the inactive lock that takes over. The new lock takes over the product, the old one is switched off and loses its product, and your number of active locks stays the same. If the old lock still has upcoming bookings, tick Move {n} upcoming bookings to {lock} to move them along. You see Lock replaced (or how many bookings moved).

A lock with upcoming bookings cannot be the one that takes over; move those bookings in Booking Management first. A sauna heater linked to the old lock moves to the new one, unless the new lock already has its own. Replacing in detail is in the locks guide.

7. Create the new season's open dates

This is the classic spring miss: last year's time period ended in the autumn, and a location with no current time period takes no bookings at all — no error, just an empty booking page.

Open the location → Open dates. Last year's period shows as Ended.
Press Create new time period, or use Copy timeperiod on last year's period and give the copy new dates. Set Period start and Period end to cover the season.
Check the weekday Pickup hours and Return hours. To give other days the same hours, use the copy icon on a day: it copies that day's hours, pickup and return times included, to All days or to one other day. Opening and closing times always fall on your booking interval; a time between two slots is moved (opening later, closing earlier), so check the times after saving.
If you use seasonal prices, set Price table for time period (High season / Low season) on the new period.
Clear out old Custom dates you no longer need — last year's closed days and storm closures.
Press Save. The period shows as Active (or Scheduled if it starts later), and the Locations not taking bookings warning goes away once nothing else is missing.

Plan the autumn too: up to 14 days before a period ends with nothing set after it, the Open dates tab warns "The current time period ends on {date} and nothing is set after it. From then on customers see no bookable dates." and Home lists it under Worth reviewing.

Every setting on this tab is explained in the opening hours guide; if the location still refuses to be bookable, work through the guide on why customers cannot book anything.

8. Review products, prices and stock

Open Products and walk the list: prices still right (including high- and low-season prices and weekday prices), descriptions still true, stock matching what survived storage. Remember that at self-service locations the number customers can book is the number of active locks carrying the product — which is why steps 5 and 6 matter more than the stock number. At staffed locations a product at quantity 0 is off sale and hidden from customers, so raise the quantity of everything you rent again. If Home shows a product line such as "{product} can't be booked." (for example no price, or a day price missing among the first seven days), open the product from there.

9. Check that Stripe still takes payments

Stripe sometimes asks for new information over the winter (identity, bank details, business details). Settings → Payments → Online payments says what Stripe wants, in words — for example "Stripe needs more information from you by {date}, or payments will be paused." — with Complete at Stripe. When payments are paused, payouts are held or a deadline is running, Home shows the same under Stripe needs your attention. If customers can't pay at all, Home also says "No location can take bookings until payments are set up." with Configure payments. Details are in the Stripe connection guide.

10. Check the booking button on your website

Winter is when websites get rebuilt, and theme updates are notorious for removing embedded code. Open the location's Book button tab and use Preview — "Opens your website in a new tab with the booking flow so you can check that embedding works." Then open your real page as a customer would. For an embedded button, the tab also says "The booking button is live on {your site}" once the button has loaded on a real page; press Check again after you have opened the page. While you are there, confirm URL where book button is implemented still points at the right page: the links in your customer emails are built from it. Reinstalling is covered in the guide on installing the booking button.

11. Place one real test booking

Book end to end — booking, payment, confirmation email, PIN code on the unlock page, the lock opening, return — on your live booking page, not only the preview. The easiest way is Make a test booking in the location's top bar, next to Save: free, or with a small payment that is refunded straight away. The button stays greyed out until the location can take bookings, and while the tab you are on has unsaved changes. The test booking is marked Test, kept out of your dashboard figures and cancelled automatically 30 minutes after you make it. In Bookings it is hidden until you switch on Show test bookings. A 100 % promo code or a staff booking with Test payment also still work; cancel those yourself afterwards. All three are described in the new operator setup checklist. For Igloohome locks the code appears 15 minutes before the start, or at the full hour if the booking starts later in the hour, so book a time that starts now.

12. Reread your emails, terms and contact details

Settings → Emails → the row whose Trigger is When the booking is created (your booking confirmation): is the phone number current, are the pickup instructions still true?
Location → Location settings → Location phone and Location email: customers see these in their emails and use them to reach you. A location without them, or with Rentalbuddy's, is marked on its Location settings tab and listed on Home under Worth reviewing.
Customer flow → Key settings → Terms & Conditions: still valid for this season?

13. Switch off what is not coming back

Anything that did not survive the winter should stop being bookable before the season starts, not after someone books it:

A broken lock without a spare: switch its Active switch off. The admin asks Deactivate lock; if bookings are still on the lock it says how many ("{n} upcoming bookings are still on this lock.") with Open booking management. Bookings already on a deactivated lock keep their access codes unless you move them. Prefer deactivating to deleting: deleting is permanent.
A product you no longer offer: take it off its locks first, then use Delete product. While a lock still carries it, deleting is refused: "This product is still linked to a lock. Remove it from the lock under the Locks tab of its location, then try again." A product with upcoming bookings can't be deleted either; the dialog lists those bookings.
A lock you are getting rid of: a lock with upcoming bookings can't be deleted. Move its bookings first, or simply leave it switched off.

That is the spring routine: Home warnings, Igloohome connection, batteries, re-sync, switch locks on, replace, open dates, products, Stripe, website button, test booking, texts, clean-up. In this order it takes an afternoon.

Common questions

It's spring and nothing can be booked — what did I forget? Almost always the open dates: last year's time period has ended. Open the location → Open dates → Create new time period (or Copy timeperiod) and set this season's dates.

My locks don't work after the winter. Charge them, then on the location's Locks tab use Sync Igloohome locks and Sync this lock from Igloo. If the sync says Payment method required, fix the payment method in the Igloo Connect portal first.

I can't switch my locks back on — it says No active lock slots available. Only active locks count toward your plan's limit. Switch off a lock you no longer use, use Replace lock to swap a broken one for a spare, or choose Add active lock to add a slot on Billing.

Do switched-off locks count toward my lock limit? No. Inactive locks do not count; only active locks use a slot on your plan.

Where do I switch locks on now? There is no Stations page. On each location: Locations → open the location → Locks, then the Active switch on each lock or Activate all locks.

Home says "Last time period ended" — is something broken? No, your season simply ended. Create the new season's time period on the location's Open dates tab.

One lock broke over the winter — do I delete it? No. If you have a spare, use Replace lock so the spare takes over its product and bookings; otherwise switch the broken lock off.

How do I test everything before the first customer comes? Use Make a test booking in the location's top bar and book through your real booking page. The test is marked, left out of your figures and cancelled automatically after 30 minutes.

I made a test booking — why isn't it in Bookings? Test bookings are hidden by default. Switch on Show test bookings in Bookings to see them.

How do I give every day the same opening hours? On Open dates, use the copy icon on the day whose hours are right and choose All days (or one day at a time), then press Save. It replaces the old Match all days to Monday.

Home says Lock units offline — what do I do? Check that the box station or Allockate unit has power and a network connection (and a working SIM card for box stations). The notice clears by itself once the unit reports again.

The booking button disappeared from my website. A website or theme update probably removed the code. Check with Preview on the Book button tab and reinstall the code as described in the booking button guide.