Outdoor instructors: run weather-dependent sessions

How outdoor activity instructors can run weather-dependent sessions with online booking: clear weather rules, backup dates, cancellations and seasons.

5 min read

Wind, rain, swell, snow: your sessions depend on conditions you can't control, and clients need to know what happens when the forecast turns. With Book, you write your weather rules into each service, decide on time, move or cancel bookings from your list, and contact clients directly with the phone and email they gave when booking.

Services with weather rules

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description, all shown on your public page. Each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity.

ServiceExample slotPlacesExample price
Surf lesson2 h8€40
Sea kayak trip3 h8€55
Rock climbing session3 h6€50
Mountain bike ride2 h 308€45

Durations, places and prices are examples: set places according to the rules that apply to you.

Write the rules down

In each description, say:

  • which conditions mean the session can't run safely;
  • when you decide, such as the evening before or two hours before;
  • how you'll contact clients: phone, message or email;
  • what clients get: a new date, another activity, or a refund handled outside Book.

Moving or cancelling

When conditions rule a session out, move or cancel the bookings from your list. Book doesn't email clients about changes, so call or message each one yourself. The booking form takes phone and email, so you have both. Rescheduling works across services, so a surf lesson can become a coasteering session if you offer it.

Backup slots

Keep a backup slot each week that you open only when you need to move a group. You create every slot, so it stays off your page until then.

Tides and wind

If your sessions follow the tide or the wind, open slots date by date rather than repeating them weekly, at the times conditions allow. Say in the description that times vary with the tide.

Seasons

Slots repeat weekly on the weekdays you choose until an end date. Set a run for the season and let it end, so the page shows nothing when you're closed.

What to ask in the note

Ask for ages, sizes for kit and experience. The note reaches you in the new booking email. Ask clients to tell you about health needs directly, not in the note, which appears in their calendar file.

What Book doesn't do

Book doesn't check forecasts, take payments or issue refunds, or send reminders or change emails. Clients can't move or cancel online: they contact you. One booking page per business, no staff field: with several instructors, create services per instructor. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.

Where do I explain my weather policy?
In each service description.
Does Book tell clients a session is cancelled?
No. Contact them yourself with the phone and email they gave.
Can I keep a backup slot?
Yes. Open it only when you need to move a group.
Can session times follow the tide?
Yes. Open slots date by date at the right times.

Guides for outdoor activities instructors