How to set up the PRO booking system for a thermal circuit (book mode)

Overview

The PRO booking system allows for a highly customizable spa reservation process. It enables precise control over availability, quotas, booking durations, and facilities. It adapts perfectly to services like thermal circuits, where bookings are made based on time slots and capacity.

This article explains how to configure the PRO booking system in Book mode, which is ideal for managing shared-use facilities such as thermal or hydrotherapy circuits.

 

Before getting started

Before enabling the PRO booking system, make sure you:

• Have access to Content > Facilities > Spa in the CMS.
• Have a spa created in the system.
• Have a clear understanding of the circuit’s maximum capacity and opening hours.
• Know the duration of each booking slot and how often bookings should be available (frequency).

 

Step-by-step guide

Step 1: Request activation from Support

Before you can configure the PRO booking system, you need to request its activation. Please contact our Support team through any of these channels:

• Live chat via the CMS.
• Support ticket
• Email

Once activated, you can proceed with the next steps in this guide.

Step 2: Enable the PRO booking system

1. Go to Content > Facilities > Spa in the CMS.
2. Select the spa you want to configure.
3. Click Edit.
4. Navigate to the Hours & booking system tab.
5. Select PRO.
6. Click Save changes.

Note: If you’re prompted to create a catalog before configuring this booking system, you can skip this step — it’s not required for thermal circuits.

Step 3: Access PRO settings

1. After enabling PRO, a button labeled Go to PRO settings will be enabled at the bottom of the screen.
2. Click Go to PRO settings to access the configuration options.
3. Alternatively, you can access PRO settings by navigating to PRO (top menu in the CMS), selecting the relevant service, and clicking the settings icon (first icon from the right).

Note: In the PRO system, there are two different screens:

• The reservations screen (which appears when you first enter PRO).
• The settings screen (accessible by clicking the settings icon in PRO).

Step 4: Select the setting mode

Since this article focuses on Book mode, follow these steps:

1. In PRO Settings, go to the Setting mode section.
2. Select Book.
3. Click Save changes.

Step 5: Create a unit

Before setting up availability, you need to define the unit guests will access (e.g., the thermal circuit).

1. Go to PRO > Your spa > Settings > Units.
2. Click Add unit.
3. Enter a name (e.g., "Circuit") (10 characters maximum) and click on the flag icon if you need to add translations to other languages.
4. Set the minimum and maximum number of people per unit in the Min Pax and Max Pax boxes. Consider how many people can use the thermal circuit at the same time—this will determine the Max Pax value.
5. Create only one unit if your spa has a single thermal circuit.
6. Click Confirm.

Once created, your unit will be listed in this section and you can edit or delete it by clicking on the icons on the right.

Step 6: Define the space

Spaces allow you to group units by location or category. You can arrange units as needed so that the space resembles the actual facility. In order to create a space, you should have already created your units (Step 4). For thermal circuit setups, you only need to create one space.

1. Go to Settings > Spaces.
2. Click Add space.
3. Enter a name (e.g., "Thermal area"). Note that it will be visible to the customer.
4. Define the space use: private or shared. Since we are configuring a thermal circuit that allows multiple users at once, select Shared.
5. Add an image of the space plan (optional).
6. Drag the unit to the floor plan on the right.
7. Click Save.

Note: The Units combination option is not applicable for shared spaces.

If you want to edit your unit from the floor plan, click on it and 2 options will appear: Edit and Delete.

Step 7: Define a space combination

Space combinations are used to organize available spaces based on different events or service shifts. You can merge multiple spaces for a specific event or use individual spaces as needed.

In the case of thermal circuits, you typically won’t need separate spaces—just configure the entire facility as one space and create a single space combination to proceed.

To create a space combination:

1. Go to Settings > Space combinations.
2. Click Add space combination.
3. Enter a name for the combination.
4. Select the spaces to be merged.
5. Click Save.

Step 8: Set an availability schedule

Define and assign an availability timetable to the space combinations you created. This schedule determines when guests can make reservations.

To create a timetable:

1. Go to Settings > Timetable.

2. Click Add schedule.

3. Select the days of the week this schedule will apply to.

4. Define intervals (name, start time, and end time) and assign them to a space combination. See examples in the following screenshot.

5. To allow bookings, turn on Bookable. You can also activate Disable app bookings if you want to manage reservations internally without guest access.

6. Configure additional settings:

   To customize each interval further, click the Edit icon. A pop-up window will open with three tabs.

   • Available times:
     • Custom times: Set specific quotas per time and apply customer segmentation.
     • Frequency: Define how often booking slots are available (e.g., every 60 minutes).
     • Quota: Specify the number of available seats based on frequency. Consider the maximum number of people who can use the circuit at the same time.
     • Segmented quota: Assign a specific quota per customer segment. This requires predefined segmentation (CMS home > Settings icon > Hotel > Segmentation).

   

   • Booking timeframe
     • Bookable from: Set the time from which the service can be booked.
     • Book times past due: Allows reservations to be made during the ongoing time slot, overriding the minimum advance time restriction. This option is only available with custom times.
     • Segmented time: Set a specific time per customer segment (requires segmentation setup).

   

   • Duration & price
     • Children: Enable this option to allow the selection of children separately from adults in the booking process. You can define the child age range in the Customization tab.
     • Price: Enable pricing to display the cost of the service to guests.
     • Segmented price: Assign specific prices per customer segment.
     • Duration: Set how long each booking lasts. For thermal circuits, this defines the length of each guest’s session.

   Tip: If your thermal circuit includes facilities that guests can access freely and move between without a fixed order, it's recommended to set the Frequency and Duration fields to the same value. This helps distribute bookings more evenly throughout the day, avoiding capacity peaks at specific times and ensuring better occupancy control.

   

7. If you need to add more intervals to the same schedule, click Add interval and follow the same steps.

8. If you need different schedules for specific days (e.g., weekends), click Add schedule. Each schedule will be displayed as a separate tab.

9. If you need the service to be shown as unavailable for some time, activate the Temporarily closed switch. This prevents any new bookings until the switch is turned off.

10. Configure exception days:

    You can override the regular schedule by setting exception days. This is useful when the spa needs to close for maintenance, for example.

    1. Click Add exception day.
    2. Select a date from the calendar.
    3. Choose one of the following:
       • Activate the Closed switch to mark the service as unavailable all day.
       • Define specific intervals for that day (name, space combination, start and end time, etc.). Click the Edit icon to configure advanced settings.
         
         
    4. Activate the Bookable switch if reservations should be allowed during the interval.
    5. Optional: Add more intervals for the same day.
    6. To create additional exception days, click Add exception day. Each exception day will be displayed as a separate tab.
    7. Click Save changes to apply the settings.

Step 9: Set booking restrictions

You can set restrictions to control how and when guests can book the service.

Advance booking

Define the minimum and maximum advance time required for reservations:

• Maximum advance time: How far in advance guests can book. Set in days based on the reservation time.
• Minimum advance time: The shortest notice required to make a reservation. Set in minutes and can be referenced from:
  • The opening time of the service.
  • The time the guest wants to book.

Restrictions per day

You can limit the number of reservations per day with two options:

• Maximum number of people per reservation: Set a limit based on the number of guests in the room or a specific number of people.
• Maximum number of reservations per room: Define the daily booking limit per room.

Important: The value related to the number of guests per room can be used if your PMS is integrated with STAY and sending this data. Otherwise, this restriction cannot be applied.

Turn on the Activated switch next to each option to apply the restriction.

 

Restrictions per length of stay

Set a maximum number of bookings per room depending on the guest’s length of stay. Enter the limit for each duration in the corresponding field. Turn on the Activated switch to apply the restriction.

 

Apply restrictions to multiple services:

If you need to use the same restrictions across multiple services, enable Activate restrictions for multiple services (top right side of the section). This ensures you only need to configure restrictions once.

Note: This option is applicable to Restrictions per day and Restrictions per length of stay only.

Captura restrictions per day + length of stay, marcando la casilla multiple serv

 

Bookings from visitors

Decide whether non-staying customers can book the service.

If enabled, choose the supported channel: manual (staff-only) or app (guest self-booking). Turn on the Activated switch to apply the restriction.

External bookings

Allow bookings from guests staying at associated or nearby properties. This option must be activated by the STAY team—contact support for setup.

 

Step 10: Customize booking messages

You can personalize the messages guests receive at different stages of the booking process.

Go to Settings > Customization.

The following elements can be customized:

• Assigned unit – Decide whether it is displayed or not by using the switch button. This option does not apply to thermal circuit.
• Booking button – Modify the text displayed on the booking action button.
• Booking unit – Define how the booking unit is labeled (e.g., "Spa access").
• Children’s ages – Indicate what age range is considered a child (e.g., “Children aged 3–12”).
• Comment field – Adjust the prompt shown above the comment field during booking.
• Booking confirmation message – Customize the message guests see after completing a reservation.
• No availability message – Set a custom message displayed when no booking times are available.

If no custom text is defined, the system will display the default option.

Step 11: Set a booking policy

You can define a booking policy that guests must review before completing a reservation.

How to add a booking policy:

1. Go to Settings > Policy.
2. Type or paste the booking policy into the text box.
3. Toggle the Activated switch to make it visible to guests.
4. Optional: If you require guests to acknowledge and accept the policy before booking, enable Acceptance of the booking policy is mandatory.
5. Click Save changes.

Step 12: Grant staff access

To allow your staff to manage spa bookings, you need to grant them access to the system.

How to add staff members:

1. Go to Settings > Management.
2. Enter the email addresses of the team members responsible for managing reservations.
3. Each staff member added will receive notifications when a new booking is made.
4. Click Save changes.

Step 13: Configure payment options

You can choose which payment methods are available to guests when making a reservation at the spa.

Available payment options for guests:

• Charge to room – The booking amount is added to the guest’s room bill.
• Direct payment – Guests pay on-site using cash or card.
• Online payment – Guests pay through a secure payment gateway (Stripe). Learn more here.

Available payment options for visitors:

• Direct payment – Visitors pay on-site using cash or card.
• Online payment – Visitors pay through a secure payment gateway (Stripe). Learn more here.

Step 14: Enable and test the booking system

Once all settings are configured:

1. Enable the booking system by toggling the Enable bookings switch in the Timetable section for the relevant intervals.
2. Click Save changes.
3. Use the Preview option in the CMS home to test the booking process as a guest.

 

Next steps

Once your thermal circuit is configured in PRO:

• Make your spa visible on the app front page to start receiving bookings.
• Monitor incoming reservations in PRO > Reservations using calendar or list view.
• Train your team to manage bookings through the CMS.

 

Need further assistance?

If you have additional questions or require further assistance:

• Contact us via live chat.
• Send a ticket to our Support team.
• Visit STAY Academy, our training platform.