To choose booking software, start with how your guests book: one person at a time they choose, or a place at a start time you set. Then compare two or three systems on what they cost on a normal month, how guests pay, how cancellations work and how your team runs the day. Test each one with a real activity before you sign up.
This guide gives you ten questions to ask, a checklist to compare your shortlist and a way to test booking software in an afternoon. It is written for small businesses that sell time slots, such as tours, classes, workshops, escape rooms, boat trips and tastings.
Start with how you sell your time
Booking software is built around one way of booking, and the wrong type causes problems that no setting can fix.
- Places at a start time you set, shared by many guests: time slot or activity booking software. This covers tours, classes, workshops, escape rooms and tastings.
- Time with one person, at a time the customer picks: appointment scheduling software, for hairdressers, therapists and tutors.
- An item for a length of time: rental booking software, for bike, kayak and equipment hire.
- A seat at a one-off event: event ticketing software.
If your business mixes these, list which one makes most of your money and start there. Our guide to what booking software is explains the types in more detail.
10 questions to ask before you choose booking software
1. Does it fit how my guests book?
Set up your most popular activity in the system, exactly as you sell it. Check that it handles:
- the number of places on each time slot
- your ticket types, such as adult, child and family
- private groups that book a whole time slot
- paid extras, such as lunch, photos or materials
- your booking rules, such as how close to the start guests can book
If you need workarounds for your best seller, keep looking.
2. What will it really cost on a normal month?
Headline prices hide the real cost. Booking software is priced as a monthly plan, a fee per booking, a fee paid by your guests, or a mix. Work out the total on a normal month: the plan, plus any booking fee, plus card fees, on your real number of bookings and your real average price. Our guide to booking software cost shows how with examples.
3. How do guests pay, and when do I get the money?
Check that guests can pay the way your market expects: online by card when they book, on arrival, or their choice. Ask where online payments go. With some systems the money lands in your own payment account; with others the system collects it and pays you out later. Ask which card fees apply, and whether refunds are free.
4. What does the booking page look like on a phone?
Most guests book on a phone, often in a hurry. Book your own activity on your phone, from the link a guest would use. Count the steps, check that full times are hidden, and see whether the page asks for an account or an app. Every extra step loses guests.
5. Does it stop double bookings?
Ask how the system holds places while a guest checks out, so two people can't buy the last place at the same moment. If your activities share hosts, guides, rooms or equipment, ask whether the system tracks those too, so one host is never booked on two time slots at once.
6. How does it handle cancellations and changes?
Set your cancellation policy in the system and cancel a test booking. Check that the refund follows your rule without you doing the sums, that guests can cancel or move their own booking from their ticket, and that you can cancel a whole time slot for bad weather and email every guest at once. Our cancellation policy guide has templates to test with.
7. What happens on the day?
Open the guest list for a time slot on your phone. Can your team scan tickets, check in part of a group, add a walk-in guest, take a payment and mark a no-show? The day is where a booking system earns its keep, so test it standing up, not at your desk.
8. Can my team use it with the right access?
Invite a team member. Owners need everything, managers need bookings and schedules, and hosts on the day need their guest lists, usually without your reports or payment settings. Check that the access levels match how your team works, and what each extra team member costs.
9. Does it work where I do business?
Check that prices show in your currency, that times follow your timezone through daylight saving changes, and that guests can enter international phone numbers. If you need the booking page in another language, or a payment method that is common in your country, check those too.
10. How hard is it to start, and to leave?
Ask how long setup takes, whether there is a contract or a setup fee, and how you get your data out if you leave. A system you can set up in an afternoon, with a monthly plan and a CSV export of your bookings, is easy to try and easy to walk away from.
What about OTAs and channel managers?
If you sell on online travel agencies such as Viator or GetYourGuide, ask whether the system connects to them. Some booking software includes a channel manager that exchanges bookings with OTAs automatically, usually on higher plans or for a fee. Others leave you to hold back places for OTA guests and add their bookings by hand.
A channel manager matters most when a large share of your bookings comes from OTAs. If most of your guests book you directly, a simpler system can be the better fit. Our guide to OTA commission vs direct bookings shows how to run both.
A checklist to compare your shortlist
Copy this table and fill in a column for each system you test:
| What to check | System A | System B | System C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built for time slots with places per time | |||
| Ticket types, private groups and paid extras | |||
| Total cost on a normal month | |||
| Online payment and pay on arrival | |||
| Booking page steps on a phone | |||
| Holds places at checkout, tracks hosts and kit | |||
| Refunds follow your cancellation policy | |||
| Guests cancel or move their own booking | |||
| Weather cancellation for a whole time slot | |||
| QR check-in, walk-ins and no-shows on a phone | |||
| Team roles and the cost of extra team members | |||
| Currency, timezone and phone numbers | |||
| OTA connection, if you need one | |||
| Contract, setup fee and data export |
How to test booking software in an afternoon
- Set up one real activity, with its schedule, tickets, extras and cancellation policy.
- Book it on your phone from the booking page link, paying the way a guest would.
- Open the emails a guest receives: the confirmation, the ticket and the reminder.
- Cancel and move the booking from the guest's side, and check the refund.
- Run the day: open the guest list, scan the ticket, add a walk-in and mark a no-show.
- Cancel the time slot as if for bad weather, and read the email guests get.
- Look at the reports and download your bookings.
If a system makes any of these steps hard during a free trial, it won't get easier once guests are booking.
Red flags
- Pricing you can't work out from the website, or a sales call before you see a price.
- A long contract or a setup fee before you have taken a single booking.
- No mobile check-in, or a booking page that is clumsy on a phone.
- Refunds you work out by hand, or cancellations only by email.
- No way to export your bookings if you leave.
How TicketPa answers these questions
TicketPa is booking software for businesses that sell time slots. Here is how it answers the ten questions, including where it falls short:
| Question | TicketPa |
|---|---|
| Fits how guests book | Time slots with places, per-person tickets, private groups, paid extras and booking rules |
| Real cost | €19, €49 or €99 a month, plus 2%, 1% or 0.5% on bookings paid online; nothing on bookings paid on arrival |
| How guests pay | Online through your own Stripe or PayPal account, on arrival, or their choice |
| Booking page on a phone | Made for phones first, with no app and no account for guests |
| Double bookings | Places are held at checkout; staff, rooms and equipment are never booked twice |
| Cancellations and changes | Refunds follow your policy; guests cancel or move from their ticket; weather cancellation in one step |
| On the day | QR check-in on a phone, partial check-in, walk-ins, payments and no-shows |
| Team access | Owners, managers and hosts, with hosts limited to the day itself |
| Where you do business | Any currency and timezone; booking page in 15 languages |
| Starting and leaving | Monthly plans, a 30-day free trial of Standard, CSV export of bookings; Viator and GetYourGuide sync |
See every feature or compare the plans.
