Instant booking, request to book or enquiry only

Choosing a mode is choosing who carries the risk

Every booking mode is a trade-off between speed and control. With instant booking, the traveller commits and pays straight away, so you must be able to run every date you open. With request to book, you check guides, permits or fitness first, but some travellers lose interest between sending the request and paying the link. With enquiry only, you can tailor everything, and the conversation takes longest.

There is no single right answer for a whole business, which is why the mode is set per option rather than per tour or per account.

Worked example: one trek, three ways to book

Take a trek you sell three ways. The Shared group option runs every Saturday with 12 seats and uses Instant booking: travellers see the dates and live prices, choose Continue to checkout and are confirmed by email once they pay.

The Private departure option uses Request to book. A couple chooses 14 October for two travellers and presses Request to book; the form tells them there is no payment until the operator confirms. The request lands in Enquiries. You check that a guide is free, open the request and choose Confirm as booking. A new booking opens pre-filled with the date and travellers, you create it and email a payment link, and the enquiry is marked Won automatically.

The Tailor-made option uses Enquiry only. The tour page shows Price on request and an Ask about this trip form, and you reply with a quote. When the traveller agrees, you turn the enquiry into a booking by hand.

Deposits work with the mode, not instead of it

With the Deposits plugin on, each option also has a Deposit setting: pay in full, a percentage deposit or a fixed deposit per traveller, plus how many days before departure the balance is due. On a 1,450 trek with a 20% deposit, the traveller pays 290 at checkout and the rest is due by the date you set.

A deposit lowers the barrier for instant booking on expensive trips. It does not replace request to book: if you need to check something before accepting anyone, a deposit only means you have taken money you may have to return.

Requests and enquiries need a quick reply

Because nothing is charged with request to book or enquiry only, the traveller has made no commitment yet and may be asking other operators too. Owners and admins receive a New enquiry alert by email, and the traveller receives an Enquiry received email saying when to expect a reply. Travellers can also follow their requests, and your replies, under Your requests in My bookings.

Set yourself a standard, such as replying within one working day, and check Enquiries every morning alongside your bookings.

Mixing modes on one tour page

When a tour has options in different modes, travellers choose between them on the same page, so the option names have to do the explaining. Shared group, Private departure and Tailor-made tell a traveller what each one is before they read a word of description.

As a rough guide: scheduled group tours and day tours suit instant booking; trips that depend on a guide being free, a permit or a fitness check suit request to book; private and tailor-made trips suit enquiry only; and tours a partner sells for you suit an external booking link. Review the choice each season. An option that you have confirmed every time for a year is probably ready for instant booking.

Common mistakes to avoid

Switching an option to instant booking before a payment provider is connected: travellers cannot pay online until one is. Using enquiry only for a scheduled group tour with a fixed price, which hides a price travellers want to see. Leaving request to book on an option you could confirm automatically, which adds a step for you and a wait for the traveller. And for Book on another website, entering a link that is not https: the field needs a secure address.