How to Invite Family and Friends to Your Shared Property
You've set up your property on OurSharedPlace. Now it's time to bring everyone else in. There are two ways to do it, and you can use both at the same time.
Option 1: Email Invitations
Email invitations are the best choice when you want to control exactly who joins and what role they have. Each invitation is tied to a specific email address and includes a role assignment.
How to send an invitation
- Go to your property's Members page.
- Click Invite Member.
- Enter their name, email address, and choose a role: Administrator, Member, or Guest.
- Optionally set an annual booking quota (the maximum number of days they can book per year).
- Click Send Invitation. They'll receive an email with a link to accept.
Understanding Roles
- Administrator — Full control over the property. Can manage members, approve bookings, edit settings, and access all features. You can have multiple admins.
- Member — Can request bookings, upload photos, write blog posts, and participate in all property activities. Cannot manage other members or approve bookings.
- Guest — View-only access. Can see property information, the calendar, photos, and blog posts that are set to guest visibility, but cannot make changes or create bookings.
What happens on their end
The person you invite receives an email with details about the property and their role. When they click the link:
- If they don't have an OurSharedPlace account yet, they'll be guided through a quick signup. No email confirmation is needed for invited users — they can start using the property immediately.
- If they already have an account, they can sign in and the invitation will be applied automatically.
Invitations expire after 7 days. You can resend them from the Members page at any time.
Option 2: Share a Join Code
Join codes are ideal when you want to invite a group of people at once without sending individual emails. Share the code in a group text, a family email thread, or even verbally at a gathering — anyone with the code can add themselves.
How to set up a join code
- Go to your property's Settings → Join Code.
- Click Generate Join Code. You'll get a short code (like
3A7F-2C1B) and a direct link. - Share either the code or the link with the people you want to invite.
People who use the join code are added as Members by default. You can upgrade anyone to Administrator afterward from the Members page.
How people use the code
There are two ways for someone to join with a code:
- Via the link — Click the link you shared, sign in or create an account, and confirm. One click after login.
- Via the code — Visit
oursharedplace.com/join, enter the code, sign in, and confirm. Handy when someone is on a different device from where they received the code.
Managing your join code
- Disable the code at any time to stop new people from joining, without affecting existing members.
- Regenerate the code to create a new one. The old code and any links using it stop working immediately.
- You can re-enable a disabled code without regenerating — the same code picks up where it left off.
Which Method Should You Use?
Use email invitations when...
- • You want to assign specific roles (especially Admin or Guest)
- • You need to set individual booking quotas
- • You're inviting one or two people
- • You want a clear audit trail of who was invited and when
Use a join code when...
- • You're inviting a group all at once
- • Everyone will have the same Member role
- • You want to share verbally or in a group chat
- • Simplicity matters more than granular control
You can always use both methods for the same property. For example, you might send email invitations to co-owners with Admin roles and booking quotas, then share a join code in the family group chat for everyone else.
Tips
- If someone has trouble with an invitation link, the simplest fix is to have them visit
oursharedplace.com/joinand enter the join code instead. - Invitations are tied to a specific email address. If someone tries to accept with a different email, they'll be asked to sign in with the correct account.
- You can change anyone's role after they join. Promote a Member to Admin, or adjust their booking quota from the Members page.
- Regenerate your join code periodically if you want to control who can use it. The old code stops working the moment you generate a new one.