4 must-have features in online booking software

If your salon, spa, or medspa offers online booking, you’re giving today’s customers what they expect: round-the-clock access to your brand plus ease and convenience.

46% of salon and spa regulars have booked online (up 4% since 2023) – now surpassing those that have booked in person during a previous visit.

Not only is online booking preferred by beauty and wellness customers, but it also drives a healthier bottom line: Visits booked online in 2022 had a 15% higher ticket value.

How well are your software platform and mobile app supporting your customers’ online booking experience?

Let’s break that question down further:

• Is your software easy enough for customers to use that your front desk has fewer phone calls to manage?
• Does the software remove friction from your customers’ online booking journeys?
• Does it save time for your staff?
• Does it maximize booking opportunities for your business – and open avenues to revenue growth?

Here we present ways to improve the guest experience, reduce work for staff, and add guest acquisition channels using the type of online booking features found in advanced software. Read on to evaluate if the following features make sense for your beauty and wellness business.

1. Group booking

Picture this: A bride-to-be wants to treat her bridal party of six to a spa afternoon before the big day. She could call your front desk for a tedious exercise in specifying what she wants... while the receptionist plays Tetris with the appointment book, provider availability, and treatment rooms. (Feel a headache coming on?) ‍

The alternative: The bride-to-be makes a group booking online in just minutes. With this feature customers can book appointments for multiple people at once – a faster, more convenient process for customers, with no front-desk stress. Salons and spas can set the maximum number of guests, ranging from two to six, as a booking parameter.

“We have a buddy system in place with discounts if you come in and get treatments with your friends. Zenoti has been really helpful with enabling us to have those buddy appointments and those group appointments”

— Holly Green, Director of Operations, The Vanity Bar

2. Family booking

Here’s another true-life setting: A family of four (two parents and two teenagers) use the same salon for their hairstyle needs. However, one parent usually books online for all four family members.

Most booking systems don’t allow the level of detail – or ease – that make for a great guest experience. There’s often confusion around which family member is coming in and when, especially if staff are responsible for logging such details.

With family booking, a main profile includes guest details for each family member. This saves time for customers and reduces phone calls to your front desk. As an example, a parent scheduling salon visits for multiple family members at once can easily do so by selecting their names from a dropdown menu and then choosing the service they need. The inclusion of key details in family bookings eliminates confusion for staff, reducing prep time too.

3. Booking from social media

It happens all the time: A person browsing your salon’s Instagram page loves a “before-and-after” and craves the same look. What are her next steps to book with your business? If she must then look for your phone number to call your front desk or find your URL and click through to your website to book online, you’re making her work too hard.

With software like Zenoti, you can add a “Book Now” button to your social media pages and posts. This feature streamlines and shortens the booking process, inviting customers to act right away if they’re attracted to a video, image, message, or promotion. It also unlocks a new avenue for guest acquisition. Think about it: Americans spend an average of 2+ hours a day on social media, mostly on their mobile phones, so it pays to cast your net for new customers there.

To compete with businesses that offer booking from social media, this feature is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have.

4. Reserve With Google integration

Let’s say your business shows up on the top half of Page 1 in a Google search for “best medical spa near me.” What does the next step in that booking journey look like? If it means navigating to your medspa website and hunting for online booking there, it’s time to streamline that journey.

Software like Zenoti offers a booking integration with “Reserve with Google” so customers can book with your business directly from search results. Here’s what that booking journey looks like for GLOSSLAB, starting with a screenshot from Google search results.

Clicking on the “Schedule” button for either GLOSSLAB location brings potential customers directly to GLOSSLAB’s online booking page. This is an invaluable way to reduce the number of clicks, immediately removing friction from the customer journey.

Conclusion

‍These features give customers an online booking experience that is efficient, streamlined, even enjoyable. In addition, the last two features – social booking and Reserve with Google – offer the business benefit of new guest acquisition.

With an up-to-date appointment booking system and mobile app, businesses that pride themselves on providing great experiences and treatments can ensure that online booking for customers fits the efficient, relaxing vibe they work so hard to create.

Explore how Zenoti helps beauty and wellness businesses elevate their online booking.