The next 30 days: put your regulars on the December books before the rush
December fills with gift card buyers and holiday stress, and your regulars get squeezed out. Here is a 30-day plan to pre-book them now and keep them loyal.
Every December the same thing happens. The calendar fills with gift card redemptions, holiday party prep and people who only book once a year, and your best regulars text you on the 18th asking for a Saturday that went three weeks ago.
They do not blame the calendar. They blame you, quietly, and some of them try the spa down the road. The next 30 days are your window to stop that from happening.
Why this window, and why now
From late October to late November, most regulars have not thought about December yet. Their calendars are still open. Yours is too. Once Thanksgiving passes, both fill fast.
If you book your regulars now, three good things happen. They feel looked after. Your December revenue is locked in before the gift card crowd arrives. And the open slots that remain can go to new clients at full price, without you scrambling to fit everyone.
Step one: find your regulars this week
Pull a list from your booking software. Keep it simple: anyone who has booked three or more times in the last six months. If your system can export last visit date and visit count, sort by visit count.
For most spas this is a short list. It is also the list that pays your rent. Take an hour and add a note next to each name with their usual day, time and therapist. You will use it in the message.
If you are not sure who is lapsing versus who is regular, the slow season guide has a simple way to sort clients by how often they come in.
Step two: send a personal pre-booking text
Not a blast. A text that sounds like it came from a person. A hypothetical example:
"Hi Dana, it is Maria from the studio. December fills up fast here, so I am holding a few spots for our regulars before we open them up. Want your usual Thursday at 5:30 with Jen, on the 11th or the 18th? Reply with a date and I will lock it in."
Why this works:
- It names their usual slot, so they do not have to think.
- It gives two dates, not an open question.
- It makes them feel like an insider, because they are.
Send these over a few days, not all at once. Replies come in fast, and you want to answer each one within the hour.
Step three: offer a second booking for January
When someone says yes, ask one more question: "Want me to hold a spot in early January too? That is when everyone needs one after the holidays."
January is slow for many spas. Booking it in November is the easiest way to soften it. You are not discounting anything. You are just asking at the moment the client is already saying yes.
If you sell memberships, this is also the moment to mention them. A regular who books two months ahead is a regular who might like a monthly plan. The pricing and memberships guide covers how to frame it without sounding pushy.
Step four: protect the calendar
Once your regulars are on the books, make sure nothing breaks.
Send reminders. A text two days before and a short one the morning of. December no-shows hurt more because you turned others away for that slot.
Set your holiday hours on Google now. Across the 70,932 massage and spa listings in our data, 13.9% have no hours listed at all. Holiday hours are a separate setting. If you close on Christmas Eve afternoon, say so on your profile. Clients who show up to a locked door write reviews.
Keep the booking link working. If your Google profile or Instagram link sends people to a homepage instead of the booking page, fix it before December. New clients who cannot book in two taps go somewhere else.
Step five: release the remaining slots on purpose
Around the third week of November, look at what is left in December. Those are your slots for new clients and gift card buyers.
Now you can promote them. A short Google post, an Instagram story and a line on your site: "Limited December openings. Book online or text us." Because your regulars are already in, every new booking is extra, not a replacement.
Pair this with your review ask. Regulars who just got a personal text and a held spot are the clients most likely to leave a kind review if you ask. Half of spa listings in our data sit at 22 reviews or fewer, and the top tenth have 201 or more. A handful of new reviews in November makes your profile look busier when the holiday shoppers start searching. The reviews guide has the exact wording.
What this looks like on a calendar
A hypothetical small studio with two therapists and forty regulars might see something like this:
- Week one: export the list and write the notes.
- Week two: send twenty texts a day for two days. Answer replies the same hour.
- Week three: follow up once with anyone who did not reply. Offer January spots.
- Week four: set holiday hours, check the booking link, and start promoting what is left.
It takes a few hours spread over a month. The payoff is a December where your best clients feel taken care of, and a January that does not start empty.
The short version
Your regulars will want December appointments. Ask them first, now, by name, with their usual slot. Then book January while they are saying yes, protect the calendar with reminders and correct hours, and sell what is left to new clients.
If you want help setting up reminder texts or your booking link, there is a free 14-day trial of any service, no card needed. Text or call (385) 386-3176, or see the free trial page.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, massage therapists and spas among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor