Bartenders: taking bookings for cocktail masterclasses

Run each cocktail masterclass format as its own service, with sessions whose number of places matches your mixing stations, shakers and glassware. Say in the description how many cocktails guests make, what's included, the minimum age and whether alcohol-free versions are available. Guests book one place each, the session closes itself when full, and you prepare exactly the right amount of ingredients. Private groups, such as birthdays and team events, get their own service with one place, booked by the organiser.

A two-hour classics evening, a gin tasting with three cocktails and a private hen party don't attract the same guests or need the same set-up. Separate services let each have its own length, price and description. 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.

Durations, places and prices are examples: set your own.

The right capacity comes from your kit and your bar: how many guests can stand at a station with a shaker, a jigger and a board, and how many you can watch at once. Set each session's places to that number. When the last place is booked, the session leaves your page. Your page doesn't show how many places are left, so if you want room for a friend who joins late, set the capacity one lower.

Each online booking takes one place, so two friends book once each. If one person books for a group by phone, book each guest yourself from your calendar; first and last name are required, email and phone optional. Ask in the booking note who they're coming with, so you can put them at the same station and pour for them together.

Ask in the booking note for allergies to ingredients, such as nuts in orgeat or egg white in sours, so you can swap them.

A changing theme gives regular guests a reason to come back: summer spritzes, autumn whisky cocktails, festive punches in December. Create each theme as its own service for the weeks it runs, with an end date on its slots, and keep the classic masterclass running all year. A theme that fills fast can return the following season; one that struggles can be dropped without touching your regular sessions.

Birthdays, hen and stag parties and team events want the bar to themselves. Offer a private masterclass as a separate service with one place, booked by the organiser, and say in the description how many guests the price covers and the price per extra guest. Ask for the occasion and the number of guests in the note. For corporate groups who need an invoice or a date by phone, book it yourself and agree the details by email.

A public session with two guests may not cover your costs. Say your minimum in the description and when you decide, for example two days before. If the session doesn't run, cancel each booking from your bookings list and contact every guest yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes, and offer them a place on the next date.

Thursday to Saturday evenings suit public sessions; weekday late afternoons suit team events. Slots repeat each week on the weekdays you choose until an end date, so a regular Thursday session takes a minute to set. Guests can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you move them to another session from your bookings list. Your bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.