Allow Guest Bookings in the Customer Portal (No Login Required)

Schedule a call

Schedule a call

Allow Guest Bookings in the Customer Portal (No Login Required)

Guest Booking Process In Customer Portal

OctopusPro lets you choose whether customers must sign in to book online, or whether they can complete a guest checkout (book without creating an account). When guest bookings are enabled, new customers can schedule an appointment faster with fewer steps—often improving conversion, especially on mobile.

Table of contents

What guest bookings are

Guest bookings allow customers to create bookings through your Customer Portal without logging in or registering. Guests enter their contact details during checkout, confirm the appointment, and receive booking details via your automated emails/SMS (depending on your communication settings).

Benefits and common use cases

  • Higher conversion: fewer steps for first-time customers (no account/password required).
  • Faster checkout: ideal for mobile bookings and urgent requests.
  • Great for one-off services: customers can book quickly even if they won’t return often.
  • Marketing-friendly: send traffic directly to your portal/booking widget without forcing registration.

If you prefer an account-required experience (e.g., memberships, saved details, repeat bookings, customer-only pricing), you can disable guest bookings and require login.

How to enable “Allow guests to make bookings through customer portal” (Admin)

  1. Go to Settings > Customer Portal > Flags & Permissions.
  2. Under Booking Flags, enable Allow guests to make bookings through customer portal.
  3. Click Save (if shown).
Enable guest checkout for online bookings in Customer Portal > Flags & Permissions.

Customer experience (enabled vs disabled)

When guest bookings are enabled

Customers can book immediately without signing in. If the customer later creates an account, they can manage bookings from their profile.

When guest bookings are disabled

Guests cannot proceed with checkout until they log in or create an account. A pop-up message will block the booking flow.

Guest booking blocked pop-up prompting the user to log in or create an account
When disabled, guests must log in or create an account to book.

Guest vs logged-in bookings (important behavior)

Login options (when login is required or preferred)

Customers can log in using their email and password, and may also have additional sign-in options depending on your setup (e.g., social login). Customers can also use booking number login to access an existing booking.

Customer Portal login screen showing email/password, booking number login, Google login, and Facebook login
Customers can log in using email/password, booking number login, or social login options (if enabled).

Account creation (sign-up)

If a customer doesn’t have an account, they can select Create account and complete sign-up to manage bookings, save details, and speed up future checkouts.

Customer Portal create account (sign-up) screen
Customers can create an account to manage bookings and streamline future scheduling.

Existing customers booking as guests

If a customer enters an email address that already has an account, they may see a prompt offering Continue as guest or Login.

Pop-up offering Continue as guest or Login for an email address already used
Existing customers can choose to log in or continue as a guest.

Important: If an existing customer chooses Continue as guest, the new booking will not be saved to their portal profile, and they will need to use booking number login (or log in) to view booking details later.

Optional setup reference: Social Login (Facebook / Google)

How guests access bookings later (booking number login)

Guests who book without creating an account can still access booking details using the automatically generated booking number. This is especially important if you allow guest checkout.

  1. From your Customer Portal homepage, the customer clicks Login.
  2. They select Use booking number to log in.
  3. They enter their email address and booking number to open the booking.

Learn more about customer portal access methods here: Customer Portal Profile Management

Best practices (recommended)

  • Enable guest bookings if you want the fastest checkout and higher booking conversion (especially for new customers).
  • Disable guest bookings if you require account-only workflows (repeat customers, memberships, customer-only access control).
  • If guest bookings are enabled, ensure customers can reliably access their booking later: include booking numbers in booking confirmation communications and keep booking number login available.
  • Collect the right details during guest checkout using Custom Fields (e.g., property type, access instructions, special requirements).
  • Confirm your portal and online booking setup is complete: Enable Online Bookings Through Your Website.

Troubleshooting

  • Guests still can’t book: confirm the guest booking flag is enabled and changes were saved.
  • Customer can’t find their booking: advise them to use booking number login (or log in if they have an account).
  • Existing customer booked as guest by mistake: advise them to log in before booking next time so bookings are stored in their profile.
  • Social login not visible: confirm Google/Facebook login is enabled and configured (if you plan to offer it).

To stay updated, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Scroll to top