Spa managers: taking bookings for spa days and packages

Sell a spa day or half-day package as its own service, with one slot per session covering the time guests spend in the spa and a number of places matched to what your pools, saunas and relaxation areas can hold. Say in the description what's included, such as access, a treatment, lunch or a robe, and how the treatment time is set. Guests book a place online, the session closes itself when full, and you schedule each included treatment into your therapists' day once the bookings come in.

A relaxation area, a pool or a sauna can take a certain number of people comfortably. That number is the capacity of each access slot. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity. When the last place is booked, the session leaves your page, so the spa never gets more crowded than you planned.

Times, places and prices are examples: set your own. Give packages fewer places than plain access, since each package guest also needs a treatment slot.

A package place says a treatment is included, not when it happens. Two simple ways to handle it:

Either way, the number of package places per session should match the treatment slots your therapists can deliver within it. Six package places and three therapists on a four-hour morning leaves room for two treatments each, with turnaround time.

Birthdays, hen parties and team days can come as one request for several places. Each online booking takes one place, so a group either books one by one, or the organiser calls you and you book every guest yourself from your calendar. First and last name are required for each, email and phone optional. Ask in the booking note for the occasion and the number of guests so you can prepare a table or a private area.

When a spa day is a gift and someone books for another person, ask them to enter the guest's name, and their own email only if they want the confirmation. Say in the description how vouchers are used: the guest calls you to choose a date and you book them in, or they book online and mention the voucher in the note. Book doesn't sell vouchers or take payments, so say how you handle them.

Weekends and school holidays may fill well before weekdays. Open sessions for those days further ahead, and consider a lower weekday price as a separate service, such as "Spa day, weekday", so guests see the difference straight away. Repeat each session weekly on the weekdays you choose until an end date, and add one-off sessions for bank holidays or special evenings. If a weekday session stays nearly empty week after week, shorten it, merge it with another, or use those hours for private group bookings.

Guests can't move or cancel online: they contact you, and you move them to another session from your bookings list. Rescheduling works across services, so a guest can switch from a spa day to a half-day package. Confirm each change yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Your bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.