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Free WordPress booking plugin: the complete guide
How to choose, install and set up a free booking plugin on WordPress for nightly accommodation or appointments: features to check, what "free" really means, payments and page builders.
Vacation rentals: the guide to direct bookings on WordPress
Holiday cottage, villa, B&B or apartment: prepare your offer, set prices, collect the deposit, sync booking platforms and meet your obligations, step by step, on your own WordPress site.
Airbnb and iCal: sync your calendar with a WordPress site
How iCal sync works between Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and your WordPress site, what it shares and what it does not, its delays, and the settings that limit the risk of double bookings.
Build your booking website with AI (WordPress, Claude, ChatGPT)
What an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT can do to build and run a WordPress booking website (rentals, property management, appointments), what to install to connect it through MCP, and the rules to stay in control.
GDA Kraft Booking is available for free on WordPress.org. View on WordPress.org
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Install Kraft Booking, link your site and enable payments.
29 articlesAccommodation mode
Seasons, rates, deposit, tourist tax, iCal, guest portal.
23 articlesAppointments mode
Services, team, group sessions, waiting list, reminders.
13 articlesPayments and commission
Stripe, 0.9% service fee, invoices and credit notes.
9 articlesPage builders
Divi 5, Gutenberg, Elementor (Bricks coming soon).
10 articlesAccount and security
Read-only mode, reconnection, signed updates, GDPR.
5 articlesTroubleshooting
Common problems and their solutions.
7 articlesGet started
- What is GDA Kraft Booking?GDA Kraft Booking is a free WordPress plugin for accommodation and appointment booking, published by Global Digital Agency, currently in public beta 0.1.
- Video tutorials: GDA Kraft Booking step by stepSeven short videos, in English with subtitles in five languages, from installing the free plugin to online payments.
- Install and connect Kraft Booking on WordPressDownload the free plugin from your Kraft GDA customer area, install it on WordPress, then link your site to the Kraft GDA platform in a few clicks.
- Is there a truly free WordPress booking plugin?“Free” covers several models: Lite version, paid add-ons, fee on payments. How to tell them apart and what to check before choosing.
- How do I create a vacation rental website with WordPress?Building a vacation rental website on WordPress: web hosting, theme, pages, booking plugin, payment and legal requirements.
- How do you grow direct bookings without paying Airbnb commission?Reduce your dependence on Airbnb and Booking.com: the real cost of each channel, reasons for guests to book direct, and building guest loyalty.
- WordPress plugin or online booking software (SaaS): which should you choose?WordPress plugin or hosted software (SaaS, PMS): data, costs, channel manager, maintenance, and the cases where each option fits.
- Accommodation or appointments: which mode should I choose?Accommodation mode sells nights, appointment mode sells time slots. How to choose for your business, and how to combine the two.
- Checklist: what should I check before opening online bookings?The checks to carry out before opening bookings: HTTPS, cron, emails, payment, rates, terms and conditions, GDPR and an end-to-end test booking.
- Is GDA Kraft Booking ready for production? Beta and roadmapGDA Kraft Booking is in public beta 0.1, with version 1.0 planned for June 2027. What is available, what is announced, and good practice for live sites.
- WordPress agency or freelancer: how do I deliver a booking website to a client?For agencies and freelancers: which edition to install, account and Stripe in the client's name, Kraft Console for the team, Kraft Fields and acceptance testing.
- How do you control Kraft Booking with an AI assistant (WordPress Abilities and MCP)?With WordPress 6.9 or later, GDA Kraft Booking exposes functions an AI can use through WordPress Abilities and MCP. List of functions, use cases and security rules.
- Which accommodation booking plugin should I choose for WordPress? A comparisonA factual comparison of MotoPress Hotel Booking, WP Booking System and GDA Kraft Booking: free version, payment, iCal and how to choose.
- Which appointment booking plugin should I choose for WordPress? A comparisonA factual comparison of Amelia, Bookly, LatePoint and GDA Kraft Booking: free version, online payment, team, groups and limitations.
- What is the best MotoPress Hotel Booking alternative for a holiday cottage or B&B?When to stay on MotoPress Hotel Booking, when to consider GDA Kraft Booking, and how to migrate rooms, rates and bookings with the migration tool, then recreate services and coupons.
- What is the best Amelia alternative for appointment booking on WordPress?Amelia Lite limits free payments to Square. When to stay on Amelia, when to consider GDA Kraft Booking (Stripe included, team, groups) and how to migrate.
- What is the best Bookly alternative when the free version is no longer enough?Free Bookly includes neither online payment nor unlimited staff. When to stay, when to consider GDA Kraft Booking, and how to migrate.
- What is the best LatePoint alternative for a team or group classes?Free LatePoint includes Stripe, but keeps multiple staff, group bookings and recurrence for the Pro version. When to stay, when to switch, how to migrate.
- What is the best WP Booking System alternative to move from a calendar to paid bookings?WP Booking System offers a free calendar, with iCal in its paid plans. When to keep it, when to move to GDA Kraft Booking, and how to switch.
- Online booking glossary: the terms you need to knowDeposit, advance payment, iCal, OTA, channel manager, RevPAR, 3-D Secure… The key terms of vacation rental and appointment booking, each defined in one or two sentences.
- What is iCal and how does calendar synchronisation work?iCal (iCalendar, .ics files) is a standard format that exchanges booked periods between calendars, with no prices or guest data, and with a re-read delay.
- What is a channel manager, and do you need one?A channel manager connects your properties to several platforms through an API to synchronise prices and availability; iCal only shares dates. When you need one.
- What is an OTA (online travel agency)?An OTA is a platform such as Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo that sells your nights in exchange for a commission. How it works, fee models and rate parity.
- Deposit (acompte) or arrhes: what is the difference for a booking in France?Under French law, an acompte binds both parties, while arrhes allow either to withdraw. Unless stated otherwise, sums paid in advance are arrhes (art. L214-1 of the French Consumer Code). Applies in France only.
- Occupancy rate, ADR and RevPAR: how do you calculate them?Occupancy rate = nights sold ÷ nights available; ADR = revenue ÷ nights sold; RevPAR = revenue ÷ nights available. Definitions and a worked example.
- How do I add a free booking calendar to a WordPress site?An availability calendar on its own, or a calendar that takes bookings and payments: the two uses, what GDA Kraft Booking covers for free, and step-by-step setup.
- Is there any free vacation rental software?Spreadsheet, platform tools, freemium online software or a WordPress plugin: what free vacation rental software can really do, and its limits.
- What is a booking engine and how do you add one to your website?A booking engine calculates the price, takes payment and confirms the booking on your own site. Definition, and differences from a calendar, an OTA and a channel manager.
- What is the best Booking Calendar (WP Booking Calendar) alternative for taking payments online?The free version of Booking Calendar shows availability and receives requests; payment and seasonal rates belong to the paid editions. When to keep it, when to switch, and how to migrate.
Accommodation mode
- Seasons and rates: setting the nightly price for each periodSet your seasons, nightly prices, minimum stays, weekly rules and extras so that prices are calculated automatically.
- Deposit, balance and tourist tax: setting up rental paymentsCollect a deposit at booking, charge the balance automatically before arrival and apply the tourist tax.
- How do I sync Airbnb and Booking.com calendars with my website (iCal)?Export your calendar to the platforms and import their bookings every 15 minutes to avoid double bookings.
- Guest portal and invoicesYour guests access their booking through a secure link and find their stay, their documents (confirmation, invoices, credit notes) and their messages there.
- How do I calculate the French tourist tax (taxe de séjour) for a holiday let in 2026?In France, the tourist tax is calculated on actual stays (rate × guests × nights) or as a flat amount, based on the 2026 scale and your municipality's decision. Applies in France only.
- How do you calculate French tourist tax for an unclassified furnished let?In France, tourist tax on an unclassified furnished let is 1% to 5% of the pre-tax cost of the night per person, capped at the highest rate set by the municipality. French rules only.
- How much deposit should I ask for a vacation rental, and how do I take it online?A deposit of 20% to 50% followed by a balance charged before arrival balances guest commitment and cash flow; the right setting depends on your lead times and cancellations.
- How do I prevent double bookings between my site, Airbnb and Booking.com?Double bookings mainly come from the iCal read delay. Complete feeds, a real cron job, buffer days and a daily check greatly reduce the risk.
- How should I use promo codes for my vacation rental?A well-targeted promo code builds loyalty and fills the low season without underselling: a specific audience, a limited period, and a discount based on your margin, not on impulse.
- Length-of-stay discount or weekly price: how do you reward longer stays?Kraft Booking rewards longer stays with a percentage discount from a set number of nights; a "weekly price" is obtained with a tier from 7 nights. Worked examples to help you choose.
- Cleaning fees and extras: how should I charge them for a vacation rental?Charge cleaning, linen or breakfast per stay, per night, per person or per person per night, and show them from the first price to stay transparent.
- Minimum stay and orphan nights: how do I avoid gaps in my calendar?A minimum stay adapted to each season and well-chosen check-in days limit calendar gaps; shortening the strictest season lets you sell an orphan night.
- How do I set prices for my vacation rental, season by season?Start from your costs to find your floor price, compare with the local market, divide the year into seasons, then adjust according to the occupancy you observe.
- How do I write the cancellation policy for my vacation rental?Choose a flexible, moderate or strict policy, write precise deadlines and percentages, and match it to the nature of the sums paid (in France: deposit or arrhes).
- What should a holiday rental agreement contain in France?In France, a holiday rental offer or agreement must be in writing and state the price and a descriptive statement of the premises; the registration number is added. Applies in France only.
- How do I collect and display guest reviews for my holiday let?Ask for a review shortly after check-out, make it easy, display your Google or Trustpilot reviews, and follow the rules on online reviews (the French rules are detailed here).
- Holiday let registration number in France: what you need to know in 2026In France, the Le Meur law extends the registration of furnished holiday lets, with a 13-character number to display in every listing, including on your own website. French rules only.
- How do you create a booking website for your holiday cottage?A holiday cottage booking site combines Saturday-to-Saturday weeks in summer, short breaks off season, cleaning, tourist tax and sync with the platforms.
- How do you create a booking website for a small campsite with WordPress?Pitches and mobile homes as units, a 2-person package with supplements, electricity and pets as options, a per-person tourist tax: how to set up a small campsite, and its limits.
- How do you create a booking website for your B&B?Each room becomes an accommodation with its own calendar; breakfast included, a search for free rooms and, in France, the B&B tourist tax rate complete the site.
- How do you create a booking website for a luxury villa?A luxury villa calls for a large deposit, an early balance charge, polished visuals, guests welcomed in their own language and à la carte services.
- Property management company: how do I manage several rentals with a WordPress booking website?A property manager or concierge service can run several rentals on one WordPress site: one accommodation and its iCal feeds per property, role-based access and an owner area. It is not a PMS.
- Small hotel or guest house: how do you grow direct bookings?A small hotel can take direct bookings on WordPress by creating each room as an accommodation, with an availability search by dates.
Appointments mode
- Setting up appointments: services, staff and time slotsCreate your services, your staff members and their schedules, then place the appointment booking form on your site.
- Group sessions, waiting list and remindersOffer multi-seat sessions or dated sessions, benefit from the automatic waiting list, let your clients reschedule or cancel and send reminders.
- How do you add online appointment booking to a WordPress site?To take appointments online on WordPress, install a booking plugin, describe your services and working hours, then place the form on your pages.
- How do you reduce no-shows?Email reminders, deposits, clear cancellation rules and a waiting list: four levers you can combine to limit no-shows and recover freed-up slots.
- How do I take a deposit for an appointment?Set the deposit at booking for each service (100% = full payment), choose online payment in the module, or leave payment on site. State the rule before the client books.
- How do I manage a team schedule with several staff members?One staff member per person, assigned services, individual working hours and time off, the “No preference” option and a “Team” account so everyone sees their own schedule.
- How do you offer video call appointments?Create a service with a “Video link (https)”, shared with the client once the appointment is confirmed, check the time zone and find the link in the reminders.
- Which appointment booking system should a coach use?A coach can offer a discovery call, one-to-one sessions in person or by video, and group workshops with limited places, all on a WordPress site.
- How do you set up online booking for a hair or beauty salon?Realistic service durations, cleaning buffers, a team with skills, the “Doesn't matter” choice and a deposit for long treatments: the method for a salon.
- How can a practitioner offer online appointment booking without collecting health data?A wellbeing practitioner can offer online booking as long as the form collects no health data: identity, contact details and a time slot are enough.
- How do you organise online booking for group classes and workshops?Capacity, break-even threshold, dated sessions, multiple places and a waiting list: how to design a programme of classes or workshops that can be booked online.
- How do you sell guided tours and activities online?Fixed departure times, places per booking, meeting point, tours by language, bad-weather cancellation: the method for selling tours and activities on WordPress.
- Free appointment booking software: online app or WordPress plugin?Free online calendar, booking app or WordPress plugin: what each free solution includes, the questions to ask and what GDA Kraft Booking covers.
Payments and commission
- Enable Stripe payments on your booking websiteCollect deposits, balances and appointment payments by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay with Kraft Pay, with no API keys to manage.
- The 0.9% service fee: how does it work?The plugin is free. Only online payments carry a 0.9% service fee (0.45% until 30 June 2027), paid by the guest and collected automatically.
- Which payment methods should you offer for a vacation rental?Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay online through Kraft Pay; bank transfer, cheque, French holiday vouchers or cash recorded manually, with no service fee.
- How much does an online payment cost? A worked exampleBreakdown of a Kraft Pay payment: a 0.45% service fee until 30 June 2027 (0.9% afterwards) paid by the guest, plus Stripe's processing fees.
- The 0.45% launch offer: who benefits and until when?Until 30 June 2027, the GDA Kraft Booking service fee on online payments drops from 0.9% to 0.45%, with nothing to do on your side. What changes afterwards.
- Strong customer authentication and 3-D Secure: how does it work for your bookings?PSD2 requires strong authentication for online payments; 3-D Secure applies it to cards. How it works at booking time and for balances charged off-session.
- How do you refund a booking, in full or in part?Full or partial refund through Kraft Pay to the original card, credit note issued from the booking file, service fee refunded pro rata, bank delay given by Stripe (usually 5 to 10 business days).
- PCI DSS: is your booking website compliant for card payments?With Kraft Pay, the card is entered on a page hosted by Stripe: no card data ever touches your WordPress site. Here is what remains your responsibility.
- How do you accept bookings with online payment on WordPress?Full payment, deposit then balance, or payment on site: how a WordPress booking plugin takes payments online, what it costs and how to enable it with Stripe.
Page builders
- Using Kraft Booking with Divi, Gutenberg, Elementor and BricksPlace search, calendar, booking form and appointment booking in your page builder, and manage day to day with Kraft Console.
- Multilingual booking website: French, English, Italian, Spanish, GermanThe built-in multilingual support (Kraft Lang) automatically translates your site, written in French, into English, Italian, Spanish and German, with one address per language and a language switcher.
- How do you add a booking widget in Elementor?Drag a widget from the Kraft Booking category, set it up on the Content tab, then polish the layout: typical property page, responsive settings, accessibility and common mistakes.
- How do you add a booking module in Divi 5?In the Divi 5 Visual Builder, search for “DiviKraft”, pick the module, set Content and Design, then apply your presets. A typical layout and the most common mistakes.
- How do I add a booking block in Gutenberg?Insert a block from the Kraft Booking category in the block editor or site editor, set it up in the sidebar, then build reusable listing pages and templates.
- Does GDA Kraft Booking work with Bricks Builder?Native Bricks integration is announced as coming soon. In the meantime, place the shortcode of the element you want in Bricks' Shortcode element.
- How do I manage custom fields with Kraft Fields (ACF-compatible)?Kraft Fields manages the custom fields of your records and content types, ACF-compatible, without installing ACF. The booking form itself does not accept extra fields: here are the alternatives, with one principle: keep it minimal.
- How do you customise booking emails?In Settings › “Email design and content”, set the shared design, then the subject, heading, text and button of each email, with variables. Method, sample texts and email deliverability best practice.
- Kraft Console, the front-end dashboard: how do you set it up?Kraft Console is a management area on your own site, reserved for administrators and the “Manager” role: arrivals, bookings, schedule, clients, messaging, invoices, rates and content.
- How do I showcase a property with galleries, a room-by-room tour and a guestbook?The GDA Kraft Booking design modules (galleries, room-by-room tour, guestbook, Google and Trustpilot reviews) help sell the stay. Method and rules to follow.
Account and security
- Read-only mode and reconnectionWhy the plugin may switch to read-only mode, what it means and how to reconnect your site in a few clicks.
- Signed updates and rollbackUpdates are reserved for connected sites, verified by signature before installation and reversible in one click.
- GDPR and personal dataYour data stays on your WordPress; the platform only receives aggregated figures. Retention, export, deletion and hosting in France.
- The partner bannerWhy a partner banner appears at the top of the Kraft Booking dashboard, who sees it, how it is moderated and what it does not do.
- Why create a Kraft GDA account, and is it really free?A free Kraft GDA account, with no credit card: once the site is connected, it unlocks planning, bookings, online payment, appointments, Kraft Console and more, with no add-on to install.
Troubleshooting
- TroubleshootingThe most common problems (missing payment button, read-only mode, iCal, emails, cron, updates) and how to solve them.
- An Airbnb booking is not blocked on my site: what should I check?iCal re-read delay, wrong feed URL, stopped scheduled task or wrong time zone: what to do when an Airbnb booking does not show up on your site.
- Payment declined: what should you do and what should you tell the customer?Card declined, 3-D Secure not completed, card limit reached or balance charge failed. How to identify why a payment was declined and what to say to the guest or client.
- No appointment slots are available: why?Missing working hours, service not assigned, minimum notice, booking window, a service longer than the working range or time off: the causes of a form with no slots and how to fix them.
- The stay price shown is wrong: how do you find the error?Season priority, check-out night not counted, length-of-stay discount, mandatory services, extra-guest surcharge: how to check a stay price with the simulator.
- Booking emails are landing in spam: what should I do?Authenticate your domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), send via SMTP from your own domain and meet the Gmail and Yahoo requirements in force since 2024.
- Two bookings for the same dates: what should I do?Booking conflict: identify which came first, offer the guest a solution, refund via Kraft Pay and fix the cause of the overlap.
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