Task rules automatically create operational tasks for your reservations. Generated tasks appear in the Task calendar, where you and your team can view and manage them.
You can create task rules for:
Cleaning – Turnovers and periodic deep cleans.
Check-in – Administrative, inventory, or preparation tasks before guest arrival.
Checkout – Administrative or inventory tasks after a guest checks out.
Maintenance – Repairs, inspections, or recurring upkeep.
Create a task rule
Go to Operations → Task Management
Click Add task rule button to open the Add operations task rule wizard.
Select the type of task rule you want to create.
The remaining steps depend on the task type you choose.
Note: If you leave the wizard before finishing, you can save your progress as a draft and continue later.
🚨 Property assignment varies by task type. Cleaning task rules require a property during setup. Check-in, Checkout, and Maintenance task rules are created without properties, so you'll need to assign them from the Properties section after creating the rule.
Cleaning task rules
Cleaning task rules have the most configuration options.
Select Cleaning task type and click Continue.
Select the property the rule will apply to.
Review the cleaning details:
Bedrooms (read-only)
Bathrooms (read-only)
Cleaning time
Whether you will provide cleaning supplies
Choose how you'd like to assign the cleaning:
I'll use my own cleaner
Find a cleaner for me (available only for eligible Marketplace properties and plans)
Note: The Marketplace cleaning option is being phased out for most hosts. It remains available only for eligible Marketplace properties, including hosts with previous or upcoming Marketplace cleaning bookings. New properties are no longer eligible.
Review the AI-generated cleaning checklist. At least one checklist item is required before continuing.
Continue through the remaining setup, which may include:
Assigning a teammate (manual cleaning)
Configuring the cleaning schedule
Adding property access instructions See "Setting Property access for a task rule" below.
Configuring payments (when available)
Choosing whether to apply the rule to existing reservations. See "What 'Existing and new bookings' does" below.
Activate the task rule.
What "Existing and new bookings" does
If you turn this on, Hospitable creates cleaning tasks on reservations that are already on the books but did not have a task before. Those new tasks are scoped to the teammate you picked on the rule.
If you did not pick a teammate, or the reservation is missing information that is needed to auto-assign, the new tasks will show up unassigned. You can find them under Operations > Task Management in the unassigned list and assign a teammate from there. See Task Rules: Manually Assigning Tasks To A Teammate.
This option only affects reservations that existed at the moment you saved. It does not run again automatically.
🚨 During creation, cleaning task rules can be assigned to only one property.
After activating a cleaning task rule, open the rule and use the Properties section to assign additional properties.
Note: Marketplace cleaning task rules are permanently linked to the property selected during creation. To use Marketplace cleaning for another property, create a separate task rule.
Check-in task rules
Select Check-in task type and click Continue.
The rule is created immediately using default settings.
After the rule is created, you can:
Assign one or more properties.
Update the schedule.
Assign teammates.
Edit the checklist and other settings.
Toggle on and click "Save" to activate it.
Checkout task rules
Select Check-out task type and click Continue.
Choose whether tasks should be created:
Before check-out
After check-out
The rule is created immediately using default settings.
After the rule is created, you can:
Assign one or more properties.
Update the schedule.
Assign teammates.
Edit the checklist and other settings.
Toggle on and click "Save" to activate it.
Maintenance task rules
Select Maintenance task type and click Continue.
Choose whe tasks should be created:
Recurring
Before check-in
After check-in
Before check-out
After check-out
The rule is created immediately using default settings.
After the rule is created, you can:
Assign one or more properties.
Update the schedule.
Assign teammates.
Edit the checklist and other settings.
Toggle on and click "Save" to activate it.
Edit a task rule
After creating a task rule, you'll be taken to its detail page, where you can update settings such as:
Properties (except Marketplace cleaning task rules)
Schedule
Checklist
Teammate assignment
Property access
Payments (when available)
When you're finished making changes, click Save changes button.
You'll then be prompted to choose how your updates should be applied:
Only apply to future reservations – Keeps tasks for existing scheduled reservations unchanged. Your updates will only apply to reservations created after the rule is saved.
Update tasks for existing and future reservations – Applies the updated task rule settings to both existing scheduled reservation tasks and future reservations.
What each option changes, and what it does not
Whichever option you pick, the update does not change who is currently assigned to existing tasks. It updates the rule's settings (schedule, checklist, property access, teammate default) so that new tasks the rule creates will use them. Tasks that already exist keep their current assignee unless you reassign them individually. See Task Rules: Manually Assigning Tasks To A Teammate.
Notification rules follow the same pattern. If you have a "New task" notification rule pointed at a specific teammate, changing the task rule's default teammate will not change who gets notified about existing tasks.
Setting Property access for a task rule
Each task rule includes a Property access setting that controls how the cleaner will get into the property.
The options
Smart lock — Hospitable automatically generates a smart lock code for the cleaner, valid only during their task window
Other access — No smart lock code is generated; you handle access another way (e.g. shared key, lockbox, manual instructions)
Only one option can be selected per task rule.
Smart lock
Available when: A smart lock is matched to a property the rule applies to
What happens:
A new operations code is generated for every task this rule creates
Code is valid during the task window, plus a small buffer
To deliver the code to your teammate, you'll need a task notification rule that uses the
%operations_smartlock_code%shortcode
Other access
What happens:
Tasks are still created and assigned as normal
No smart lock code is generated
Teammate does not receive a code from this rule
To change the setting
Operations → Task rules
Open the rule
Under Property access, select Smart lock or Other access
Save
⚠️ Switching from Smart lock to Other access does not remove codes already created. Existing codes stay on the lock until they expire or you delete them manually.
To delete existing operations codes
Devices → Smart Locks
Open the lock
Go to the Operations codes tab
Delete the code
How code labels look
Format: [Teammate full name][PIN digits]
Example:
Alex Rivera5536The name = the real teammate assigned to the task
Not a placeholder, not a default
If you reassign a task
If a task is reassigned to a different teammate after the operations code has already been generated, the code stays on the lock with the original teammate's name. The code itself continues to work, but it won't be renamed or regenerated for the new teammate automatically.