The quick answer: how do you take online bookings without commission?
Online booking is no longer just for big restaurants. A hair salon, a beauty salon, a B&B, a cocktail bar or a tradesperson who receives quote requests can all offer a “Book” or “Make an appointment” button. The real question is not “should I do it?” but “through which channel, and at what price?”.
There are two main families of tools. Booking platforms (restaurant or salon marketplaces) bring you visibility, but often charge a commission on every booking that comes through them, and they keep the relationship with the customer. Subscription tools add a booking module to your own website and Google profile: you pay a fixed price and every booking is yours. This guide helps you choose, then set everything up.
Commission or flat subscription: what difference does it make?
On paper, a commission-based platform looks “free” at first: you only pay when someone books. In practice, the more bookings you get, the higher the bill, including for customers who already knew you and would have come anyway. A flat subscription costs the same every month: the fuller your diary, the better the deal.
| Criterion | Commission-based platform | Flat-subscription tool |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Commission per cover or per booking depending on their terms (check their website), sometimes on top of a subscription | Fixed monthly price, whatever the number of bookings |
| Where customers book | On the platform’s app or website | On your website, Google profile and Instagram |
| Customer details | Often shared with or kept by the platform, under its rules | They stay in your own customer list |
| Visibility | Yes, among the platform’s users | No: you bring the traffic (Google, social media, word of mouth) |
| Imposed promotions | Sometimes discounts pushed by the platform | None: you decide your offers |
| Competitors on the page | Your listing sits next to other businesses | Customers only see you |
Both models can live side by side. Many restaurants keep a platform for passing trade and tourists, while pushing their own booking button to regulars, on their Google profile and website. The goal is simple: when a customer searches for you by name, they book directly with you, with no commission.
If you are thinking of leaving a platform, read our pages on the TheFork alternative and leaving TheFork step by step: they explain how to switch without losing bookings.
How do you know what a platform really costs you?
Take your last three statements: number of bookings from the platform, total amount paid, and the share of those customers who were already regulars. You will quickly see whether you are mostly paying for new customers, which can make sense, or for people who would have come anyway. Our free earnings calculator helps you run the numbers with your own figures.
Free tool, no sign-up
Free earnings calculator
Three questions, one minute: see what commission-free direct bookings and more reviews could earn you.
Who owns your customers’ details?
This is the most underrated question. When customers book, they leave their name, phone number, often their email, and sometimes useful notes: an allergy, a birthday, a preference for the terrace, their usual haircut. That information is valuable: it lets you recognise them, send reminders, ask for a review after their visit, or tell them about a new menu.
With your own booking module, that customer list belongs to you. You can export it, use it for reminders and review requests, and keep it if you change tools. With a platform, the rules depend on its contract: read the data section carefully before signing.
A well-kept customer list also helps with Google reviews: a thank-you message after the visit with a link to your profile is one of the simplest ways to get new reviews. We explain the method in our guide on how to get more Google reviews.
How do you set up online booking, step by step?
Allow an hour or two for a first version that works. You will improve it over the following weeks by watching what your customers do.
- Define your time slots. For a restaurant: lunch and dinner services, last arrival time, average table duration. For a salon: your services and how long each one takes. For accommodation: check-in and check-out dates, minimum stay.
- Set your capacity. Covers per slot, a floor plan with your tables and areas (dining room, terrace, mezzanine), or the number of chairs and staff. Keep a margin for walk-ins if that matters to you.
- Write your cancellation rules. Until when can a customer cancel for free? What about groups? Write it in one or two clear sentences, shown before the customer confirms.
- Switch on confirmations and reminders. An instant email or text confirmation, then a reminder the day before or on the day, with a link to cancel or change. It is the simplest way to cut forgotten bookings.
- Put the button on your website. At the top of the home page, visible on a phone without scrolling, and on your menu or services page.
- Add the link to your Google profile. In your Google Business Profile, fill in your booking (or appointment) link: the button then shows on Google Search and Google Maps. Our article on adding a booking link to your Google profile shows where to click.
- Share the link on Instagram and Facebook. In your bio, in the profile action button, and in your stories when you still have free slots.
- Tell your regulars. A small sign at the counter, a line on the bill or receipt, a message to loyal customers: “You can now book online, 24/7”.
Once these steps are done, test it yourself: book from your phone like a customer, first through Google, then through your website. Check that the confirmation arrives, the reminder goes out and the booking shows up in your diary.
Which messages should you send: confirmation, reminder, cancellation?
Short, warm and precise messages reassure customers and reduce no-shows. Here are templates to adapt to your own tone.
Booking confirmation
Hi Claire, your table for 4 is booked for Saturday the 18th at 8 pm. We look forward to seeing you! Plans changed? You can change or cancel in one click here: [link]. See you Saturday, the Bistro team.
Reminder the day before
Hi Claire, a quick reminder: we are expecting you tomorrow at 8 pm for 4 people. If your plans have changed, please let us know here: [link], so we can offer the table to someone else. Have a lovely evening!
Appointment (hair or beauty salon)
Hi Thomas, your cut and beard trim is confirmed for Tuesday at 6:30 pm with Lea. Please arrive 5 minutes early. To move your appointment: [link]. See you Tuesday!
Cancellation by the customer
Done, your booking for Saturday the 18th is cancelled. Thank you for letting us know, it really helps. We hope to welcome you another time: [booking link].
After the visit
Thank you for coming last night! If you enjoyed it, a Google review helps us enormously: [review link]. See you soon.
Avoid long messages, capital letters and threats. A friendly reminder that makes cancelling easy works better than a warning about penalties.
How can online booking reduce no-shows?
The customer who books and does not turn up, without warning, is costly for every business that works by appointment. Well-configured online booking generally helps reduce them, because it makes cancelling easy and reminds people at the right time.
- Automatic reminders: the day before for a dinner, a few hours before for a short appointment. The simplest and most effective step.
- One-click cancellation: customers who can cancel easily do so more often than those who have to call during opening hours.
- Asking for confirmation: for large tables or long treatments, ask customers to confirm by replying to the reminder.
- A waiting list: when a slot frees up, people on the waiting list are told and the slot is filled.
- Card guarantees: some tools let you take card details to secure a booking, with a fee if the customer does not show. Keep this for cases that justify it (groups, special evenings, long treatments), as it can put some customers off.
- Your customer list: spot repeat no-shows so you can ask them to confirm next time.
To dig deeper, read our article on cutting restaurant no-shows.
Which booking setup suits your trade?
The principle is the same everywhere, but the settings change from one trade to another.
Restaurant, bar, café
You book tables on services. Ideally, a floor plan with your tables and areas, and automatic table assignment by party size. Keep a few tables for walk-ins if you like. For a bar, think about group bookings and themed nights. See our restaurant and bar pages, and our pick of restaurant booking software with zero commission.
Hair salon, barber, beauty salon
You book services of a set length with a staff member. Enter the real duration of each service, processing times, and who can do it. The customer picks a service, then a free slot. Read online booking for hair salons, our hair salon booking software without commission page and our salons page.
Hotel, B&B, holiday let
Direct booking on your website and Google profile means you do not always go through an online travel agency. Highlight the perks of booking direct (breakfast, flexible check-in, direct contact). See hotels and capturing more direct bookings via Google.
Tradespeople and home services
Here, customers do not book a slot, they send a quote request: type of job, address, photos, availability. The form saves you back-and-forth phone calls. See our tradespeople page.
Medical and therapy practices
Appointments by type of consultation, with strict privacy rules: only ask for what you strictly need. See healthcare.
Which mistakes should you avoid with online booking?
- A button nobody can find. If customers have to search, they call or leave. The button must be visible without scrolling, on a phone.
- Slots that do not match reality. An online diary that accepts tables you do not have, or appointments that are too short, causes delays and unhappy customers.
- No reminders. Without reminders, forgotten bookings stay common. It is the first setting to switch on.
- Vague or hidden cancellation rules. Customers must see them before confirming, in one simple sentence.
- Two separate diaries. Phone bookings must go into the same diary as online ones, or you risk double bookings.
- Forgetting Google and Instagram. That is often where customers find you: the link must be there.
- Asking for too much. Name, phone, email, party size: everything else is optional.
- Doing nothing after the visit. A thank-you message with a link to your Google reviews turns a booking into a review. Remember to reply to the reviews that follow.
How much does commission-free booking cost with Voxtya?
Voxtya’s Bookings & quotes module costs €29 a month, with no commission, whatever the number of bookings. Combined with the website, the Website + Bookings bundle is €49 a month. You get a 30-day free trial, no commitment.
It includes: table bookings with a floor plan and areas, or appointments by service, automatic confirmations and reminders, a waiting list, a customer list, quote requests for tradespeople, and a link for your Google profile and social media. Your customers’ details stay yours.
To compare in detail with other solutions, see our comparisons Voxtya vs TheFork, Voxtya vs Zenchef and Voxtya vs Planity. And to make people want to book, your social media matters too: see our guide to social media for local businesses.
The steps at a glance
The steps to offer online booking on your website, Google profile and Instagram without paying a commission.
- Define your time slots. List your services or treatments, how long they take and the last arrival time.
- Set your capacity. Enter your tables and areas, or your staff and their availability, keeping a margin if needed.
- Write your cancellation rules. In one or two sentences, say until when customers can cancel, and show it before they confirm.
- Switch on confirmations and reminders. Send an instant confirmation, then a reminder the day before or on the day, with a cancellation link.
- Add the button to your website. Place the “Book” button at the top of the home page, visible on a phone without scrolling.
- Add the link to your Google profile. Fill in the booking link in your Google Business Profile so the button shows on Google Maps.
- Share the link on Instagram and Facebook. Put the link in your bio, the profile button and your stories when slots are free.
- Tell your regulars. Announce it at the counter, on the bill and by message to your loyal customers.
Do it without spending your evenings on it
Voxtya’s Bookings & quotes module
Tables and floor plan or appointments by service, automatic reminders, waiting list and customer list. €29 a month, no commission.
Go further
- Restaurant booking software with zero commission
- TheFork alternative for restaurants
- Leaving TheFork: step-by-step guide
- Add a booking link to your Google Business Profile
- Online booking for hair salons
- Hair salon booking software without commission
- Cutting restaurant no-shows
- Why customers no longer want to call
- Hotels: more direct bookings via Google
- Voxtya vs TheFork
- Voxtya vs Zenchef
- Voxtya vs Planity