Online booking for massage therapists: buffer, room, passes

On 9 October 2026 I started this article and checked in Slotsy what a massage therapist needs. The Slotsy help promised a buffer between visits. The product did not have it, and the room did not stop two therapists from being booked into the same room. I put the article aside and we built both.

Since 12 October 2026 Slotsy has: time before and after the visit on a service, rooms that are checked, and a private Google Calendar that closes busy hours.

The problem in one real number: Yasumi in Kraków lists the relaxing massage "Całe ciało (60 min)" as 75 minutes and 230 zł, and the classic full-body massage of 60 min as 70 minutes and 270 zł (price list checked 12.10.2026). The massage is 60 minutes; the room is busy longer: sheets, oil, the client getting dressed.

Short answer. In Slotsy you set a 60-minute massage with a 15-minute buffer after the visit: the client sees "60 min", and the next free time after 10:00 is 11:15. You tick a room shared with another therapist on the service, and Slotsy will not book the two of you into it at once. Private events from Google Calendar close those hours (refreshed every 10 minutes). You sell 5- and 10-massage passes and gift vouchers online or in person. For one person 0 zł; paying on site carries no commission. (Prices and features checked 12.10.2026, gift vouchers 13.10.2026.)

Slotsy costs 0 zł for one person, needs no card, and can run next to what you have now (phone, Booksy) while you test. To start: create a "Relaxing massage 60 min" service with 15 minutes after the visit and send the link to one regular client. That takes about 15 minutes. Create a Free account.

The buffer after a massage

In Slotsy each service has two fields, "Time before the visit" and "Time after the visit", from none to 60 minutes in 5-minute steps. The client sees only the length of the massage.

1. Services → open the massage → Edit.
2. In the Capacity block set Time after the visit (for example 15 min); if you prepare the room, add Time before the visit.
3. Save Changes.

What happens:

• the client sees only the service length, for example 60 min;
• you are busy for the visit plus the buffer, and no other client gets a time that overlaps it;
• example: 60-minute massage + 15 min after; a client books 10:00, the next free time with you is 11:15;
• visits already booked keep the buffer they were booked with; changing the service later does not move them;
• in the admin calendar the buffer is a dashed strip before and after the booking, not clickable;
• at the end of the day the visit must fit in working hours, while the buffer may run past them, so the last visit of the day is not cut off.

The hint next to the field in the form: "For preparing and cleaning up. Clients see the length of the service; your time is blocked for the visit plus this."

Booksy calls the same thing "Przerwa techniczna" (before and after a service), and Fresha "Blocked time", set per service. Here Slotsy does what they do. Description: service management.

60 and 90 minutes are two services

In Slotsy one service has one duration and one price, so a 60-minute and a 90-minute massage are two services, each with its own buffer. You pick the duration from the presets 15 / 30 / 45 / 60 / 90 / 120 min or type it by hand from 15 to 480 min. A price list example from SMART LIFE in Kraków (Ruczaj, checked 12.10.2026): classic massage 30 min 130 zł, 60 min 210 zł, 90 min 270 zł.

One room, two therapists

Tick the room on the service, and Slotsy will not book two therapists into it at the same time.

1. Rooms are created in the location: Company → Locations → Edit → Rooms / Cabinets → Add Room (name, description, active).
2. On the service, in the Location block, in the Room / Cabinet field, you tick one or several rooms.

The rules:

• with several ticked, the visit takes the first free one; the order is the order of the room cards, changed by dragging;
• when all ticked rooms are busy, the time is not offered, even if the therapist is free;
• the room is busy for the visit plus the buffer;
• two services in one room: tick the same room on both;
• the booking page and the widget on your website offer a time only when both the therapist and a room are free; the check runs again on save and when a visit is moved;
• nothing ticked: rooms are not checked.

The hint in the form: "The visit takes any free one of the ticked rooms; two masters are never booked into the same room at once. None ticked — rooms are not checked."

Two therapists means two people on the team, so a paid plan: Free is for one person, Start costs 79 zł net a month and covers up to 5 people. Details: rooms and cabinets.

Your private calendar: the dentist, school, a second job

Each therapist connects their own Google Calendar: staff in the My calendar menu, owner and admin in Settings → Integrations, in the top block "My calendar". There are two switches:

• Close my busy hours is off by default; until you turn it on, Slotsy does not read the calendar;
• Add my bookings to the calendar is on by default; a new booking becomes an event with the service name and time, a moved one moves, a cancelled one disappears.

Busy time is refreshed every 10 minutes, not instantly. Slotsy reads only the start and end of events in the primary calendar for the next 60 days; an event marked "Free" in Google closes nothing, and titles, descriptions, places and guests are not read. In the studio calendar the owner sees a grey band "Busy in own calendar" without the event name, and can still enter a visit by hand with "New booking".

While Google reviews Slotsy, you will see "Google hasn't verified this app" when connecting: click Advanced → Go to slotsy.io. Outlook cannot be connected at the moment. Description: My calendar.

Passes for 5 and 10 massages

SMART LIFE in Kraków (12.10.2026): a pack of 5 × 60 min costs 930 zł (5 × 210 = 1,050 zł, so 120 zł, about 11%, less), a pack of 10 × 60 min costs 1,900 zł (10 × 210 = 2,100 zł, so 200 zł, about 9.5%, less).

A pass in Slotsy is a pack of visits with a validity period, paid once. It is not a subscription: nothing is charged monthly and nothing renews. The fields of a pass:

• name;
• Total Visits;
• Validity (days): from 1 to 730 days, counted from the first visit, not from purchase;
• price;
• the services a visit can be spent on.

You sell a pass online (with card payments on) together with a booking or on its own, or in person with the "Sell Membership" button. The client buys a pass signing in by a link in an e-mail, with no password. A visit comes off the pass when the booking is made.

Visit return on cancellation: if the client cancels earlier than the set time (default 24 h; options Always / 12 / 24 / 48 / 72 h / 7 days), the visit returns to the pass. A no-show burns the visit, and a cancellation by the studio always returns it. A pass bought on its own can wait: "Pass activation window" is no limit by default, with 14–180 days as options.

Settings: pass plans.

Gift vouchers

Massage is often bought as a present. Since 13 October 2026 Slotsy has gift vouchers for an amount or for a service, on every plan, Free included. You set the amounts yourself, for example 100 / 200 / 300 zł. A client buys a voucher in the Gift vouchers tab of your page, the money goes to your Stripe, and the email with the code goes to the buyer, or straight to the recipient on a chosen day and hour.

The recipient enters the code when booking online. The voucher pays for the massage in full or in part, and the client pays the rest. A voucher for "Relaxing massage 60 min" covers that service in full, even if you raise the price later. A voucher paid in cash at the studio you issue in the admin with the Sell a voucher button. It is valid for at least 12 months. The Slotsy commission applies only to buying the voucher online; a visit paid with a voucher carries no commission. How to set it up: gift vouchers.

A pass and a voucher cannot be combined in one booking.

Payment, cancellations, reminders

Paying on site is on by default and costs nothing in Slotsy. Online payment goes through the studio's own Stripe account (cards, BLIK, Przelewy24) and is always the full price; there is no partial deposit.

The Slotsy fee on online payments, on top of Stripe's fee: Free 2%, Start 1%, Team 0.5%, Business 0.3%. Stripe Poland (12.10.2026): EEA cards 1.5% + 1 zł, BLIK 1.6% + 1 zł, Przelewy24 1.9% + 1 zł.

For each service you choose: as the studio / online only / on site only / client's choice.

• Minimum cancellation notice: anytime or 1 to 48 hours, default 24 h. It also applies to moving a booking. Inside it the client sees that changing online is no longer possible and gets the studio phone; the studio can always cancel.
• Your own cancellation rules text and the optional tick "Ask the customer to confirm the rules".
• Reminders: e-mail 24 h and 1 h before the visit, always; Telegram free, also on Free (the client presses "Connect Telegram" on the booking page); SMS on paid plans, 2 credits for a Polish number, 3 for a Ukrainian one.

Contraindications

Slotsy has no health questionnaire. The client can write in Notes on the booking form, and you see it in the booking as the customer note; the team also keeps a private staff note and notes on the client card. Ask about contraindications in person or outside Slotsy.

What it costs

Sources: biz.booksy.com/pl-pl/cennik, fresha.com/pl/pricing, stripe.com/pl/pricing, as of 12.10.2026; Booksy prices net + VAT.

For one person who takes payment on site, Slotsy costs 0 zł. If most clients pay online, Fresha is cheaper from about the 6th 210 zł massage a month: each costs 5.15 zł less there, and 29 zł / 5.15 zł ≈ 5.6.

Where Booksy and Fresha are better

In a few things that matter to a massage studio:

• Deposits. In Slotsy an online payment is always the full service price; you cannot take part of it.
• Visibility. On 9 October Booksy listed about 1,200 massage offers in Kraków alone. The Slotsy catalogue page "Spa & massage" in Kraków lists 32 places, including some that are not on Slotsy yet. Booksy's search will bring you more new clients.
• Online payments. When clients pay by card, Fresha comes out cheaper from about 6 massages at 210 zł a month (table above).
• SMS. On Booksy automatic SMS reminders are always free; on Slotsy SMS comes with paid plans and credits, while Telegram and e-mail are free.

Choose Slotsy if you work alone or as two, your clients mostly pay on site, and you do not need a marketplace to find regulars. If most of your new clients come from Booksy search, stay there for now.

Do you need a qualification for relaxing massage

"Technik masażysta" is a medical profession under the Polish act of 17 August 2023 on certain medical professions (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1972, art. 1(1)(1)(l)). The title is protected by law (art. 14), and using it without the right is punishable by a fine (art. 84). The act does not say outright whether relaxing massage in a salon needs this title; industry sources say relaxing and wellness massage does not require registration. Do not write "technik masażysta" in your service descriptions unless you hold the diploma, and check your own situation with a lawyer.

VAT works the same way. The exemption in art. 43(1)(19) of the VAT act depends on the purpose of the service (medical care) and on who provides it. In a ruling of 19 January 2024 (0114-KDIP4-2.4012.649.2023.1.MŻA) the Director of KIS accepted the exemption for therapeutic massage by a qualified technik masażysta. Relaxing massage is a different case. Agree the rate with your accountant.

Frequently asked questions

Does the client see the buffer after a massage? No. In Slotsy the client sees the service length, for example 60 min; the 15-minute buffer only closes the therapist's and the room's next time.

How do I set up 60- and 90-minute massages in Slotsy? As two services, each with its own price and its own buffer; in Slotsy one service has one duration.

Can two massage therapists share one room? Yes. In Slotsy you tick the room on the services, and the system will not book both into it at once. Two people need the Start plan: 79 zł net a month, up to 5 people.

Does Slotsy see my private events in Google Calendar? Slotsy reads only the start and end time of events in the primary calendar for 60 days, with no titles, places or guests. It refreshes them every 10 minutes and only after you turn on "Close my busy hours".

Does Slotsy have gift vouchers for massage? Yes, since 13.10.2026: for an amount or for a specific service, on every plan, Free included. A client buys the voucher on the studio page, the recipient enters the code when booking, and the voucher pays for the massage in full or in part.

How much does Slotsy cost for one massage therapist? 0 zł on the Free plan, with unlimited bookings. Paying on site costs nothing; an online payment carries Slotsy's 2% fee plus Stripe's fee (cards 1.5% + 1 zł).

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Prices and features checked 12 October 2026, gift vouchers 13 October 2026: price lists of Booksy, Fresha and Stripe, the price lists of Yasumi and SMART LIFE studios in Kraków, the act Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1972.

Studios on Slotsy can appear in the city catalogue, in the category "Spa & massage": Kraków. To start, create a Free account: 0 zł for one person, no card, next to your phone or Booksy. A "Relaxing massage 60 min" service with 15 minutes after the visit and a link to one regular client take about 15 minutes.