What is the Squarespace booking system?
The Squarespace booking system, more widely known as Squarespace Scheduling, is actually a full integration with Acuity Scheduling—a product that’s designed for use in Squarespace websites. In other words, the highly popular website platform does not technically have its own dedicated booking system. Both the standalone and integrated versions of Squarespace Scheduling share the same features: primarily, the ability to book and otherwise reserve a specific time slot.
The Squarespace booking system is often used by service-based businesses. Think hairdressers, yoga classes, medical centres, tutors, and similar. Hoteliers might also consider using the Squarespace booking system to manage their room bookings because it’s all self-service, so customers can simply visit the website, see the time slots that are available, and book themselves in.
The Squarespace booking system may be used by the business to manage their operations, giving them an overview of what rooms are being used when. But is it the best choice for your hotel business?

Is Squarespace a good reservation system for hotels?
When it comes to choosing a reservation system for hotels, it’s essential to consider the specific needs of your business and whether the system can cater to them effectively. Squarespace offers a booking system that can be used by various businesses, including hotels. However, its attempt to be broadly appealing means that it simply doesn’t have the same features as a more industry-specific booking system.
For example, Squarespace Scheduling doesn’t have channel management, or guest management, or detailed reporting. There’s no built-in way to quickly analyse and adjust your hotel strategy to meet growing (or shrinking!) demand. In the highly competitive world of accommodation, that’s a big issue.
Should I use the Squarespace online booking system?
While Squarespace offers a user-friendly interface and seamless integration with its website builder, it’s important to note that it is not primarily designed for hoteliers. This means that not all the functions of the platform are the best fit for the needs of small hotels and hostels.
This puts it in stark contrast with a dedicated booking platform like Little Hotelier, which is designed exclusively for hoteliers with features that take this unique context into account.
While Squarespace may offer a generic scheduling tool, it falls somewhat short when it comes to being a hotel booking system.
Before you make a decision, ask yourself the following five questions:
1. Are the basic features sufficient for my hotel’s needs?
Squarespace’s booking system offers a basic set of reservation management tools. If your hotel’s requirements are minimal, this may be enough. However, if you need more advanced features tailored to the hospitality industry, such as channel management or in-depth reporting, you might want to explore other options.
2. Is customisation important to my hotel’s brand?
Squarespace’s booking system is designed for a wide range of businesses, which limits the customisation options available to your hotel. If creating a unique and personalised booking experience for your guests is a priority, a specialised booking engine will be a better choice.
3. What is my budget for a booking system?
Consider the costs associated with using Squarespace’s booking system, including subscription fees and transaction fees. For example, Squarespace Scheduling requires a monthly subscription cost, but they also take 3% of every transaction. Compare this structure to other booking engines that only require a fixed subscription, and the dollars suddenly make a lot less sense.
4. How important is customer support?
Evaluate the level of customer support provided by Squarespace and compare it to other booking engine providers. Little Hotelier, for example, offers dedicated customer support (across multiple languages and locations!) tailored to the hospitality industry, which can prove to be more beneficial for your hotel.
5. Am I looking for a booking system that can grow with my hotel?
As your hotel grows and evolves, your booking system should be able to adapt to your changing needs. A specialised booking engine is designed to scale with your hotel and offer continuous updates and improvements to better serve the hospitality industry.
Pros & cons of Squarespace for hotel businesses
Pros of Squarespace Scheduling for hotel businesses:
- Coupon management: Squarespace Scheduling has built-in tools for creating coupons and discounts – though they are relatively simplistic.
- Integration with website: If you already have a Squarespace website, integrating the booking system is relatively seamless, ensuring a consistent look and feel across your site.
Cons of Squarespace Scheduling for hotel businesses:
- Limited features: While Squarespace’s booking system does offer some useful tools, it lacks many of the advanced features that are specifically tailored to hotel businesses, such as room and rate management, detailed reporting, and guest management.
- Less customisation: Squarespace’s booking system is designed to cater to a wide range of businesses, which means it may not offer the level of customisation and flexibility that a hotel business requires.
Squarespace Scheduling vs Little Hotelier
Squarespace Scheduling | Little Hotelier | |
Ease of use | The interface can be difficult to get your head around, potentially causing more issues with confusion than it solves. | Famously friendly user interface with intuitive, easy to understand settings and reports. |
Booking Add-ons | No easy way to upsell or cross-sell during the booking process. | Guests can easily add extras like breakfast, spa bookings or bike rentals while booking a room. |
Room rate optimisation | Rates are set manually and you don’t get dedicated hotel-oriented reporting. | Set a number of rate plans per room to maximise revenue and retain flexibility. |
Channel manager integration | No integration with other booking channels – only with payment systems, calendars and some other applications. | Fully integrated with 450+ OTAs and booking channels. No more double-bookings! |
Languages | Only available in six languages | Take bookings across 250+ countries in 20 different languages and more than 25 major currencies. |
How to set up a Squarespace booking system
Setting up a Squarespace booking system involves several steps though the process depends on if you are using Squarespace Scheduling directly or through Acuity Scheduling.
- Log in to your Scheduling page at acuityscheduling.com/login.php. You’ll be automatically taken to the correct version for your account.
- Add different appointment types to your schedule – different room types may be suitable for setting as different appointment types, for example.
- Set your room availability through the Acuity scheduling interface and ensure there are no incorrect overlaps.
- Add the Schedule to your site via the scheduling block, if you are using a Squarespace site.
- Alternatively or in addition, provide a direct link to your scheduling page (available under Direct links & embedding, on the Scheduling page). This may be a good option if you aren’t using a Squarespace site and so can’t embed Scheduling with a block.
- Integrate Scheduling with other apps like calendars, payment collection and social media.
- Set your Schedule live.
Customers will now be able to book rooms with your hotel via the online link or the schedule embedded on your website.
How much does the Squarespace booking system cost?
The Squarespace Scheduling system offers a few different price points with different features topping out at USD$49 per month. However, this does not include the price of using Squarespace as an actual web platform (for which Scheduling is built for), and also does not include the 3% commission Squarespace takes from every transaction
Plus, remember that there may be additional costs involved, such as transaction fees charged by the payment processor you choose to use.
Other booking systems, like Little Hotelier, use a flat fixed rate for their software, ensuring that you always know exactly how much you’re investing in your business and avoiding bill shock when you take a peek at your latest business financial report.
Which, by the way, Squarespace doesn’t provide…
What is the best booking system for hotels?
Little Hotelier’s booking system has been successfully used by thousands of hotels, providing confidence to those considering using it on their own websites. The system is specifically designed for small and independent businesses, and can help attract ideal customers who prefer to book directly on the website.
By using Little Hotelier, businesses can enhance their guest experience and revenue, with potential increases of up to 46% in bookings and an ROI of 63x!
- Upsell and cross-sell opportunities: Promote add-ons like breakfast or bicycle rentals throughout the booking procedure to enhance the reservation’s value.
- Rate optimisation: Boost earnings by implementing various pricing strategies for each room and modifying prices based on demand.
- Expanded reach, increased reservations: Little Hotelier’s direct booking platform enables reservations across a variety of channels with more than 450+ individual OTAs!
By Shine Colcol
Shine is the SEO and Content Manager of Little Hotelier, the all-in-one software solution purpose-built to make the lives of small accommodation providers easier. With more than five years of experience and expertise in content strategy, creation, and management, Shine has produced informational content across various topics, mostly around improving daily operations and increasing business metrics. She aims to share well-researched articles in hopes of helping bed and breakfast owner-operators win more bookings and gain more control of their small property.
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