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6 Best Workshop (Webinar, Course, Training) Booking Software

Workshop and course providers have special considerations when comparing and choosing booking software — they need a solution that provides the following:

Advanced availability management to choose how attendees book with you, specify capacities, set booking cut-offs, and update availability across sales channels.
Resource management to keep an inventory of supplies and materials for workshops and easily assign instructors.
Channel management to promote and sell workshops across a myriad of online channels and aggregate bookings in a central calendar.

Native channel management is arguably one of the most valuable features in booking software because it promotes business growth. It enables you to explore online sales channels, reach new customers, and increase booking volume.

Then, of course, any top-rated system should provide:

High-quality booking management tools to simplify the booking process for customers, enable customers to reserve groups or private workshops, and provide customers with various online payment options.
Tools to improve the customer experience and earn more repeat clients, like portals to view or modify bookings, automated communications, and convenient check-in tools.
Back-office reporting tools to measure revenue and bookings over various categories and gather insights to support growth strategies.

Unfortunately, many online booking and workshop scheduling software options fail to meet all necessary criteria. While they offer tools for direct website bookings and calendar integration, they leave you managing back-office tasks — like handling materials, scheduling staff, communicating with customers, testing sales channels, and reporting — across separate systems.

To help you find the best workshop booking software, we’ve compiled this guide featuring six comprehensive solutions for workshop instructors.

Best Workshop Booking Software

Bókun
Bookeo
Xola
FareHarbor
Checkfront
Rezdy

At the end, we also cover a few honourable mentions, including TicketingHub, Appointy, Class Bento, and more.

To explore Bókun further, start a 14-day free trial (no credit card required).

1. Bókun

All-in-one system for managing bookings, sales channels, resources, customers, back-office processes & operations

Bokun‘s booking software combines everything workshop instructors need to organise, manage, and scale operations. Our operating system is built specifically for experience and activity-based businesses — like workshop, webinar, training, and course providers — and, as a Tripadvisor brand, we have over a decade of experience in the travel and leisure industry.

We’ve updated and optimised Bókun through our years of working with business owners so that it supports all areas of operations and provides opportunities to drive organisational growth. Our platform is highly flexible to suit businesses of all sizes, and we offer scalable packages so Bókun can evolve with you.

We’re one of the most top-rated booking systems (with a 4.7-star rating!) because our platform is easy to use, adaptable, and affordable — with the lowest booking fees among competitors. Our customer support and business development teams can help you optimise Bókun to your needs, streamline operations, and explore digital growth strategies.

The following sections review Bókun’s core features and how they support workshop instructors. If you’d like to explore Bókun more as you read, start a 14-day free trial here.

Bókun Booking Engine Widgets & Website Builders

Enable customers to (easily and conveniently) reserve workshops online with Bókun’s booking engine widget. You can embed our widget to your site with a few clicks so customers can view workshops, choose a course and time slot, and checkout online.

Our booking engine is optimised to encourage customers through the checkout flow so you can see more bookings and fewer abandoned carts. We also offer seamless integrations with dozens of online payment processors — Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Raypd, Worldpay, Braintree, Klarna, and more — so customers can choose their preferred payment method at checkout.

Alternatively, teams that don’t already have a website can use our one-click website builder to create a bookable site.

We provide a gallery of website templates so you can choose your favourite design and begin building. The Bókun booking widget is included in all website templates so you can see a preview as you create your site.

You don’t have to be a developer or coder to design a stunning site because our website builder is easy to use. You simply drag and drop elements like brand logos, imagery, and text boxes onto the page to make the site yours.

(That said, we also offer more advanced features to make deeper customisations, modify navigation, add content like blog posts, and SEO optimise your site.)

Most of our users can build their site in under a few hours; you can follow the steps to create your site here.

Bókun’s Central Calendar & Advanced Availability Management

Bókun’s booking calendar aggregates bookings from all sales channels — your website, online sites, and partners (more on those later) — so you can manage workshop reservations in one organised place.

This calendar also feeds availability back to connected calendars in real-time as you receive bookings; you don’t have to update availability across calendars site by site (and risk double bookings in the meantime).

Bókun’s Product & Resource Management

Bókun’s Experience tab makes it easy to create listings for all of your workshops and manage the fine details — and the product builder walks you step-by-step through the process so there’s no guesswork; it shows exactly what details to provide and how to set availability, pricing, and resource allocation rules.

Here’s a brief rundown of how the process works:

First, you’ll create the listing for your workshop. You’ll add a title and description, set the duration, specify the address or instructions on how to meet, include images or media from past courses, and provide details on anything attendees need for the day of. The product builder also has options to offer add-ons or create workshop packages.

Next, you’ll set availability rules. You choose how attendees book with you (for example, if it’s an event or day-long workshop and they buy a general pass, or they choose a date and time slot), specify the days and times workshops are offered, set minimum and maximum capacities, and specify booking cut-offs.

Availability rules auto-populate your calendar and connected sales channels, but you can always make on-the-fly changes from your central calendar.

Then, you’ll set pricing. You can create pricing categories, set rates for private groups or events, offer bulk discounts, and establish dynamic pricing rules. Bókun’s dynamic pricing can automatically adjust rates to improve booking conversions and increase revenue.

Finally, you’ll specify resources and allocation rules per experience. Bókun supports a variety of allocation rules (orderly, round robin, sticky, etc.) and allows you to combine rules to optimise resource usage. This resource management module reinforces Bókun’s availability management by blocking bookings when you don’t have available supplies or staff.

You can also create templates in the product builder so you can speed up this process when adding new workshops.

Bókun’s Channel Manager & Marketplace (To Fill Your Booking Calendar)

What sets Bókun apart from the basic scheduling apps we mentioned above (and even competitors below) is our OTA partnerships and robust partner Marketplace. These create opportunities to expand your online presence, reach new potential customers, and earn more bookings.

Bókun connects with dozens of online sites where you can promote your workshops alongside other things to do and reach customers who are interested in booking the types of workshops you offer. Our channel manager lets you connect with sites like Viator, GetYourGuide, Google Things to do, Expedia, Headout, BeMyGuest, and more.

We also have premium partnerships with Viator, GetYourGuide, and Google Things to do to earn you additional benefits and better visibility when selling on those channels.

Bókun Marketplace is a network of 27K businesses in the tourism and leisure industry where you can reach out to complementary businesses and create partnerships.

Our network includes other activity-based businesses and experience providers, tour guides, travel agents, hotel and resort chains, rental car providers, and more — creating endless opportunities to broaden your reach, diversify your product line, and establish additional revenue streams.

For example, you could partner with…

A hotel or resort and have them promote your workshops to travellers who are visiting from out of town — this is popular for cooking workshops or mixology courses where travellers can learn about different cultural cuisines and cocktails.
Another workshop provider to offer a combo package.
Suppliers to resell their experiences or services and earn commissions.

Bókun includes all partner management tools so you can save communications and contracts in our system.

Bókun’s CRM & Customer Management Tools

Bókun is also more convenient than standard scheduling software because it includes a native CRM and an array of tools to manage and improve customer experiences.

Our CRM automatically captures and stores customer information when they contact you, make a reservation, or even begin the booking process (to detect abandoned carts and assist with retargeting).

It also keeps a booking history so you can see which workshops customers have booked in the past and the details of bookings. This allows you to learn more about customer preferences and people booking with you.

Then, we back our CRM with an automated communications tool — this sends booking confirmations, reminders before workshops, mobile tickets for check-in, and follow-ups by default, but you can also create and automate other types of customer emails.

We provide a gallery of email templates to get you started, but you can also add your own templates to send newsletters, promotional emails about new workshops or events, and other marketing emails.

Bókun also provides handy customer portals where attendees can view, modify, or cancel workshop bookings at their convenience.

Our system sends a notification and auto-updates your calendar if attendees reschedule or cancel workshops — and also sends another confirmation email to attendees, outlining the changes to their reservations.

Bókun Back-office Reporting, Mobile Apps & App Store

Bókun also includes a reporting dashboard where you can measure bookings and revenue by product, time period, sales channel, partner, and more. Bókun reports can help you identify:

Popular (vs. unpopular) workshops so you can fine-tune your offerings.
Busy (vs. slow) seasons so you can prepare accordingly and brainstorm opportunities to stay busy year-round.
Which sites or partners generate the most business, so you can invest in more of what’s working.

Bókun also provides mobile apps (for iOS and Android) so you can keep staff connected and stay up-to-date on bookings and cancellations from any device. Our apps include easy access to the booking calendar and fast check-in tools so staff members can manage arrivals and monitor no-shows.

Then, we also provide an app store where you can purchase additional modules to support our core features. Some of our additional modules include a tip management tool, a custom reporting system, and an SMS messenger.

Bókun’s Packages & How to Get Started

We provide a 14-day free trial for all new customers to try Bókun and see if we’re the right fit for their business.

After the trial period, you can upgrade to the START plan to access all of the core features discussed above. The START plan is our most popular package, supporting small, mid-size, and even scaling businesses.

The START plan is available for $49/month with super-low booking fees of 1.5% (for online bookings — you can manage offline and in-person bookings in Bókun for free, and we waive Bókun booking fees on Viator reservations).

In addition to our START plan, we also offer two enterprise packages, PLUS and PREMIUM, for larger teams with more specialised requirements.

These advanced packages include tools like sub-vendor management and agent portals. They also come with a dedicated account manager who assists with onboarding and provides an annual review to ensure Bókun is optimised for current business needs and goals.

Interested in exploring Bókun further? Start your 14-day free trial here!

2. Bookeo

Bookeo is a popular booking management system for small businesses because it’s easy to use and offers straightforward, affordable packages.

Bookeo is a little more simplistic than Bókun and competitors below, lacking a reseller network and inventory management tools, but it still boasts a comprehensive toolset to manage bookings, availability, sales channels, staff schedules, and customer experiences. Workshop providers also like Bookeo’s waitlisting tools to help them acquire new customers and stay busy.

In addition to workshop instructors, Bookeo also supports schools and educational institutions, fitness studios, tour operators, activity-based businesses, and other service providers. It receives a 4.3-star rating on user review sites.

Features

Online booking widget
Customisable booking management calendar
Channel management & OTA connections
Product management
Availability management
Staff management
Native POS
Integrations with online payment processors (e.g., Stripe)
Automated customer communications
Customer portals
Waitlisting tools
Upselling tools
Options to sell merchandise, gift cards & vouchers
Reporting

Pricing

Bookeo offers three packages:

The Standard plan ($39.95/month) supports 20 product listings, 20 staff logins, and 1,000 bookings per month.
The Large plan ($79.95/month) supports 40 product listings, 40 staff logins, and 2,000 bookings per month.
The X-large plan ($199.95/month) supports 60 products, 60 staff logins, and 3,000 bookings per month.

3. Xola

Xola is also a recommended solution for workshop providers because it includes all of the tools to manage bookings and back-office operations at a cost-effective price point.

Xola supports businesses of all sizes; it includes a website-building service to help small teams establish their online presence and enable online bookings, as well as a reseller network and marketing suite for scaling teams to experiment with digital growth strategies.

Teams also like Xola because it has a modern, visually elegant UX with user-friendly features and simple navigation. Xola also offers a helpful customer support team to simplify onboarding and minimise the learning curve.

Features

Website building service
Online booking widgets (for existing sites)
Channel management & connections with OTAs
Distribution network
Availability management
Staff management
Inventory management
Phone booking system to manage offline reservations
Native POS
CRM
Marketing tools to promote your tours & retarget customers
Digital waiver solution
Customisable tickets (and ticket scanning tools for convenient check-in)
Reporting
Mobile apps

Pricing

Xola charges customers a partner fee of 1.9% + 30¢ to book and checkout online.

Xola does not publicly disclose all pricing details, so you must contact Xola’s team to learn more about rates.

4. FareHarbor

FareHarbor is another all-in-one booking management software popular amongst workshop providers and activity-based businesses.

FareHarbor earns good reviews for its comprehensive toolset and helpful customer service. Its team works with businesses at all growth stages, and business owners are often attracted to FareHarbor because it doesn’t charge a monthly subscription.

While FareHarbor checks our above-mentioned boxes and receives positive customer feedback, reviews often note FareHarbor’s high booking fees as a significant con. FareHarbor charges some of the highest booking fees (often as high as 6%) and passes those fees to the customer at checkout — which can deter customers from booking and cause abandoned carts, especially if you offer pricier workshops where fees majorly increase the total cost.

You should consider the prices of your workshops and how booking fees can impact rates when deciding if FareHarbor is a suitable option for your business.

Features

Website-building services — FareHarbor charges an extra fee for this service
Online booking widget
Customisable booking calendar
Connections with OTAs & channel management
Reseller network
Product management
Availability management
Staff management
Native POS
Integrations with Stripe
Customer portals
Fast check-in features & online waiver tools
Options to sell memberships
Reporting
Mobile apps

Pricing

FareHarbor charges customers a variable booking fee (up to 6%) at checkout.

5. Checkfront

Checkfront is one of the most top-rated booking management softwares because it includes 100+ (user-friendly, intuitive) features to manage all areas of operations and automate back-office workflows. It’s popular for businesses of all sizes, with straightforward pricing and functionality to support small one- or two-person teams and scaling enterprises.

Checkfront earns positive customer reviews for its ease of use and minimal learning curve; there’s little to no hassle or confusion during set-up, and you can adjust the software as you go.

One complaint users note is that Checkfront’s features are somewhat limited (or “basic”) — while it packs a lot under one roof, users express wishes for a more advanced reporting functionality and improved inventory management.

Features

Website builder
Online booking engine widgets
Centralised booking calendar
Availability management
Channel management & OTA connections
Partner network
Custom form builders and waivers to send to customers before their tours
Marketing tools, including customer booking map, customer outreach, & ROI tracking
Integrations with online payment processors (Checkfront also connects with your POS and lets you send custom invoices)
50+ integrations & Checkfront API
Reporting

Pricing

Checkfront charges a 3% booking fee, which you can either cover or pass on to the customer. Checkfront does not charge monthly subscription fees.

6. Rezdy

The last name on our list, Rezdy, may appeal to mid-size and larger teams for its advanced toolset and (slightly more expensive) pricing. Rezdy is a global name, working with businesses big and small across dozens of countries, and has recently merged with other booking management brands — including Checkfront above, and Regiondo — to offer additional benefits to customers.

Rezdy is a nice option for workshop providers, with a toolset similar to Bókun — it lets you manage bookings, availability, inventory, staff, sales channels, and partners in one solution. Plus, its reseller network creates additional opportunities to earn new customers. Users like Rezdy for its user-friendly interface and toolset, customisation options, and available integrations.

The downside with Rezdy is expensive and confusing pricing (as mentioned) and an initial learning curve; that said, feedback also mentions Rezdy’s helpful customer support team who will answer questions during implementation and assist with set-up.

Features

One-click website builder
Online booking engine
Connections with OTAs & channel management
Reseller network
Reservation management
Live availability
Inventory management
Automated customer communications
RezdyPay — Rezdy’s native payment gateway — and integrations with solutions like Stripe, PayPal, Google, and Apple Pay
Integrations & API
Reporting
Mobile apps

Pricing

Rezdy offers three packages:

Foundation ($49/month & 2% booking fees): This plan provides basic feature access but does not include automated communications, waitlists, integrations, and other essentials.
Accelerate ($99/month & 1.9% booking fees): This is Rezdy’s recommended plan because it includes access to all of the most important features workshop instructors need to manage bookings, customers, and back-office operations.
Expansion ($249/month & 1.75% booking fees): This is Rezdy’s enterprise package for teams requiring API and webhook access to customise the platform for specific requirements.

Rezdy offers a 21-day free trial for all new customers, and all packages include onboarding and support.

Honourable Mentions: TicketingHub, Class Bento, & more

As mentioned, many appointment scheduling systems cater to workshop instructors, but lack certain tools to support business growth or back-office operations. Here are some of the other popular names you might see when researching solutions:

TicketingHub is a highly-rated booking management software similar to Bókun and the competitors above. It has a comprehensive toolset and works with both activity-based businesses and attractions and event venues that manage high-volume ticket sales. While TicketingHub offers an impressive feature set, it lacks inventory management and comes at a high price point, so we rank it lower on our list of recommendations.

Appointy is an online class scheduling software that allows workshop providers to create a customised booking page, set availability rules, schedule staff, collect online payments, and report on bookings and revenue. It offers very basic functionality and often serves as an “entry-level” scheduling software for smaller businesses that are just bringing operations online. It lets you offer in-person or virtual workshops, webinars, and events, and Appointy works with a variety of course providers — educational institutions, tutors, fitness and wellness studios, sports trainers, culinary schools, business consultants, and more.

Class Bento is a booking engine built for artisan class and workshop providers. It lets you offer in-person or online workshops and DIY kits, and promote your workshops to Class Bento’s audience. It also provides an online booking widget so you can enable customers to reserve workshops from your site. Class Bento provides all of the tools to manage bookings (from your website and Class Bento’s site) but lacks tools to sell on other online channels or establish partnerships. It also does not include staff scheduling, inventory management, and other recommended back-office tools.
Vev’s workshop software lets you sell in-person or online workshops from your website and manage bookings in an organised calendar. It’s designed to function as a digital assistant to help with managing customer communications, collecting upfront payments, and sending reminders to customers before workshops. It also includes tools to advertise your workshops on social media and earn new customers. However, Vev’s software has a relatively small toolset, lacking many of the recommended features to manage back-office operations and grow your business.
Super SaaS is a free online scheduling software for workshop, training, and seminar providers. It lets you create a booking form for your website, provide online payment options for customers, and it connects with calendar systems to route bookings back to your connected calendar. It also integrates with Zoom to generate meeting links for new bookings. Super SaaS offers some features to support back-office processes, like reporting tools and email and SMS messaging, but is very simplistic compared to competitors.

Getting started with Bókun

Bókun offers an all-in-one solution to manage bookings, availability, supplies and materials for workshops, staff, customer experiences, and sales channels — and our robust toolset not only helps you stay organised and improve operational efficiencies but also drives business growth so you can see more bookings, revenue, and success.

Get started today with a 14-day free trial of Bókun!

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