Bunk Preferences

Bunk preferences let parents request specific bunkmates for their camper during registration. Parents type in names of friends, and you can see those requests when assigning bunks so you can try to accommodate them.

Turning on Bunk Preferences

Bunk preferences are a built-in field that needs to be enabled before parents can use it. If the field is not turned on, parents will not see it on the registration form and you will not see it in camper profiles.

1. Go to Settings in the sidebar, then click Registration.
2. Scroll down to the Field Settings section.
3. Find Bunk Preferences in the Camper fields.
4. Check Use to enable the field across Campflow.
5. Check Show to display it on the registration form.
6. Optionally, check Require if parents must fill it in before submitting.
7. Click Save Settings at the bottom of the page.

Once enabled, parents will see a “Bunk preferences” field on the registration form where they can type in names of friends. The field description tells parents to “List a few friends and we’ll do our best to accommodate.”

Viewing Bunk Preferences

There are three places to see the bunk preferences that parents submitted.

On the Bunks Board

When you open the Bunks page, camper cards that have bunk preferences show a green star icon in the top-right corner of the card. Hover over the star to see the full list of names the parent entered.

This is the most useful place to check preferences while you are actively assigning campers to bunks — you can see at a glance which campers have requests without leaving the board.

In a Camper Profile

1. Go to the Families page and open the family.
2. Scroll to the camper’s details.
3. The Bunk preferences field shows the names the parent entered.

You can also edit bunk preferences here — for example, if a parent calls in with an update.

In Reports and Exports

When printing or exporting camper data through the Print & Export panel, check the Bunk Requests checkbox in the field list. The preferences will appear on contact lists, labels, and in Excel exports.

You can also use the {bunk_preferences} merge tag in broadcasts to include a camper’s bunk preferences in emails or messages.

Good to Know

• Bunk preferences are free text — parents can type any names they want. Campflow does not verify that the requested bunkmates are enrolled campers.
• If you do not see bunk preferences anywhere, the field is likely turned off. Go to Settings > Registration and check the Field Settings section to enable it.
• Bunk preferences are tied to the camper’s enrollment for a specific season. If a camper re-enrolls for a new season, parents fill in preferences again on the new registration.
• If you use Applications, you can control whether bunk preferences appear on the application form, the registration form, or both, using the separate application and registration columns in field settings.