How to use Host tools for your Smith Lake rental

Host tools help you run a rental listing: a calendar you can block, a board for guests’ stay requests, calendar import from booking sites, co-hosts and a guest guide. Smith Lake NOW does not take bookings or payments for your rental and never takes a share of your rental income.

Open Host tools

Step by step

Step 1: Sign in and post your rental with “List a Vacation Rental” if you have not already. Then open Host tools.
Step 2: On the Host dashboard each rental shows its next 30 days, its calendar-sync status and how many requests are waiting. Choose Calendar, Requests or Settings.
Step 3: On the Calendar tab tap a night, then another to select a range. Choose to block nights, mark an owner stay, mark nights booked elsewhere, or reopen nights, add a private note and choose “Save nights”.
Step 4: To import a booking site’s calendar, paste its iCal link under Connected calendars and choose “Test and connect”. This reads dates only and needs Rental Pro; manual blocks are free.
Step 5: Open Requests to see guests’ stay requests. Choose “Approve request” (optionally holding the dates for a number of days), or “Decline request” with an optional message.
Step 6: In Settings choose whether guests can ask to stay on this listing and set your default hold time.
Step 7: With Rental Pro you can create an invitation link for a co-host, who can manage the calendar and requests and message guests but cannot change your plan.
Step 8: Open Guest guide to write your welcome, Wi-Fi, check-in, house rules and local tips. You can preview and share it. Publishing needs a guide entitlement that is not yet available to buy.

Open Host tools

Questions people ask

Does Smith Lake NOW take bookings or payments?

No. Guests pay you through your own booking or payment provider, and we never take a share of your rental income.

Is an approved request a confirmed booking?

No. An approval is not a confirmed stay. Nothing is charged, and you and the guest finish through your own provider.

What does the Free plan include?

The free plan covers one property with manual calendar blocks and requests. Calendar import, co-hosts and a higher spot in vacation rental search come with Rental Pro.

What happens if I do not answer a request?

Requests you do not answer end after 7 days by default, and the guest is told the request expired.

Can the host see the guest’s contact details?

Yes. On the Requests board you see the guest’s name, dates, message, email and phone, and whether the email is verified.

Vacation rentals

Find a cabin or lake house to rent, and ask the host for the dates you want.

Browse vacation rentalsHow it works

Boat and watercraft rentals

Rent a pontoon, ski boat or other watercraft from local owners and marinas.

Browse watercraftHow it works

List your home or land

Sell your property yourself, or list it as a realtor, with photos and a map location you control.

Start a listingHow it works

Private messages

Message a member or a seller directly, with photos, without sharing your email address.

Open MessagesHow it works

Last updated November 9, 2026. Still stuck? Visit the Help Center or contact us. Back to all of Discover.