Making the decision to open your own escape room is scary but exciting.

You have played other escape games and enjoyed them.

You’re full of creative ideas, and you know you can design a game that will delight your customers.

Of course, there are certain things you’re excited about and certain things you know you have to do but really would rather not have to think about.

Exciting things include writing a compelling script, designing puzzles, and seeing the room in your imagination come to life.

Not so exciting things include getting legal permits, signing paperwork, finding a suitable location, and selecting a booking system.

A booking system is something you know you need, but when you start to do Internet research, you feel kind of overwhelmed. Where do you start?

You can start right here.



You need an online booking system.

That’s simply a fact.

Although you can accept payments when customers walk in the door if you want to, you still need some way to manage multiple time-slots and multiple players.

You do not want to spend the majority of your time managing a calendar.

Plus, online is how things are done today.

Nobody calls a business to make an appointment anymore. Your customers will want to see what days and times are available and book games on their computers or mobile devices.

An online booking system is advantageous for both owners and clients.

Accuracy. Taking bookings over the phone puts you and your employees in charge of spelling everything right and entering all the data you need correctly. Let your customers enter that data themselves; they’re less likely to make mistakes.

Convenience. Customers can book anytime from anywhere. And it’s easier for foreigners to book online in their own languages and time zones.

Data collection. All information entered into the booking system becomes the ultimate marketing database. You automatically collect names and email address for future marketing campaigns.

Time savings. Taking bookings over the phone and entering details into a digital or paper system is time consuming.

Tracking and reporting. The ability to adapt marketing and operations strategies in real time gives you a competitive advantage.

So, you have to pick a booking platform. There’s no way around it.

Elements of a Good Booking System

The thing is, booking systems aren’t exciting. They are a means to an end.

Basically, you want to put a system in place, set it up quickly, and rely on the software to handle that aspect of the business for you.

After much research and a number of discussions with escape room owners regarding their needs, I’ve identified 11 key factors you should evaluate when choosing a booking system for your escape room.

(You may also have your own specific needs or preferences that aren’t listed here.)

Trial period. I recommend looking for a system that offers at least a 30-day trial period. The longer the trial period, the better chance you have of exploring all the platform’s features and confirming that it’s a good fit. Particularly if your business is new, you’ll need time to fully evaluate the system as your bookings increase.

Flexibility. Look for booking systems that give you as much control as possible. You should have the options to choose (and easily adjust) pricing options, the information gathered during booking, the language used in both the admin and the customer interfaces, payment methods, and both the content and formatting of notification emails.

Intuitive user interface. It should be easy to set up a timetable for a new room, change payment conditions, and teach new employees how to use the system. Your booking system should run in the background and require as little of your time as possible.

Website integration and seamless customer experience. You risk losing your customers’ trust if you send them to a third-party website to book a game or make a payment. Look for a booking platform that integrates with your website, so players experience a seamless booking process.

Fast support. If something goes wrong or you need assistance, you don’t have time to wait for someone to call or email you back. The system should provide support options that help you get up and running quickly, such as online chat, a robust, user-friendly Help menu, and on-screen tooltips.

Mobile friendliness. You don’t want to risk losing sales because potential customers can’t easily book on their smartphones or tablets. It’s also convenient for you if you have the option to manage bookings while on the go.

Automation. The booking platform you select should automatically transfer data entered by the customer to your internal database as soon as the booking is made.

Plugins. If you want to put a “Book Now” button on your Facebook page, send financial data directly to your accounting software, or let your customers pay via PayPal, your booking system should support the necessary plugins.

Security. Obviously, your and your customers’ private information must be protected. Do your research to confirm that the platform you select has the best security available and a commitment to upgrading it as new threats and new measures for thwarting them come along.

SMS notifications. Particularly if you run your escape game business part time, you want a system that will notify you via SMS (text) the moment a booking is made, so you always know when you need to be there to host a game.

Data export and reporting. The system should let you export and view any data you need in a suitable format.

You can test any booking system using this checklist. That’s exactly what I did.

Popular Booking Systems from B to Z

Using the 11 features identified above, I evaluated the most popular escape room booking systems from the perspective of a new escape game operator.



For this test, I chose platforms that either received multiple mentions by escape room owners in Facebook groups or emerged on the first page of Google results.

Here are the eight most popular booking systems used by escape room businesses, listed in alphabetical order to avoid any inadvertent implied bias:



Of the 11 target features, the following were commonly available on all of the platforms.

Flexibility. All the booking systems accommodated 17+ types of currency for payment and allowed for a variety of payment methods, including PayPal, credit card, and debit card, as well as bookings with no up-front deposit.

Automation. All platforms automatically communicated with the user’s database in real time.

Plugins. Integration of a variety of plugins, including Drupal, Facebook, Google Analytics, Google Calendar, Joomla, Mailchimp, Paypal, Stripe, and WordPress, was pretty universal across all platforms.

Security. All platforms had encryption and security measures in place.

SMS notification. Email or SMS notifications for customers were available free or for an extra charge in most of the platforms.

All the platforms also provided marketing features, like discounts, coupons, and email campaigns, and some offered quite a bit of automation in this area.

Here are my findings.







Although Bookeo includes a section on its website targeting escape room operators, a Bookeo customer service representative informed one owner that escape games make up only a small fraction of their business.

Because of this, the company representative said they are disinclined to develop a more robust set of tools for our industry.

Trial period

Bookeo’s trial period is 30 days. They also offer a money-back guarantee within 30 days if you don’t like the system.

Flexibility

The system supports 38 languages for the booking page and five languages for the admin panel: English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian.

The pricing system is flexible. You can choose pricing per game, per person or per game + extra person. It also accommodates special prices for holidays or for certain groups, like children or seniors.

User interface

Bookeo’s user interface is a bit illogical. When getting started, you must first set up a timetable for your first escape room and only then configure your account.

It takes time to understand the interface. It’s a bit difficult to understand how to set up a timetable for a second room; the menus do not make it clear where to look for this option.

Last week I found where to change a booking, but now I can’t remember where it was. Obviously, when you work with the same features every day, you remember them, but the system is not intuitive. If you want something new, you’ll have to look for it.

One feature I did like was the option to copy a schedule. I set up a schedule for one day and then copied the same times, prices, etc. to the rest of the week. Although it takes a little longer to set up the initial booking, this feature is priceless.

Website integration and customer experience

You can customize Bookeo’s external booking page or embed the platform in your website.

The booking process from the customer side is easy and intuitive.

Support

If something is unclear in the system, you can often hover the cursor over a question mark and receive a hint. At the time I tested the system, Bookeo featured an online chat option on its main page which was quick and helpful. I’m informed that this feature is no longer available and that “email support is brusque and detached.”

Mobile friendliness

For customers – yes.

Data export and reporting

Bookeo allows the user to export customer data only to Microsoft Outlook or to a VCard. Since I use neither of these, this was an inconvenience.

Booking and payment reports are delivered in .xls format and display correctly.

The platform also offers a lot of marketing options, including conversion tracking and analytics, gift vouchers, prepaid packages, memberships, and promotions.

Conclusion

Although Bookeo’s interface was not as intuitive as I would have liked, it did have some useful features. The tooltips and online chat support were both helpful, and the fact that the system has tools designed to accommodate the needs of escape room businesses is a plus.

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Bookify has some features that are designed to accommodate escape rooms (exit games are included on the “activities and tours” page).

Trial period

Bookify offers the longest free trial period — 90 days — and a money back guarantee within 30 days.

Flexibility

Bookify supports only English for both admins and customers.

The pricing system is flexible. You can set a total price for a game or a price per person. It also allows for different prices for weekends, morning hours, or peak and off-peak times.

Since Bookify designed a platform specifically for escape rooms, it accommodates unique aspects of the business that you don’t find in other booking systems. For example, you can create private games or anyone-can-join games, charge money per person or per game, and add several images to an escape room’s profile.

User interface

Bookify’s interface is very intuitive and the easiest to adapt to of the platforms I tested. I set up an account and created a timetable for one room in 30-40 minutes.

I could do anything I wanted in one to two clicks, including setting up a new room, finding customer data, changing or canceling a booking, configuring bills, and changing the text in booking confirmation emails.

Website integration and customer experience

The external booking page can be customized and branded, so it matches your website. You can add images, use your brand’s colours, and set the calendar view to “timetable view” or “free slots view.”

The booking process from the customer side is easy and intuitive.

Support

“Help” buttons are scattered everywhere. However, when you click on them, you get a feedback form to submit. If I need an instant answer, that’s a bad solution.

You can also reach Bookify by phone, email, Facebook or Twitter. They replied to my email within three hours. For me, that was fine, but it could be a concern for an owner who needs help right away.

Mobile friendliness

Bookify has a responsive mobile interface.

Data export and reporting

One helpful feature is that you can migrate data from your old system to Bookify if you decide to switch.

You can export information about customers and rooms in .csv format. Unfortunately, I was unable to figure out how to export financial data.

Conclusion

Of all the platforms I tested, this was the easiest-to-use. It also has the longest free trial period, which makes it easy to evaluate over time as new needs emerge.

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Unlike Bookeo and Bookify, BookingBug has no features that are specifically adapted for escape rooms.

Trial period

The trial period is 14 days, which isn’t enough time to figure out how to adapt the system to work well for an escape room.

Flexibility

BookingBug has a rigid pricing system — it only allows for price per person.

User interface

Because BookingBug is not designed for escape games, when you configure the system, you have to choose what type of service an escape room is similar to: a language course, a medical appointment, or a visit to authorities. The booking layout changes accordingly.

I’d need to go through the setup process two or three times to figure out which layout is most suitable for an escape room business.

Website integration and customer experience

BookingBug’s booking page looks messy and unprofessional. Some text lines are partially cut, you must open a registration pop-up window which, when it opens, is small.

It may look better on a full-sized monitor, but it displays poorly on a laptop screen.

Support

You can search for answers in the knowledge base or send an email to the support team.

Mobile friendliness

I was unable to test BookingBug on a mobile device, but considering how poorly the booking page displayed on a laptop screen, I can’t help wondering if the platform is not mobile optimized.

Conclusion

When I tried to login to the system a week after registration, I got a “Page not found” error. Resetting the password didn’t work either. I would not return to this system.

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Like BookingBug, Checkfront isn’t adapted for escape rooms.

It also looks like a system for IT guys with various {$VALUE} fields throughout the interface. I got lost in them. I don’t think it would be easy to teach someone without a proper background to use this platform.

Trial period

The trial period is only 21 days. I don’t think it’s enough if you aren’t fully booked.

Flexibility

Checkfront supports 36 languages in the admin panel and 50+ languages on the booking page. Some texts have no translation, but you can make your own.

The pricing options are similar to other systems: per group or per person. You can also set seasonal prices.

User interface

Checkfront’s user interface is not intuitive. I found it to be unnecessarily complicated.

As mentioned before, Checkfront isn’t designed for escape rooms, so it takes time and effort to set up a schedule for an escape room. For example, to make a room private, you must set up a separate event instead of simply ticking a “private event” checkbox.

Menu options like “Item,” “Index,” and “Rules” don’t clearly define what will be found by clicking on them, so there’s a lot of trial and error when trying to find something.

It took me about 1.5 hours to figure out how to set up my account and create a schedule for one room. Even after completing those actions, I still have no confidence that I understand the system and could perform these tasks again from memory.

Website integration and customer experience

The booking process seems strange. The customer can click on “Available” or on “Book Now” to book an escape room. Two buttons for the same action are confusing.

Support

Explanations of features are available everywhere throughout the system. Checkfront also offers 24/7 customer support by phone or email, as well as on social media.

Mobile friendliness

Checkfront offers a mobile app for escape room owners.

Data export and reporting

Checkfront exports data in several formats: MS Excel, .csv, .pdf, and .xml.

Conclusion

Honestly, I didn’t like Checkfront. It’s was too complicated for me.

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Nowescape is the only booking platform I’ve seen that’s designed solely for escape room businesses.

Trial period

Nowescape does not offer a “trial period” because it is unnecessary. Users can add rooms to the system and use the booking-platform widget on their websites without submitting payment, so technically, the trial period is infinite. (Users who choose to list their rooms on the Nowescape website as a secondary booking portal pay a 20 percent commission on completed transactions.)

Flexibility

I did not see any options that would allow me to change the language for game operators or for customers. The website and room information are in English.

The pricing system is very flexible. You can choose pricing per game or per person. It also accommodates peak and off-peak pricing by allowing you to assign unique pricing to blocks of days or times; you can also set prices to times individually.

I did not see a way to set prices by demographic (such as senior, child, or veteran pricing).

User interface

The system is simple to use and relatively self-explanatory. I was able to set up a room in about 15 minutes without much difficulty.

When you first create your account, you set up your first room prior to entering your business information, which seemed a little backwards but did not prevent me from getting through the process smoothly.

The steps to set up a room are clear and logical, although you must complete each step before moving on to the next, and no steps may be skipped. So, for example, if you do not have a photo at hand to upload, you cannot move on to the next step until you upload something (the photo can be changed later, but you still must complete this step before you can move forward).

The system also does not provide a way to autofill information when you enter a second room. It would have been nice to have a checkbox that said, “use address from business profile” or “copy pricing from {{room_name}}.”

Overall, though, I found it easy to find what I was looking for and complete tasks without confusion or frustration.

Website integration and customer experience

Once a room has been entered, you’re provided two options to make the booking calendar visible to customers.

A widget is provided to embed the platform in your website, allowing customers to book directly from your central web location.

You can also choose to list your room on Nowescape as either your primary or as a secondary booking portal (this option is subject to a fee, charged only for completed bookings).

I was unable to preview what the booking system looks like from a customer’s perspective.

Support

Three links are listed under ‘Support’ in the page footer: FAQ, Knowledge Base, and Suggest a Feature.

Currently, the the ‘FAQ’ and ‘Knowledge Base’ links navigate to pages outside of the website, which I did not find to be user-friendly or helpful. I assume these support pages are still under construction, since the platform is brand new.

The ‘Contact’ link navigates to the website’s ‘About’ page, which includes several ways to contact the company.

Mobile friendliness

The Nowescape platform is mobile-friendly for both room operators and customers.

Data export and reporting

It looked like the ‘Transactions’ option on the Dashboard would provide data on bookings made through the system. I did not see any options to download reports.

Conclusion

The Nowescape booking system is brand new, and some of its functionality is still under construction (for example, at the time of this writing, it is available only in the UK). However, the interface is easy to use, and the price is definitely right. If the objective is to get as much exposure as possible and make it easy for customers to book your room(s), Nowescape is an affordable option as either a primary or a secondary booking portal.

Disclaimer

This summary was written by an industry insider who had not seen the Nowescape platform prior to evaluating it and who receives no commission or other consideration for “promoting” it. The author made every effort to provide an honest, unbiased description of the service for the purposes of assisting readers in selecting the right booking platform for their needs.

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If you use SimplyBook, your company will be listed on BookingTroll among other entertainment companies. That seems to be the main advantage to using this system.

Trial period

The trial period is 30 days. It includes all plugins (e.g., Google sync, accept payments) and 50 reservations.

When the trial expires, you can still use SimplyBook for free with one plugin, but you’re still limited to 50 bookings.

Flexibility

The admin panel and the booking page are translated into 13 languages.

The pricing system is rigid — price per person is the only option available.

User interface

The interface is very clean, but the functionality is complicated. Besides setting up a room booking schedule, you have to deal with service providers.

If a room isn’t connected to a certain service provider, it’s connected to all of them. Your providers’ opening hours must match your company’s opening hours. And I didn’t find how to switch service providers off. It really bothered me.

Website integration and customer experience

An external booking page can be branded.

From the customer’s perspective, the schedule doesn’t show how many free spots are left for a certain time.

Support

SimplyBook offers video tutorials, text explanations, and an online chat. If the support manager is online, she answers fast.

Data export and reporting

The system has an “Export” button, but it led me to an error page. I did not take the time to contact the support team to resolve the issue.

Conclusion

If you aggregate excursions or guided tours operated by other companies, this system will suit you. If you have an escape room, there’s too much room for human mistakes.

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Although Xola’s booking software is not exclusively designed for escape rooms — the system serves many entertainment venues, from Nascar to city tours — it has features specifically designed to address the needs of escape rooms.

Trial period

Xola does not offer a free trial.

Due to this, it was the only platform I did not personally try out. My evaluation is based upon the company’s free demo, which is thorough and professional.

The button to watch the demo is easy to find. You can also chat with a Xola representative from the website homepage.

Flexibility

Xola supports only English for both admins and customers.

The pricing system is flexible. You can choose pricing per game or per person, and you can set minimum-player numbers so your room is never too empty.

Xola also includes private-room settings, as well as options for peak and off-peak pricing and special prices for holidays or for certain groups, like children or seniors.

User interface

I am not sure exactly how long it takes to set up an escape room, but judging from the demo, the process it is not complicated.

A dashboard displays the most important information in one place, and all the other features you may need are grouped under the top menu.

Website integration and customer experience

The bookings interface for customers is easy to integrate into your website, and it takes just three clicks to book a game.

Xola keeps your branding throughout the whole customer experience. The booking screen features your logo, as do all email communications.

Xola automatically sends confirmation, reminder, and follow-up emails to your customers.

Additionally, one of Xola’s unique features is a remarketing email that is automatically sent to people who have not completed the booking process. This feature alone generates about 10% additional revenue for escape rooms.

Support

Tech support seems to be easily available should you need it.

The Xola Launch Team assists every new customer onboard his or her business. An Implementation Manager will also set up your Book Now buttons, migrate your old bookings, set up your listings, and more.

Data export and reporting

Xola provides exports and imports of booking data, and support is available to assist with both. They also provide exports of customer data, cash flow, and realized earning reports.

Conclusion

The Xola team has definitely done its homework with regard to the needs of escape rooms. The system has a lot of features that set it apart from its competition.

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To test other booking systems I had to press one button. To test Zozi, I had to send a demo request.

Nobody ever responded to my request. Maybe it’s because I have a European phone number, and Zozi is meant only for the U.S.? I don’t know.

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Choosing a Booking System

Selecting your booking system should not be a time-consuming process, but I still recommend taking advantage of free trials if they’re available and making sure a system works for you and your business before making a final decision.

Everyone is different, and things I found to be non-intuitive or frustrating might seem perfectly clear to you.

Your ultimate goal is to find the platform that requires as little time and effort as possible to set up and run.

Based on this, I’d recommend narrowing your options to the three booking systems with functionality designed for escape rooms: Bookify, Nowescape, and Xola. These systems offer the most flexibility in scheduling games and setting your pricing policy.

Your final decision will be based upon your own preferences, as well as the details of your specific business.

Budget. How much are you willing to spend per month, and what features are worth spending a little extra to have?

Marketing strategies. Are you the kind of person who likes to manage your marketing campaigns in-house, or would you prefer a system that automates much of your marketing for you?

Reporting needs. How much reporting do you need and in what format? Does your accountant require financial data in a specific format?

Target demographics. Do you cater primarily to people in your own country, or do you need a system that supports multiple languages?

User needs. Do you need to onboard multiple employees to the system, or are you the only person who will use it? Do you need mobile functionality?

The answers to some of these questions should help narrow down your options.

Ultimately, the only way to really determine which escape room booking system meets your needs is to try them out. You can simulate situations as I did, but it won’t replace real experience.

My advice: Make a list of your “must-have” features. Narrow down your choices. Choose one and test it.

I’ve done some of the work for you already. I hope this helps you choose a booking system that fits your needs.

For a complete list of Escape Room Booking Management Systems visit Nowescape’s Escape Room Resource Directory.

Nowescape encourages those with creative and entrepreneurial spirits to follow their dreams when it comes to opening their own escape game facilities.

For more guidance on getting your escape room business off the ground, start with our blog post: How to Open Your Own Escape Room: A Simple 22-step Guide.

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