What was learned
Spa sessions as real inventory, not an add-on. Owner decides, price matters, demo agenda set.
Hi Diane! Great to meet you. I’m here to get your call with our team set up so we can talk about Larchwood Guest House & Nordic Spa and what you need. This should only take a couple of minutes—sound good?
Yes I would like to book a demo
Perfect, Diane. Before we book the call, I want to make sure I’ve got your details right. I couldn’t find much about you online—could you just confirm your role at Larchwood, and if you’re the primary decision maker for booking tech?
I am the owner of Larchwood Guest House & Nordic Spa in Nelson. larchwoodspa.ca
Thank you, Diane. Got it—you’re the owner at Larchwood Guest House & Nordic Spa in Nelson. That’s clear!
Now, just to confirm—I wasn’t able to access your website, so I’ll need your help: can you give me a quick overview of what you offer? Do you have guest rooms plus the Nordic spa, or any other experiences onsite?
7 guest rooms and a 12 person nordic cycle 2 hrs sessions
Thanks, Diane. So, Larchwood has 7 guest rooms and offers a Nordic spa experience with 2-hour sessions for up to 12 people at a time. That sounds like a really unique combination!
Can you tell me—what’s the main pain point you’re having with your current booking setup right now?
I don't have one. I am using Airbnb and just opening my nordic spa so I am looking for a mini resort booking platform.
I see—so right now, bookings are all through Airbnb for the guest rooms, and you’re just launching the spa side. Understood.
When you say you want a “mini resort” platform, is your main goal to let people book rooms, the spa, or create packages that combine both? Or is there a specific booking flow you have in mind?
yes
Thanks for clarifying! You’d like a setup where guests can book rooms, spa sessions, and ideally combine them if possible.
Just to check—since you have 7 guest rooms and are adding spa sessions for groups, does Larchwood run mostly year-round, or do you close seasonally? And is this your only property, or do you manage other locations?
year round
Got it, Larchwood runs year-round and is your main (and only) property.
Just to confirm—how are bookings handled now? Are most of your room reservations through Airbnb, and do you have any direct booking on your website today? Or is everything still offline?
one property
Thanks, Diane. I see, you have just the one property.
Are you hoping to start taking direct bookings on your own website for both rooms and the spa, instead of being limited to Airbnb? Or do you plan to keep using Airbnb but just add a direct option alongside?
I would like to expand my ota reach to booking.com integration as well as direct and airbnb
Makes sense. So you want guests to be able to book directly with you, plus have rooms available on Airbnb and Booking.com, all kept in sync. For the spa, would you like those sessions to be bookable directly online as well?
yes book the spa services on-line. 2 hr time slots. 12 people per cycle
Perfect, thanks. So, in short, you want to manage room bookings across your website, Airbnb, and Booking.com, plus let guests book 2-hour spa sessions (up to 12 people per slot) online.
Out of curiosity, do you want guests to be able to book packages—like a stay plus a spa session together—or book each separately?
yes but i would expect this to be only 10% of bookings. It's a function I want but add-on customization is probably more regular
That’s clear—so the ability to book packages is nice to have, but most guests will probably choose their room and add spa time as an extra, rather than as a set package. Add-ons for bookings are more important to you.
Thanks, Diane. Are you currently handling all bookings and coordination yourself, or do you have a team involved?
Me
Thanks for confirming! So you’re single-handedly running the operation, handling both guest rooms and now launching the spa side.
Before I get your demo booked, just so I understand: are you open to investing in a premium booking system with ongoing support, or are you looking for something more basic to start?
I would look at both. Price dependant. I have ran hotels and resorts for 20 years and enjoy a full-service PMS but also am a small business now so a balance between price, function and channel distribution is important to me.
Thanks, Diane—that's helpful insight. With your background, you know the value of robust tools, but now you need something that fits smaller scale and budget. You want solid booking flow, channel integration (Airbnb, Booking.com), add-ons, and direct bookings—without big-enterprise pricing.
Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll share all this with our team and get your demo call scheduled. Anything else you want them to know before the meeting?
No that all for now
Great, Diane. To recap: you own Larchwood Guest House & Nordic Spa, with 7 rooms and a Nordic spa, running year-round. You want to handle direct, Airbnb, and Booking.com bookings, offer spa sessions and add-ons, and balance features with affordability. I’ll brief the team for your demo.
If anything comes up, I’ll make sure your notes are included. Any questions about Stayloft before we wrap up?
The booking of the spa is not just an add on I need this platform to manage inventory on the guest rooms but also the booking of the spa
Understood, Diane. Managing spa bookings is just as important as managing rooms—you need both handled properly, not just as extras. I’ll make this clear for the team so they focus on spa inventory and session scheduling in your demo.
Thanks for flagging it! Anything else you want to highlight?
I will be interested in seeing the consumer facing experience, the back of house view and what communication SMS ect. is available for automated communication with Guests
Absolutely, Diane—I'll note you want to see how guests book (the consumer side), how you manage everything in the back end, and what automated guest messaging options (like SMS or email) are available. I'll make sure the team covers all of this in the demo.
Thanks for your clarity. Any questions for me about Stayloft before we finish?
no
Thanks, Diane! I’ve got everything noted and your demo request is set. The team will be in touch soon. If you think of any questions later, just let us know. Have a great day and good luck with the spa launch!
