Boarding Reservation Confirmation Checklist
A front-desk checklist of everything that should be verified and recorded before a run is marked as taken and a confirmation goes out to the owner.
Reviewed for 2026, updated September 8, 2026.
Most reservation problems in a boarding kennel do not come from a hard decision made badly. They come from a small detail that was never captured: a departure date that nobody counted in nights, a rabies record that lapses on day three of the stay, a deposit taken over the phone and never written against the run, a medication note that lives at the front desk while the dog lives at the back of the building. This checklist is a single pass through all of those details, in roughly the order they come up between the first call and the confirmation email. Each line is something the person taking the booking can confirm from the reservation record itself rather than from memory.
Use it for every new reservation until the habits stick, and keep using it for peak weeks and first-time customers after that. The items follow the themes in our complete guide to pet boarding reservations and kennel availability, and several of them are covered in depth in the articles on vaccination proof, on why deposits reduce no-shows, and on handling feeding and medication notes. If you are deciding how large a deposit to ask for, the Boarding Deposit vs No-Show Loss Calculator in our Tools section will help you put a number on what no-shows currently cost you.
- The arrival and departure dates are written as specific calendar dates with the number of nights counted, and the owner has confirmed which day they will actually drop off and which day they will pick up.
- The run type or suite class the family expects (standard run, large run, suite, cat room, shared family run) is named on the reservation rather than assumed from the size of the dog.
- The grid has been checked for every night of the stay, and no other reservation claims the same run for any overlapping night.
- If the stay falls in a peak week, the run being assigned is not one of the buffer runs held back for regulars and emergencies, or a manager has approved releasing it.
- Pet name, species, breed, approximate age, sex, weight range, and spay or neuter status are on the record, with a note of any other pets from the same household staying at the same time.
- Vaccination records from a veterinarian have been received for every vaccine your policy requires, showing the pet's name, the vaccine given, the date, and the expiration or due date.
- Every vaccine expiration date has been compared with the departure date, and any record that lapses during the stay has been flagged and the owner asked to update it before arrival.
- Any titer test, medical exemption, or missing vaccine has been reviewed against your written policy and either accepted with a note or declined with the owner told why.
- The full stay has been quoted in writing, including the nightly rate, requested add-ons, and any peak-week pricing, so there is nothing new to explain at pickup.
- The deposit has been collected and recorded against this specific reservation, and the run was marked as taken only after the deposit was received.
- The cancellation policy that applies to these dates has been stated in the confirmation, including refund tiers, cutoff dates, and any stricter rule for peak weeks.
- Rules for early pickup, late pickup, and stays that run long because of travel trouble are in the confirmation, with the charge for each.
- Feeding instructions are recorded: food supplied by the owner or by the kennel, amount per meal, meals per day, and what to do if the pet skips a meal.
- Every medication is recorded with drug name, dose, timing, how it is given, where the supply will be stored, and what to do about a missed or refused dose.
- Behavioral notes are captured: reactivity to other dogs, fear of loud noises, history of escaping, separation anxiety, or anything staff should know before opening the run.
- A primary and a backup contact number are on file, and at least one of them belongs to someone who will be reachable while the family is traveling.
- The name and phone number of the pet's veterinarian are recorded, and the owner has signed an emergency care authorization up to a stated dollar amount.
- Any grooming, exercise, or special handling add-ons are on the reservation with a price, and the person who will deliver them has been told.
- The confirmation sent to the owner states the dates, run type, total price, deposit received, what to bring, drop-off and pickup hours, and any documents still outstanding.
- A reminder is scheduled a few days before arrival to re-check vaccination status, confirm the drop-off time, and ask whether anything about the pet's care has changed.
- For a first-time customer, a walk-through has been offered or a short note sent explaining how the first morning will go, and that offer is logged on the record.
- The reservation, the payment record, and the pet's care file are stored where the front desk can see all three at once, and the floor staff can read the care notes without walking to the front desk.
https://petstayr.com/templates/boarding-reservation-confirmation-checklist/Use it in your business, share it with your team, or link to it from your own site.
Also from PetStayr
- Peak Week Capacity Planning Worksheet: A one-page planning sheet for each holiday or high-demand week, recording bookable runs, the buffer held back, the date bookings open, the deposit rule, and the waitlist, so peak weeks are planned rather than survived.
- Free calculators