From 0 to fully booked: how a proper booking system made the difference
Katherine Graham
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Freelancer · Dundee · 3mo ago
Can we talk about the actual cost of running a spa without a proper booking system? Because I think a lot of people are making the calculation wrong.
They see the monthly fee — let's say £5 per month — and think that's an expense. But they don't add up what they're already spending:
- Time doing manual admin (at least five hours a week for most people I speak to)
- Money lost to no-shows with no deposit protection
- Clients you miss because they couldn't get through on the phone
- Late-night WhatsApp messages you answer because you feel you have to
When I sat down and actually counted this up for my spa in Cardiff, I was losing the equivalent of £5 a week to inefficiency. The booking system paid for itself in the first fortnight.
I've been using Treatwell now for 3 months and the ROI is obvious. My diary is fuller, my admin time is down to about five hours a week from what used to be a lot more, and I haven't had a no-show in over a month because the deposit system filters out the chancers before they waste my time.
They see the monthly fee — let's say £5 per month — and think that's an expense. But they don't add up what they're already spending:
- Time doing manual admin (at least five hours a week for most people I speak to)
- Money lost to no-shows with no deposit protection
- Clients you miss because they couldn't get through on the phone
- Late-night WhatsApp messages you answer because you feel you have to
When I sat down and actually counted this up for my spa in Cardiff, I was losing the equivalent of £5 a week to inefficiency. The booking system paid for itself in the first fortnight.
I've been using Treatwell now for 3 months and the ROI is obvious. My diary is fuller, my admin time is down to about five hours a week from what used to be a lot more, and I haven't had a no-show in over a month because the deposit system filters out the chancers before they waste my time.
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I've been in this industry for 5 years and the switch to online booking was the best operational decision I ever made, full stop. Not even close. The time saving is enormous and the professionalism it adds to your brand is something clients notice and comment on.
#1
The no-show stats in this post match my experience almost exactly. I was losing roughly £10 a month to no-shows and cancellations before I introduced deposits. That money was just gone. Now it's protected. The maths on deposits is completely obvious once you see it.
#2