How guests book

Six short steps, each a page of its own, on your own address and in your own colour. These are the real pages, from a demo bunkhouse.

Step 1 of 6

How many of you?

Adults, and children under 16. Nothing else is asked until it is needed.

The first step: how many adults and children are coming.

Step 2 of 6

The night they arrive

A calendar of the nights with room for the whole group. Nights that are full, or closed, simply cannot be pressed, so nobody picks a date only to be told later it will not do.

On a phone every night is a square big enough for a thumb, and without JavaScript each night is a plain link to the next step.

A month calendar with the free nights marked.

Step 3 of 6

The morning they leave

The same calendar, with the night they arrive fixed and the mornings they could leave drawn on it, as far as the beds hold for the whole stay and no further than your longest stay.

The calendar with the arrival marked and the possible departure mornings.

Step 4 of 6

Where they'll sleep

Beds in a shared room, or a room to themselves, each with its price for this group on these dates. A private room costs the group's own rate plus a charge for each bed it leaves empty, and the page says so.

A group too big for one room is offered the smallest set of rooms that holds them.

Two choices, a shared room or a private room, each with its price.

Step 5 of 6

Their details

A name, an email address, and a phone number if they like. An address that looks mistyped is asked about once, and one that cannot take mail is refused, before anybody pays.

Beside the button are the deposit, the balance and when it falls due, and the last day each refund holds.

The details form, with the stay summarised underneath.

Step 6 of 6

Pay, and they're booked

The card is taken on Stripe's own page. The beds are held while they pay, and let go if they wander off. Then they are back on your pages, booked, with the reference, the dates, the rooms and what they paid.

The page watches for the confirmation email and says whether it arrived or bounced, while the guest is still there to put the address right.

The booked page: a reference, the stay and the money, and a note that the confirmation is on its way.

Afterwards

Their own page

The link in the confirmation opens the booking, with no account and no password. From there a guest can pay the balance early, change the dates or the group, or cancel, and sees the new price or the refund before agreeing.

Reminders, and nothing else

A reminder before the balance is due, the balance taken on the day, a note a few days before they arrive, and a thank-you after. Each goes at an hour you choose.

Picking up where they left off

A guest who wanders off mid-booking is offered their group, dates and room when they come back, for two days.