Set up a hire

Step-by-step guide to creating a time-based hire — from hire increment and pricing to kit, sharing rules, and waivers.

A hire is the right session type for renting equipment or facilities by the hour, half-day, or day. This guide walks through the hire setup wizard end to end.

If you’re not sure whether you need a course or a hire, see courses vs hire first.

Step 1: Choose session type

Start a new session and select Hire. This tells Sailia the booking is for a time-based rental rather than a taught course.

Step 2: Basic hire information

Field	What to set
Item name	A clear, descriptive name (e.g. Single kayak, Bike hire)
Hire increment	The smallest bookable time unit, in minutes
Price per increment	The cost for one increment — total price scales with the number of increments booked
Colour	Used on the calendar to distinguish hire types
Participants per ticket	How many people each ticket covers (e.g. 2 for a double kayak)

Choosing the right hire increment

The hire increment defines what durations customers can book. Choose the increment that matches how customers actually use your equipment.

Increment	Bookings allowed	Good for
30 minutes	30 min, 1 hr, 1.5 hr, …	Short rentals with flexible durations
60 minutes	1 hr, 2 hr, 3 hr, …	Standard equipment rentals
90 minutes	1.5 hr, 3 hr, 4.5 hr, …	Activities that naturally take 90 minutes

A 60-minute increment priced at £50 means: 2 hours = £100, 3 hours = £150, and so on.

Step 3: Select activities

Tag the hire with every relevant activity so customers find it when browsing by activity type. Use Create activity if a tag doesn’t exist.

Step 4: Booking settings

Setting	What it controls
Booking method	Online and phone, or phone-only
Minimum notice period	How far in advance the booking must be made
Minimum participants	Smallest party size on one booking
Maximum participants	Largest party size on one booking
Ask for date of birth	Whether to collect a DOB during booking

Step 5: Resources required

Qualifications (staff)

Most self-service hires don’t need staff qualifications. For supervised or instructed hires, add the qualification and ratio — for example, 1 safety supervisor per 5 participants.

Kit (equipment)

List the equipment included with the hire (kayak, paddle, life jacket) and the kit ratio. For hire items, the default is not shared between bookings — each booking gets its own equipment.

Add-ons (optional extras)

Link any add-ons customers can buy alongside — extended time, additional equipment, insurance, delivery.

Step 6: Connections

Connection	What it does
Waivers	Liability documents required before the hire. Most hires need at least one. See waivers.
Communication groups	Controls which automated emails fire for this hire.

Step 7: Hire images

Upload photos showing the equipment, key features, and what the customer can expect. The first image is the main one shown in listings. See uploading images for formats and dimensions.

Step 8: Hire description

Cover:

• What the item is and its specifications
• What’s included with the hire
• Restrictions (age limits, experience needed)
• Safety information
• Pickup and return procedure

Step 9: Review and save

The wizard shows a summary before save. Pay particular attention to the hire increment and price — those are the easiest things to get wrong and are the hardest to change retrospectively. Click Save when you’re happy.

What to do next

1. Open What’s On and add the availability windows when the item can be hired.
2. Add additional ticket types (half day, full day, member price) if needed.
3. Make a test booking to verify pricing and time slots look right.
4. Share your booking page with customers.

Tips

• Set an increment that matches typical bookings. Too short (15 min) confuses customers; too long (4 hr) limits flexibility.
• Pair a short increment with a tiered discount to make longer rentals cheaper per hour.
• Add ticket types for common durations (Half day - 4 hours, Full day - 8 hours) to nudge customers towards better-value bookings.

Related guides

Set up a course

Configure a taught course with fixed sessions.

Tiered discounts

Make longer hires cheaper per hour with tiered pricing.