Managing vacation home rentals sounds exciting until you’re stuck handling bookings over WhatsApp, juggling calendars, and dealing with double bookings. If you’re offering weekly stays but still relying on manual work or third-party sites, you’re likely losing time, money, and control. With the right setup on WooCommerce, you can take bookings directly on your website, show real-time availability, and stay fully in charge of your rental business, all without the chaos.
This guide will walk you through how to offer weekly vacation home rentals smoothly using WooCommerce and the Appointments and Bookings plugin.
Table of Contents
- Turn Your WooCommerce Store into a Weekly Rental Platform
- Offer Weekly Vacation Bookings with Ease on Your WooCommerce Store
- Real-World Example
- Final Thoughts
- FAQ’s
Turn Your WooCommerce Store into a Weekly Rental Platform
If you’re already using WooCommerce for your website or even just thinking about it, you’re halfway there. What’s missing is the ability to take weekly bookings the way a rental business should.
WooCommerce, by itself, is great for selling products. However, it doesn’t know how to handle tasks such as booking dates, weekly stays, or blocking out a property once it’s reserved.
That’s where the WooCommerce Bookings and Appointments plugin comes in. It adds everything you need for a smooth weekly rental setup – right into your existing store.
You’ll be able to:
- Let guests pick their check-in and check-out weeks
- Show what’s available and what’s already booked
- Avoid double bookings
- Add extra services like refreshment kits or grocery stocking.
- Manage everything from one place – your WooCommerce dashboard
No need to build a new system or rely on external portals. With this plugin, your WooCommerce store becomes your complete rental booking engine, and it works just the way you need it to.
Offer Weekly Vacation Bookings with Ease on Your WooCommerce Store
Before you begin, make sure the WooCommerce Bookings and Appointments plugin by PluginHive is installed, activated, and the basic setup is complete.
Once that’s done, you can start offering weekly vacation rentals online, just like Vrbo or Airbnb, but fully managed within your website. Here’s how to create a smooth booking experience your guests will love.
1. Set a Clean and User-Friendly Booking Calendar
Choose from 3 calendar designs. You can keep the calendar always visible or show it on click. Match the colors with your site and show start and end dates clearly.
Want to explore more calendar design options? Visit: Customize your calendar display
2. Set Weekly Duration with Fixed Check-In and Check-Out Days
To ensure consistent schedules, you can allow bookings only for full 7-night stays and limit them to fixed check-in and check-out days, for example, every Saturday to Saturday.
Add buffer time for cleaning and prep. The plugin also lets you block certain weeks if you want to reserve time for family, repairs, or seasonal closures.
Learn more here about Setting buffer time between the bookings and Control booking availability
You can also allow cancellations up to a set time before check-in. Learn more about setting booking cancellations.
To accept advance payments and reduce cancellations, you can also use the WooCommerce Deposits plugin by PluginHive. It lets guests pay a partial amount upfront and pay the rest later.
3. Add Flexible Weekly Pricing
Define a base weekly rate and add seasonal pricing.
Raise rates during holidays or offer discounts during off-peak months. This lets you manage demand just like big vacation booking sites.
Need help? Set your booking costs here.
4. Collect Guest Count
Make it easy for guests to tell you how many people are staying. Add a field for the number of adults and children. This helps you manage capacity, plan better, and avoid surprises during check-in.
See how to do it: Set booking participants
5. Highlight Extra Services and Amenities
You can offer optional services or features that add more value to the stay. PluginHive Bookings Plugin lets you auto-assign certain items like cleaning, and also gives guests the option to choose extras on the product page.
For vacation homes, these extras might include amenities like a Washer, a Barbecue Grill, a Fireplace, Outdoor Space, Air Conditioning, or Free WiFi. These can all be shown directly on your booking product page.
Learn how to add them here: Configure booking resources
6. Accept and Manage Bookings Inside WooCommerce
Once your listings are live, guests can book online just like they would on major travel platforms. Each reservation is instantly added to your WooCommerce dashboard.
You’ll see everything in a visual calendar perfect for tracking upcoming stays, blocking out dates, or making changes. No need for spreadsheets or juggling multiple systems.
7. Send Instant Email Confirmations and Reminders
Keep your guests informed with automated emails. You can send booking confirmations, reminders before check-in, or updates in case of cancellations. It saves time and creates a more professional guest experience.
Learn more: Set up booking email reminders.
If you’re running a hotel or managing multiple rooms and room types, check out this guide to set up WooCommerce hotel bookings.
Real-World Use Case: Running Weekly Vacation Rentals with WooCommerce
Let’s say you own two vacation cabins and list them on your WooCommerce store. You rent them out weekly to families looking for a peaceful countryside stay. You want to keep things simple.
Challenges You Face
- Guests email or call to check if specific dates are free, which leads to delays.
- You manually track bookings in Excel, increasing the risk of double bookings.
- Cleaning between guest stays requires buffer time, but it’s hard to plan without automation.
- You offer amenities like a barbecue grill, washer, and free WiFi, but guests often miss those because they aren’t visible during booking.
- You sometimes forget to follow up with guests or send check-in instructions on time.
How PluginHive’s WooCommerce Bookings Plugin Solves It
- Guests can select available weeks directly from the product page using a calendar.
- Guests can book for 7 nights, starting and ending on the same weekday, like every Tuesday.
- Buffer time is added automatically between bookings to allow for cleaning.
- You list extra services and amenities like outdoor space, fireplace, or a barbecue grill as bookable options.
- The system sends automatic confirmation emails and reminders before arrival.
- You can block out dates for personal use, renovations, or unavailable weeks in just a few clicks.
- Every booking appears in your WooCommerce dashboard, so you can manage everything without spreadsheets.
With this setup, your vacation rental business runs smoothly, even when you’re fully booked for the season.
Final Thoughts
Offering weekly vacation rentals on your own WooCommerce store doesn’t have to be complicated. With the WooCommerce Bookings and Appointments plugin, you can let guests book their stays online, manage your calendar easily, and offer a smooth booking experience, just like major platforms, but fully under your control.
From setting up weekly durations to adding seasonal pricing and guest options, everything runs inside your existing WooCommerce setup without extra tools or spreadsheets.
Need Help? If you have questions or want help with your store setup, reach out to PluginHive Support.
FAQs
1. Can I offer only weekly stays with the WooCommerce Bookings plugin?
Yes. With the PluginHive WooCommerce Bookings plugin, you can enforce fixed block bookings so guests can only book your property in 7-night increments. You can also enable longer WooCommerce stays, like 14 or 21 nights, if needed.
2. Can I prevent last-minute bookings on my WooCommerce store?
Absolutely. You can set a booking buffer period (like 24 hours) using the WooCommerce plugin settings. This ensures you have enough time for cleaning or prep between guest stays.
3. Can I block out weeks for myself or maintenance?
Absolutely – just mark the week as unavailable in your Booking Availability settings. This removes the slot from your calendar and prevents guest bookings.
4. How do I handle seasonal pricing for WooCommerce vacation rentals?
The PluginHive WooCommerce Bookings plugin supports flexible seasonal pricing. You can set a base weekly rate and automatically adjust prices for peak seasons (like summer holidays) or offer discounts during off-peak times.
5. Can I charge different rates for adults and children?
Yes, WooCommerce Bookings by PluginHive allows you to define person types like adults or children, with separate pricing rules based on group size.
6. What about cancellations? Can I set deadlines?
Definitely. You can define cancellation rules in the WooCommerce booking plugin settings, like no cancellations allowed within 3 days of check-in. This adds clarity for both you and your guests.
7. Do I need another plugin for calendar sync or emails?
No. The PluginHive WooCommerce Bookings plugin includes built-in tools for calendar management, blocking dates, and sending automated email confirmations or reminders. Everything is handled inside your WooCommerce dashboard.
