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.

Before opening online bookings, check five groups of points: technical set-up (HTTPS, cron job, emails, backups), payment, rates and availability, legal texts, then a complete test booking. This checklist was designed for GDA Kraft Booking, the plugin by Global Digital Agency, but most of the checks apply to any booking tool. In Kraft Booking, the “GO LIVE” guide on the Dashboard (“MISE EN LIGNE”) covers the essential steps, up to “Open bookings to the public”. Allow one to two hours and tick off each line.

Why use a checklist?

A configuration mistake is rarely found by testing once yourself: it shows up with the first real customer, on a Sunday evening, as an email that never arrives or a wrong price. A launch checklist is a closed list of checks, carried out in a set order, so you do not forget something obvious.

1. Technical set-up

Check	Where to check	Why
The site opens over HTTPS, with no browser warning	Address bar	Required for the connection and for payment
The site is connected and the screen shows “Your site is linked to Kraft”	Kraft Booking › Kraft GDA	Online payment, updates and data changes depend on it
A real cron job runs every 5 to 15 minutes	Your host (task scheduler); in Kraft Booking, Planning & rates › “Syncs” › “History & alerts” should show recent imports (every 15 minutes)	Reminders, balances and iCal depend on it
Emails are sent and do not land in spam	Kraft Booking › Settings › “Email design and content” › “Save and send me a test”	The guest must receive their confirmation and their guest area link
The domain has SPF, DKIM and DMARC	Your host or email provider	Email deliverability
An automatic backup exists	Your host or backup plugin	You can roll back if something goes wrong
The site displays properly on a phone	Your own phone	A large share of visits happen on mobile

Details of the cron and email settings are in Troubleshooting.

2. Payment

This part concerns online payment with Kraft Pay. If you open with booking requests without online payment, check instead that your bank transfer instructions appear in your emails (Settings › “Email design and content”, “Booking request received” block).

The “Online payments” card in Kraft Booking › Kraft GDA shows “Payments active” (see Enable Stripe payments).
The deposit and the balance charge lead time are set for each rate plan (the form's “Rates & seasons” tab, “Deposit and balance” panel: “Deposit (%)”, “Balance due before arrival (days)”), and they match what your terms and conditions state.
The booking form is set to “Online payment (Stripe / Kraft Pay)” where you want to take payment online, and to “No online payment (direct confirmation)” where you take payment on site.
You know where to track balances: the “05 Payments” tab of each booking file in Kraft Booking › Bookings, and Settings › “Automatic reminders” for the balance reminder.
You have read how the fees work: 0.9% per online payment, reduced to 0.45% until 30 June 2027, paid by the guest (a “Service fee” line added to the total), plus Stripe's fees.

3. Rates and availability

Each accommodation has a base rate and seasons covering at least the next twelve months.
Minimum stays and check-in days are consistent with your listings on the platforms.
Mandatory services (cleaning, for example) have the “Mandatory” box ticked on the “Services” tab.
The tourist tax is configured according to your municipality's rules, where one applies (“Services” tab, “Tourist tax” panel).
The “Quote simulator” in Kraft Console (“Rates” view) gives the right price in three cases: a low-season weekend, a high-season week, and a stay straddling two seasons.
The iCal feeds are imported (Planning & rates › “Syncs” › “History & alerts”); the “Outgoing feed” link is pasted on each platform.
For appointments: working hours, breaks, time off, minimum notice and booking window are set (see Setting up appointments).

4. Legal texts and guest information

These texts depend on your status, your country and your municipality: have them reviewed by a professional.

Legal notice: identity of the operator, contact details, website host.
Terms and conditions of sale: prices, deposit (or arrhes in France), balance, cancellation, refund. The difference between a deposit and arrhes has legal consequences in France: see Deposit or arrhes: what is the difference?.
Privacy policy: purposes, retention periods, Stripe as payment provider. Guest data can be exported or erased with WordPress's privacy tools.
The document details are filled in under Kraft Booking › Settings › “Document identity” (“Identité des documents”: legal name, business registration number such as SIREN in France, intra-EU VAT number, address, document footer note, for example a VAT exemption mention).
The registration number of the furnished holiday let is displayed in the accommodation's description if your municipality requires it (a French requirement; check the local rules elsewhere).
The address (“03 Location” tab) and the check-in and check-out times (“05 Booking” tab) are filled in: they are included in the reminder emails before arrival.

5. End-to-end test booking

Make a real booking, as a customer would, from a private browsing window.

Choose dates or a slot on the public site.
Check the price breakdown line by line before paying.
Pay with a real payment method, for a small amount if possible.
Check the confirmation email: amounts, “Open my guest area” button.
Open the guest area: stay, total, documents (including the confirmation), messages.
Check the booking in the admin, and in Kraft Console if you use it.
Check that the dates are blocked on the platforms after they next re-read your calendar.
Cancel the test booking (“Cancel booking”) then refund it (“05 Payments” tab › “Refund”): cancelling does not refund automatically. The service fee is refunded pro rata; issue the credit note from the “04 Documents” tab (“Issue document”).

A staging copy served from another domain automatically switches to read-only: it cannot take payments. So the end-to-end test is done on the production site, or on a separate test site declared in “My sites” (see Read-only mode and reconnection).

6. On opening day

Switch Kraft Booking › Settings › “General settings” › “Public engine status” from “Testing” (“Recette”) to “Production” once the test booking has been validated.
Announce the opening to your past guests, with their consent to be contacted.
Check your inbox and Kraft Console more often during the first week.
Note every question you receive: it points to information missing from your site.

Frequently asked questions

Can I open bookings without online payment?

Yes. The plugin handles booking requests without online payment and manual bookings; payments received by bank transfer, cheque or cash are recorded with “Add an offline payment” and carry no service fee.

Why test with a real payment?

Because only a real payment checks the whole chain: Stripe page, return to the site, email, invoice and calendar blocking. An immediate refund lets you do it at low cost.

What if the confirmation email does not arrive during the test?

First check the spam folder, then resend it from the booking file (“Resend guest email” button). If the email was never sent, configure an SMTP plugin, as explained in the Troubleshooting article.

Do I need to redo the checklist after every change?

Not all of it. Redo the relevant part: the quote simulator after changing a season, a test email after changing your email provider, a test booking after a major update.