Moving from another booking system

Moving from another booking system, a spreadsheet or a paper diary? The Switching guide walks you through it step by step, so you don’t lose any bookings or your place on Google.

Opening the guide

Go to the Switching guide. It’s also linked from your getting-started list on Today and from Help.

The steps

Work down the list. Each step ticks itself off once it’s done.

1. Bring over your bookings. Upload the bookings you already have, so their dates are taken here. See Importing bookings and guests.
2. Set up your pitches and prices. Add them in Pitches & pricing, or tap Import pitches to bring them from a spreadsheet.
3. Link your old system’s calendar while you change over. Until you switch it off, guests can still book there. Add its calendar link under Other booking sites so those bookings block the dates here too. Switch on Other booking sites in Settings › Features first. See Calendar links.
4. Preview your website, then go live. See Going live. You can also bring your old website’s words, photos and reviews over from here.
5. Point your web address at PootlrHost. Keep the address guests already know. See Your own web address.
6. Send your old pages to the new ones. Add redirects (below).
7. Tell guests who’ve already booked. Send a short email (below).
8. Switch off your old system. Download a last copy of your bookings, cancel any subscription, then remove its calendar link from Other booking sites.

If a step doesn’t apply, tap its answer, like Not needed or No bookings to bring over, and it counts as done. You can take an answer back. Team members who can’t do a step see Ask the site’s owner to do this step.

Redirects

Your old pages, like /book-now, are in Google and guests’ bookmarks. On Redirects, add each Old address (you can paste the whole address) and where it Goes to on your new website, like /book. Common old addresses suggests some to start with. You can have up to 100. Redirects only start working once your own web address points at PootlrHost, but you can add them before.

Telling booked guests

On Tell booked guests, choose who it goes to: Guests whose bookings you brought over, or Everyone with a stay coming up. Write a short message in your own words. It goes out with their booking details and a button to their stay page. Tap Preview or Send me a test to check it, then send.

Good to know

• Only confirmed stays from today on are included, and each guest only ever gets the email once. You can’t take it back once it’s sent.
• Guests who booked through another site, like Pitchup, aren’t emailed: that site looks after their booking. If some bookings have no email address, the page says how many, so you can tell those guests another way.
• Rather we did it? Our team can load your diary for you. Use Help to get in touch.