They show how to set up gift cards for Christmas and other holidays, sell them on your website and create discount codes for campaigns. They also show how to send a discount code automatically to every guest after their visit, so more of them come back.

Below, you can watch the entire webinar, or browse through the steps in text.

Sell gift cards all year round

Gift cards are popular presents for Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s Day and other celebrations, so you can sell them even in months when you aren’t running activities. You receive the revenue straight away, and the recipient can make a booking later. In BookSpot, you can sell gift cards for a fixed amount, a custom amount, a specific experience or as a stamp card.

Step 1: Create your gift cards

Start by deciding which gift cards fit your business. You can sell several types with the same feature:

• A Christmas gift card with a fixed value, for example €50 or €100
• An experience for two, valid only for one product, such as a two-person kayak tour
• A punch card, for example rent a kayak 10 times and pay for 9
• A gift card with a custom amount, where the guest chooses the value

For Christmas, create a gift card with a fixed value, for example €50 SEK or €100, that can be used on all products. Choose the name and image guests see when they book, whether the gift card applies to all products or just one, and whether it can be combined with other codes. Then design the gift card the guest gives away, with your own title and logo.

What the guest receives

The guest gets a receipt, a PDF with your gift card design and a digital link to send to the recipient. The link shows the balance, which goes down each time the gift card is used. This makes gift cards a good fit for last-minute Christmas shopping.

Read more about how to create a gift card here.

What the customer receives

The customer gets a receipt, a PDF with your gift card design and a digital link to send to the recipient. The link shows the balance and will be updated each time the gift card is used. This makes gift cards a good fit for last-minute Christmas shopping.

Read more about how to create a gift card here.

Read more about punch cards here.

Step 2: Add a "Buy gift card" button to your website

Make your gift cards easy to find. Add a separate booking button to your website that only shows gift cards, and choose which gift cards to include.

Read more about widgets here.

Step 3: Create discount codes for your campaigns

Use discount codes to attract new guests and to bring existing ones back. It's usually easier to get a guest to come back than to find a new one, so returning customers are a good place to start.

Ideas to attract new guests

• An earlybird code that can be used until the end of the year, for bookings next season
• A Black Friday code, as a final push for bookings before the holidays
• €10 off when the guest books for at least €100. If most of your bookings are around €70, this helps raise the booking value.
• A code for Christmas sales

Ideas to get more returning customers

• A discount code sent to every booking after the visit
• A weekday code, so loyal customers can come back on quieter days with a discount
• An earlybird offer for customers who book early
• An annual pass or punch card

A good first code is a thank-you code that gives 15% off the next booking. Make it valid for all products, but only Monday to Thursday, to move returning guests to days with fewer bookings. You can also limit a code to certain products, a minimum booking value or a number of uses, for example the first 50 bookings.

Read more about discount codes here.

Last day of use or valid period?

The last day of use is the last day a guest can enter the code when they book. For a Black Friday campaign, that could be 30 November. The valid periods are the dates when the booked activity takes place. Use them to steer guests to your low season or to dates with fewer bookings.

Tip: let the assistant help with the settings

The assistant at the bottom of the left menu can suggest settings for your discount code. Describe the campaign clearly, including the discount, when it applies and which products it's for, and the assistant tells you which settings to use.

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Step 4: Send a discount code automatically after the visit

With an automated message, BookSpot sends a discount code to every guest after their visit. This gets more guests to come back, without any manual work.

Set up a thank-you email that BookSpot sends two days after the booking ends, with your discount code, for example THANKS15 for 15% off the next booking. Tell the guest to enter the code at checkout, and include the rules you've set on the code, such as Monday to Thursday until 31 December.

To make the email more personal, add the guest's first name as a variable so it greets each guest by name. Send the message for all products, and preview it before you save.

Read more about automated messages here.

Step 5: Tell your guests about the offers

Guests can only use a discount code they know about. Spread the word in several places:

• A landing page on your website for the campaign, for example an earlybird offer
• A booking button with the campaign in the text, such as "Book with earlybird"
• The code in the product description, so guests see it when they book
• Automated messages, as in step 4
• Newsletters and social media

You can export customer lists from BookSpot to use in your marketing. With the Zapier integration, you can connect BookSpot to other apps, for example to send newsletters. If you want to know more about using BookSpot for marketing, contact our support team.

Step 6: Open next season for booking

Check your availability and add next year's schedules now. Guests can only use their gift cards and discount codes if there are dates to book.

Read more about the Availability page here.

Let us know if you need help

If you have questions about gift cards, discount codes or automated messages, contact our support team via chat, email or phone. You can also book free advice for help with setting up gift cards and campaigns for your business.

Book free advice with our support team.