One question, one answer.
Short, precise answers to what comes up daily for a hotel, guesthouse, holiday home or campsite in Lithuania. Each one links to the full guide.
E. turistas and NTIS
Guide: E. turistas & NTIS guest reporting- Is E. turistas (NTIS) guest reporting mandatory for a holiday home in Lithuania? Yes. Anyone providing accommodation services in Lithuania must report guest data to E. turistas (NTIS), regardless of property size or where the booking came from.
- How quickly must guest data be filed to E. turistas? Guest data must be filed to NTIS no later than 24 hours after the guest is accommodated.
- Do Airbnb and Booking.com guests need to be registered in E. turistas? Yes. The booking source does not change the obligation: Airbnb and Booking.com guests are registered in NTIS by the accommodation provider, not by the platform.
- What guest data does E. turistas require? For each adult guest: name, surname, date of birth, the state that issued the identity document, country and city of residence, arrival and departure dates, whether the trip was booked through an organiser, and the main purpose of travel. Accompanying minors are not registered individually, only their number is given.
- What is the penalty for not filing to E. turistas? Administrative liability: according to the NTIS FAQ, a first offence carries a fine of 300 to 560 euros, and a repeat offence 560 to 900 euros.
- Can E. turistas reporting be automated? Yes. NTIS has an official API (OpenAPI) through which a property management system can file guest data without manual re-entry.
Booking.com, Airbnb and channels
Guide: Booking.com & Airbnb channel manager- Is iCal sync between Booking.com and Airbnb enough? For one unit with occasional bookings, maybe. For several rooms or active rentals, no: iCal updates with a delay, carries only blocked dates and never carries prices.
- How do I avoid double bookings from Booking.com and Airbnb? Connect one source of availability to every channel through an API, so each new booking closes the dates everywhere else immediately.
- What is a channel manager? It is the connection that pushes your availability, rates and restrictions to Booking.com, Airbnb and other platforms, and pulls their bookings back into one calendar.
- Can I change rates on all channels from one place? Yes, if the channels are connected through an API. You change the rate and minimum stay once and the system pushes it to Booking.com, Airbnb and the rest.
- How long does it take to connect Booking.com to a booking system? Usually one to a few working days: the connection itself is switched on in the Booking.com extranet, and most of the time goes into mapping room types and rate plans.
Guest check-in
Guide: Online guest check-in- How does online guest check-in work? Before arrival the guest receives a link, fills in the NTIS-required details on their phone, and then receives arrival instructions and the door code. You check that everything was filed and, on arrival, that the guest's ID matches the submitted details.
- Is it safe to ask guests for a passport photo by email? Not advisable. A passport photo sent by email sits in your and the guest's mailboxes indefinitely, and NTIS does not even require a photo, only the document details.
- How does a guest get the door code without meeting anyone? The code goes out with the arrival instructions once the guest completes check-in. You do not wait at the door or send a message by hand.
VAT and invoices
Guide: VAT invoices for accommodation in Lithuania- What VAT rate applies to accommodation in Lithuania from 2026? From 1 January 2026 accommodation services provided under Lithuania's tourism legislation are taxed at a reduced 12 % VAT rate. Until then the rate was 9 %.
- Do I need to issue an invoice to a Booking.com guest? Yes, if the guest asks, and always for a company. Booking.com invoices you for its commission only, not the guest for the stay.
- When must an accommodation business in Lithuania register for VAT? When the value of services and goods supplied in Lithuania in the previous or current calendar year exceeds 45 000 euros. Check the threshold and any changes on the tax authority's website.
Deposits, no-shows and direct bookings
Guide: Booking system for holiday homes & villas- How do I take a deposit for a booking? Send a payment link and hold the room until a deadline: if the deposit arrives the booking is confirmed, if not the dates go back on sale automatically.
- What should I do when a guest does not show up? Mark the no-show, apply the booking's cancellation terms and put the room back on sale the same night. For Booking.com, also mark the no-show in the extranet so no commission is charged.
- Is a booking system worth it for a single holiday home? If bookings come from at least two sources or you welcome guests without meeting them, yes. If you have one unit, one channel and a few bookings a month, a calendar and a good template may be enough.
- How do I get more direct bookings without commission? Have your own booking page with live availability and payment, show it on your website and in Google, and offer returning guests to book direct.
Choosing a system
Guide: How to choose a booking system- How much does a booking system cost for a holiday home or hotel? Ovilo costs from €49 per month for a property with up to 10 rooms, from €79 for up to 25 rooms and from €129 for up to 50 rooms. Billed annually, that is €39, €63 and €103 per month.
- How is Ovilo different from Smoobu, Lodgify or Hostaway? Ovilo is built for accommodation businesses in Lithuania: E. turistas filing through the official NTIS API, invoices that meet Lithuanian requirements and support in Lithuanian are part of the system, not add-ons or a separate tool.
- How do I move my bookings from Excel or another system? Future bookings are imported from a spreadsheet or export file, channels are reconnected, and guest history is moved as far as you have it. For one property this usually takes a few days.