Booking marketplaces are great for being found by new clients. But many salons send their loyal regulars through the same channel. Depending on your contract, fees can follow every booking or every online payment.
Short answer
Keep the marketplace for new clients if it brings them. Give your regular clients your own booking link, on your website, in your Instagram bio and in SMS, and take payments with Vipps and card directly to your own account.
Open your contract or price page and write down three things: the monthly price, any fee per booking, and any fee on online payments. Then look at last month and count how many bookings came from regular clients. Those are the bookings you may be paying for without needing to.
A simple setup that works for many salons
Marketplace for new clients. Keep your profile there if it brings people who would never have found you.
Your own booking page for regulars. On your website, with your treatments, staff, prices and open times.
Vipps and card payments. Deposits or full payment, straight to your own account.
One link everywhere. Instagram bio, Facebook, Google business profile, the SMS reminder and the receipt.
How to move regular clients over
You do not need to ask anyone to change anything. Add your own link in the reminder and rebooking messages (see 3 automatic messages every salon should send), and regulars start booking there by themselves.
What it costs
A booking page with payments is a one time setup with a fixed price, agreed in writing before we start. Your payment provider has its own fees for card and Vipps payments, which you see in your own account.
If you want me to look at your current setup and tell you what you could save, send me a message.
Questions
Should I stop using the booking marketplace?
Not necessarily. If it brings you new clients, keep it for that. The idea is to stop paying for clients who already know you and would book anyway.
Can clients pay with Vipps on my own booking page?
Yes. Vipps and card payments can be added to your own booking page through a payment provider, so the money goes to your account.
What should I check in my current contract?
Look for fees per booking, fees on online payments, fees for new clients from the marketplace, and the monthly price. Then compare with how many of your bookings are regulars.
Will it be hard for my clients?
No. A booking page on your own site with your treatments, staff and open times, and one link they can save, is often easier than searching in an app.
I have worked with ads on Google, Meta and TikTok for more than seven years, and for the last two years I have built websites and automations with AI every day. I help local businesses in Oslo and on Romerike get more bookings from their website, ads and messages. LinkedIn
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