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.

Choose accommodation mode if you sell nights (the guest arrives one day and leaves another) and appointment mode if you sell a time slot (the client comes at a set time for a known duration). GDA Kraft Booking, the booking plugin by Global Digital Agency, offers both modes on the same site, so you can combine them, for example B&B rooms and treatments by appointment. The choice is made in Kraft Booking › Settings, BUSINESS MODE section: "Accommodation (nights)", "Appointments (hourly services)" or "Both". Both modes are included in the edition downloaded from the client area of the free Kraft GDA account: there is no add-on to install.

What is the difference between the two modes?

A nightly booking covers a period between an arrival date and a departure date. The price is calculated night by night; the night of departure is not counted.
A slot booking covers a start time and a duration, within a staff member's working hours. The price is that of the service, multiplied by the number of places for a group session.

Criterion	Accommodation mode	Appointment mode
Unit sold	The night	The slot (duration in minutes)
What the client chooses	Arrival and departure dates, number of guests	Service, staff member (or “No preference”), date and time
Pricing rules	Seasons, minimum stay, length-of-stay discounts, promotions, services and fees	Price per service, multiplied by places for groups
Payment	Deposit per rate plan, then balance charged before arrival	Full payment or deposit (%) per service, balance on the day of the appointment; or no online payment
External sync	iCal with Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo	Read-only iCal feed per staff member (Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar)
Activation	"Accommodation (nights)", default mode	"Appointments (hourly services)" or "Both"
Tourist tax	Yes, amount per person per night entered in the listing	Not applicable
Customer area	Guest portal	Client area to reschedule or cancel

Which mode for which business?

Business	Recommended mode	Why
Holiday cottage, villa, furnished apartment	Accommodation	Stays of several nights, seasons, tourist tax
B&B, small hotel	Accommodation	Each room is an accommodation with its own calendar
Wellness practitioner, coach, consultant	Appointments	Fixed-length sessions in a schedule
Hair or beauty salon	Appointments	Several staff members, services of varying lengths
Group classes, workshops	Appointments, as a group session	Fixed date, limited capacity, waiting list
Guided tours, activities	Appointments, as a group session	Fixed departure times, places per booking

If your business clearly matches neither a night nor a time slot, do not force it into one of the two modes: test your specific case before committing, or ask support from the /en/contact page.

Can I combine the two modes?

Yes. Choose "Both" in the BUSINESS MODE section, then Save business mode: the two modes coexist in the same installation, with separate settings. Common fictional examples:

a four-room guest house that also offers massages by appointment to its guests and to outside clients;
a holiday cottage that runs cookery workshops on Saturday mornings;
an estate that lets rooms and offers wine cellar tours at set times.

In that case:

create your rooms in Kraft Booking › Accommodations;
create your services in Kraft Booking › Services and your staff members in Kraft Booking › Team and schedules;
place the booking form on the room pages and the Book an appointment module on the treatments or workshops page.

Appointments are also bookings: they appear in Kraft Booking › Bookings, with their record (payments, documents, messages), and in the Kraft Booking › Appointments calendar. A stay and a treatment nevertheless remain two separate bookings, with two payments.

A breakfast or a packed lunch is not an appointment: it is a service on the stay (the accommodation's "Services" tab), charged per guest, per night or per stay. Keep appointment mode for services that take up a slot in a schedule.

How do I get started?

Accommodation mode: start with Seasons and rates.
Appointment mode: start with Setting up appointments, then Group sessions, waiting list and reminders for classes and tours.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to choose a mode when installing?

No. Accommodation mode is active by default. To add appointments, choose "Appointments (hourly services)" or "Both" in Kraft Booking › Settings › BUSINESS MODE, at any time. In Appointments-only mode, the Accommodations, Planning & rates, Promotions and Reviews menus disappear.

Is the service fee the same in both modes?

Yes. Each payment collected online carries a service fee of 0.9%, reduced to 0.45% until 30 June 2027, shown to the payer. Payments recorded offline carry none.

Can I sell a half-day rental in accommodation mode?

Accommodation mode works in nights. For a duration expressed in hours, appointment mode is more natural; check that it fits your use before putting it online.

Can the same client book a stay and a treatment in one go?

They are two separate bookings, each with its own payment. You can make the journey easier by placing a link to the treatments in the stay's confirmation email.