Problem Statement:
- Hosts cannot use short codes or formulas in guest messages to perform calculations
- There's no way to automatically calculate percentages of rental totals (e.g., 50% of booking amount)
- Hosts creating manual booking agreements need to specify payment schedules based on percentages (e.g., 50% due at booking, 50% due 60 days out)
- Security deposits cannot be automatically added to the first payment using calculations
Current Workaround:
- Hosts manually calculate percentages and payment amounts outside of Hospitable
- Hosts type out calculated amounts manually in guest messages
- This is time-consuming and error-prone, especially for complex payment schedules
Impact:
- Increased manual work for hosts managing payment schedules
- Risk of calculation errors in payment amounts
- More friction when creating booking agreements with guests
Proposed Solution:
- Add support for short codes or formula-like syntax in guest messages
- Allow percentage calculations (e.g., %total% * 0.5 for 50% of total)
- Enable mathematical operations similar to spreadsheet formulas
Unlock:
- Hosts can automatically calculate and display payment amounts in guest messages
- Payment schedules can be dynamically generated based on percentages of the rental total
- Security deposits and other fees can be automatically added to payment calculations
- Reduced manual work and fewer calculation errors