How to Set Up Tour Booking Services
Tour booking services let prospective families schedule tours at your childcare center directly from your website. You can offer multiple tour types, add options like extended visits, and manage resources like tour rooms to prevent double bookings.
This guide walks you through setting up your tour booking system in Enrollio.
What are Tour Booking Services?
Tour booking services define what you offer to prospective families—like initial tours, open house visits, or program overviews. Families can book these appointments online while you maintain control over scheduling, staff availability, and capacity.
You can enhance tour bookings with:
- Service variations — Offer different tour lengths or group sizes under one tour type
- Add-ons — Let families request additional time with directors or classroom visits
- Resource management — Reserve tour rooms or staff so they aren't double-booked
- Categories — Organize multiple tour types on your booking page
Tour booking services support advanced features like:
- Multi-location scheduling for centers with multiple campuses
- Different tour durations and capacity limits
- Deposit collection for enrollment spots
- Private tours shared only via direct link
Why Set Up Tour Booking Services?
Configuring your tour services correctly means families get accurate availability and you avoid scheduling conflicts. Here's what you can control:
Variations: Offer multiple options within one tour type (like 30-minute or 60-minute tours), each with its own duration and capacity
Add-ons: Present optional extras during booking—like meeting with the curriculum coordinator or touring the infant room
Resources: Reserve limited spaces like tour rooms or conference areas so they aren't double-booked
Processing Time & Buffers: Build in time between tours for room resets or staff transitions
Staff & Availability: Assign team members to give tours and manage their schedules
Categories: Group different tour types and control the order shown on your booking page
Private Tours: Hide specific tour options from your public booking page when you want to share them only with specific families
Custom URL & Preview: Share a clean booking link and verify the experience before promoting it
Deposits & Pricing: Collect registration fees or deposits at the time of booking
How to Access Tour Booking Services
The Tour Services panel is where you build, organize, and preview your booking experience.
Here's what you'll find:
- A searchable list of all tour types
- Each tour's name, duration, and assigned staff
- Categories on the left for easy organization
- A three-dot menu to Edit, Duplicate, Delete, or Share
- A View Booking Page link to see what families see
To access your tour services:
- Click Calendars in the left navigation
- Select Calendar Settings from the top menu
- Click the Services tab
[SCREENSHOT: Calendar Settings page with Services tab highlighted, showing list of tour services]
Creating and Managing Categories
Categories help you organize different tour types—like "Initial Tours," "Open Houses," or "Program-Specific Visits." These categories appear on your booking page to help families find the right tour option.
To manage categories:
- Click + New Category to create a new one
- Use the three-dot (⋮) icon to edit a category name
- Drag categories to rearrange them—this order appears on your booking page
[SCREENSHOT: Services panel showing category list on left with drag handles and three-dot menu]
Tour Service Management Features
After creating a tour service, you can edit and update its settings anytime.
To open the editor:
- Click the three-dot (⋮) icon next to the tour service
- Choose Edit
The Service Editor includes:
- Service Details: Staff assignments, duration, buffer times, processing time, variations, pricing, payments, deposits
- Add-Ons: Optional extras families can select during booking
- Resources: Tour rooms, staff, or other assets required for the appointment
[SCREENSHOT: Service editor showing three tabs - Service Details, Add-Ons, and Resources]
What are Add-ons?
Add-ons let you offer optional extras during the booking process. For childcare tours, this might include:
- Extended tour time with a program director
- Classroom observation visits
- Meet-and-greet with lead teachers
- Enrollment application packet pickup
Add-ons can be visible to families on the booking page or used internally when your staff schedules tours manually.
How Add-ons Appear on the Booking Page
When families book a tour:
- Add-ons display as optional checkboxes
- Any additional time or cost is added to the total
- Hidden add-ons won't appear to families but staff can select them when creating appointments
Accessing Add-ons
- Navigate to the Services panel (Calendar > Calendar Settings > Services)
- Open the Service Editor for your tour (three-dot (⋮) > Edit)
- Click the Add-ons tab
You'll see all add-ons linked to this tour service, including their price, duration, and maximum quantity.
From here, you can create new add-ons or edit existing ones.
[SCREENSHOT: Add-ons tab showing list of add-ons with price, duration, and quantity columns]
What are Resources?
Resources are shared spaces or staff that must be available for a tour to take place. Common resources for childcare tours include:
- Tour rooms or conference spaces
- Specific classrooms for observation
- Tour guide staff members
- Outdoor play areas
Assigning resources to tour services prevents double bookings and ensures you don't schedule more tours than your center can accommodate.
Each resource can be configured with:
- Location: Assign which campus or building the resource belongs to
- Capacity: Set how many tours or families the resource can handle at once
For example, your "Main Tour Room" might be used by multiple tour types but can only accommodate 2 families at a time.
Accessing Resources
- Navigate to the Services panel (Calendar > Calendar Settings > Services)
- Open the Service Editor for your tour (three-dot (⋮) > Edit)
- Click the Resources tab
You'll see all resources linked to this tour, including their total capacity, associated tours, locations, and status.
From here, you can create new resources or edit existing ones.
[SCREENSHOT: Resources tab showing resource list with capacity, services, locations, and status columns]
How to Create a New Tour Service
Follow these steps to set up a new tour type that families can book online.
Step 1: Click + New Service
- Navigate to the Services panel (Calendar > Calendar Settings > Services)
- Click + New Service in the upper right corner
[SCREENSHOT: Services panel with + New Service button highlighted]
Step 2: Add Basic Details
Fill in the information families will see when booking:
Service Image: Upload a photo of your center, tour room, or welcoming entrance. You can upload from your device or choose from your Media Library.
Service Name: The title families see—like "Initial Center Tour" or "Infant Program Tour"
Service Color: Choose a color to identify this tour type in your calendar
Category: Place the tour under a relevant category (new tours default to the first category if you don't select one)
Custom URL: Set a unique booking link for this specific tour type
Description: Add details about what families can expect during the tour
Private Service: Check this box to hide the tour from your public booking page. You can share the direct link only with specific families.
Staff Members: Assign staff who can give this tour. You must assign at least one staff member for the tour to be bookable.
Duration: Set how long the tour will last
[SCREENSHOT: Service details form showing all fields described above filled out with example childcare tour information]
Once you've added the basic details, click Advanced Settings to configure additional options like buffer times, variations, pricing, and deposits.
Best Practices
Start with one or two tour types. Don't overwhelm families with too many options. A standard center tour and an extended visit are usually enough.
Use clear, family-friendly names. "Center Tour" is better than "Intake Visit" or "Site Assessment."
Set realistic durations. Include time for greeting families, answering questions, and walking to different areas of your center.
Add buffer time. Give yourself 10-15 minutes between tours to reset and prepare.
Test your booking page. Book a test tour yourself to see what families experience.
Assign backup staff. Make sure multiple team members can give tours so you don't lose bookings when someone is unavailable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can families book tours for multiple locations from one page?
Yes. If you have multiple centers, you can assign locations to each tour service and families can select their preferred location during booking.
What happens if a family books a tour when no staff is available?
Enrollio won't show time slots when no assigned staff members are available. Make sure your staff calendars are up to date.
Can I charge for tours?
Yes. You can set a tour price and collect payment during booking. You can also collect a deposit that applies toward enrollment.
How do I prevent too many families from booking at the same time?
Use resources to set capacity limits. For example, if your tour room can only accommodate 2 families, set the resource capacity to 2.
Can I hide certain tour types from my public page?
Yes. Check the "Private Service" box when creating the tour. You can share the direct booking link only with specific families.
What's the difference between buffer time and processing time?
Buffer time is the gap before or after a tour. Processing time is built into the tour duration itself—like time spent checking in or wrapping up.