Shiatsu at home or in the studio: how to organise both

Offer studio and home sessions as two separate services, with home sessions priced and timed to include travel and setting up the futon. Give each format its own days, for example studio sessions Monday, Wednesday and Friday, home visits Tuesday and Thursday by area, so you're not crossing town between a home visit and a studio client. Tell home clients in the description how much floor space you need and what to prepare.

On Book, create each format as its own service, with a description and an optional price. Clients see at once what's available where. Home sessions take more of your time than the hour on the futon, so their price can reflect travel, and their slots should leave room for it.

Mixing home and studio sessions on the same day leads to rushing: a home visit that runs over makes you late for the studio, and carrying the futon between two places tires you before the next session. Separating them by day keeps each day simple. On home-visit days, group clients by area and say in the description which areas you cover which day.

A slot created once can be repeated on the weekdays you choose until an end date, so a weekly pattern of studio days and home days is quick to set up.

Leave enough time between two home sessions to pack up, travel and set up again. If sessions last an hour and the next address is 20 minutes away, that's easily 40 to 50 minutes between the end of one and the start of the next. Open home slots with that gap built in rather than back to back. Clients book the slots you open, so the gaps protect you without any extra rule.

The booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note. Put this list in the home service's description. You receive an email for each new booking, with the note, so you can plan your route.

A first home session involves more unknowns: finding the address, parking, getting through the door code, discovering the room. Give it a little more time than a regular home session, and schedule it earlier in the day if possible, so a delay doesn't cascade through the afternoon. A short phone call the day before to confirm the address and the space is a good habit, since Book doesn't send reminders.

Sometimes the door stays closed: the client forgot, the intercom doesn't work, the phone rings unanswered. Decide in advance how long you wait and what happens to the session, and write it in the home service description. A clear rule, stated before the booking, makes the conversation easier if it happens.

Clients who come back every few weeks can book their next session at the end of the current one, or you can book it for them from your calendar. For a home client with a fixed weekly or monthly session, book the dates yourself; weekly patterns can be repeated, monthly ones are booked date by date.

Some practitioners also offer short seated sessions for companies or events. These work best on dedicated days: agree the date with the organiser, create a service with short slots, and either book them yourself or send the link so participants choose their time.

If a session has to move, reschedule it from your bookings list and tell the client yourself, since Book doesn't email them when a booking changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited bookings and services, no commission and no contract.