The problem
A Saturday cancellation that comes in an hour before leaves a gap you can't fill by phone while you have a client in the chair. If a 3-barber shop has 12 late cancellations a month at £22 a cut, that's £264 of empty chair time.
What the AI does
Booksy is booking software. Its site describes a Smart Automated Waitlist that instantly notifies clients on your waitlist when a slot opens up, and its pricing page lists appointment confirmations and reminders. Clients join the waitlist when your diary is full, and Booksy tells them when a cancellation frees a slot. Booksy's pricing page shows £40 a month for everything, with each extra user £5 a month, plus VAT; it charges no commission on Marketplace bookings unless you turn on the optional Boost, which takes 30% of a new client's first visit (£5 minimum). Card payments carry processing fees, and the page lists 1.29% + 20p + VAT for mobile payments.
A worked example
A three-barber shop in Doncaster, open six days, loses about 12 late cancellations a month, mostly Saturdays, at £22 a cut.
Before
12 late cancellations a month x £22 = £264, almost none refilled
After
If the waitlist refills half of them: 6 x £22 = £132 kept
What it's worth
About £132 a month, if the waitlist refills 6 of 12 cancelled cuts at £22 (an assumption, not a promise). Cost is Booksy at £40 plus £5 for each of the 2 extra barbers = £50 plus VAT, or £60 with VAT if you can't reclaim it, so the net is about £72 to £82. If you already use Booksy for bookings, the waitlist costs nothing extra.
How to set it up
- Start Booksy's 7-day free trial and add your three barbers, services and prices.
- Leave Boost off, turn on the waitlist and tell regulars about it when your diary is full.
- Switch on confirmations and reminders so fewer slots are cancelled in the first place.
- Pin a note by the till so walk-ins and phone callers are offered the waitlist too.
- After a month, count slots filled from the waitlist against the £50 plus VAT.
What goes wrong
- The waitlist only helps if clients actually join it. Mention it every time the diary is full.
- Prices exclude VAT, and each extra user is £5. Payment processing is on top.
- If you want a booking fee or no-show charge, say so clearly on the booking page before clients book; check the settings for how Booksy shows it.
- Moving diaries over means telling every regular where to book. Run both in parallel for a couple of weeks.