How to Give Read-Only Access to Cloudbeds
Cloudbeds is a property management system, and giving someone read-only access lets them view reservations and the calendar without being able to take payments, refund cards, edit bookings, or change any settings. Cloudbeds has no ready-made role literally called "read-only", so you create a custom role that enables only the "View Reservations and Calendar" privilege and leave every money-movement, edit, and settings privilege switched off. Because Cloudbeds is privilege-additive, building the role from nothing keeps it safe: the role is only as powerful as the boxes you tick. This guide shows you how to open the Users settings, create the view-only role, enable just the viewing privilege, invite the person and assign the role, then verify they cannot reach any payment or edit controls. It also covers how to revoke access later, since Cloudbeds lets you disable users but never delete them.
Access to grant
Custom view-only role enabling only the "View Reservations and Calendar" privilege
Who you're granting access to
- Your bookkeeper, accountant, or another adviser you want to give view-only access.
Before you start
- A Cloudbeds account with the "Manage User Roles and privileges" permission (the Property Owner or an Administrator has this by default).
- The full name and email address of the person you want to give view-only access.
- Knowledge of which property or properties they should be able to see (for multi-property groups).
Step by step
- 1
Open the Users settings area
In the Cloudbeds PMS, open the Account menu, go to the Settings Page, then click the Users section. You will see tabs across the top including Users and Roles.
- 2
Create the view-only role first
Click the Roles tab, then click +Add role. This opens the screen where you create a role name, an optional description, and select the privileges the role grants. Create the role before inviting the person so you can assign it during the invite.
- 3
Name the role and add a description
Enter a Role Name, for example "View Only" or "Read-Only Auditor", and optionally add a short description. Build the role's privileges up from nothing rather than copying the Administrator role, which is not safe for view-only access.
- 4
Enable only the read-only viewing privilege
In the privileges list, under the Reservations privileges, tick only "View Reservations and Calendar" (which lets the user view individual reservations and the Calendar page) and leave the action privileges off, including Modify Reservations, Edit Reservation Rates, Override Rate Difference, Edit Guest Profile, and Delete Reservation. If you also want them to see financial summaries, you may enable read-only items such as Cloudbeds Insights and, under the Payments portal, only View overview tab or View reports tab.
- 5
Leave every money and settings privilege off
Keep the Payments privileges off and confirm Add Payments, Add Refund, Authorize and process credit card payments, Modify and Void Payments, Record Existing Credit Card Payments, and Transfer Credit Card details are all unticked. Also leave off all Folios, Adjustments, Property, Rates, Availability, Housekeeping, Night Audit, Billing Portal, API Credentials and Integrations, and PII privileges so the user cannot move money or change settings.
- 6
Save the role and invite the person
Save the role so it appears in the Roles table, then return to the Users tab and add a new user. Fill in their name and email, assign the view-only role you just created, grant the right property access, and save so they receive an activation email.
- 7
Verify the restriction
Have the user confirm they can open reservations and the Calendar but cannot see Add Payment, Add Refund, or Void controls, cannot edit reservations or rates, and cannot reach property or payment settings. If anything is missing or extra, edit the role under the Roles tab and save again.
Removing access afterwards
- Cloudbeds does not let you delete a user, only disable them, and the Property Owner account cannot be disabled.
- Open the Account menu, go to the Settings Page, then the Users section, and select the Users tab.
- Find the user in the Users list and switch the toggle next to them to disable the account, which revokes their login.
- Disabled users still appear in the activity log marked "Inactive", and if their email was added to System Notification Preferences it is automatically removed after deactivation.
- To retire the role afterwards, edit or delete the custom view-only role under the Roles tab, but only once no active user is assigned to it.
- If you suspect the account was compromised, also rotate any shared credentials and review the user's activity log for actions taken before you disabled them.
If that option is not available
If you would rather not build the role yourself, ask your Property Owner or an Administrator to create a custom role enabling only "View Reservations and Calendar" and invite the viewer with that role. For multi-property groups, Cloudbeds also has a separate Organization user permissions model: see the official Cloudbeds Help Centre article on Organization user permissions for that flow.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Cloudbeds creates an Administrator role as an example on your account, and it is not read-only. To get genuine view-only access you create a custom role that enables only the "View Reservations and Calendar" privilege and leaves every edit, payment, and settings privilege off.
Keep the Payments privileges off and confirm Add Payments, Add Refund, Authorize and process credit card payments, Modify and Void Payments, Record Existing Credit Card Payments, and Transfer Credit Card details are all unticked. Also leave off all Folios, Adjustments, Property, Rates, Availability, Housekeeping, Night Audit, Billing Portal, API Credentials and Integrations, and PII privileges.
No. Any user with the "Manage User Roles and privileges" permission, normally the Property Owner or an Administrator, can create roles and invite users self-serve from Settings > Users. There is no app review or partner approval gate for a UI user invite.
Cloudbeds does not allow deleting users, only disabling them. Open Settings > Users > Users, find the person, and switch the toggle next to them to disable the account and revoke their login. Disabled users remain in the activity log marked "Inactive".
Not if you built the role correctly. With the Payments privileges left off, the user cannot see or use Add Payment, Add Refund, or Void controls, cannot authorise card charges, and cannot move transactions between folios. The role is only as safe as the boxes you leave unticked.
The new user receives a Welcome to Cloudbeds email inviting them to set a password and activate their account. If it does not arrive, the Property Owner can open Settings > Users > Users and use the Resend Activation Email option for that user.
Related guides
Steps last checked against Cloudbeds on 2026-06-15.
Based on official Cloudbeds documentation: Add, edit or delete roles - Cloudbeds Help, Role privileges - Cloudbeds Help, Add, edit or disable users and user's activity log - Cloudbeds Help, Suggested Role Privileges for your Cloudbeds PMS - Cloudbeds Help, Organization user permissions - Cloudbeds Help. Cloudbeds is a trademark of its respective owner; this guide is independent and for instruction only.
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