Booking software for spray tan artists and tanning studios
Spray tanning is a last-minute business: a wedding on Saturday, a booking on Thursday night, a 20-minute slot with clean-up, and a client who needs reminding to exfoliate and not to wax tomorrow. TimeToBook gives you a booking link that takes same-day bookings, short slots with a clean-up buffer, prep instructions in the confirmation, and a rebook prompt a week later. One artist is free.
Free for one staff member. No card needed. Last updated 28 October 2026.
The short version
TimeToBook fits spray tan artists, mobile tanners and small tanning studios that want quick online booking, reminders with prep instructions, and small deposits, without a marketplace commission. For sunbeds it can book sessions and keep clients off a bed that is in use, but it does not track minute bundles, enforce the 24 to 48 hour gap between sessions or the annual cap, or check ages. Those remain yours to run, and we say so.
Tanning studios by the numbers
Figures we use when we talk to spray tan artists. Every one links to where it came from.
- 5 to 7 days
- How long a spray tan lasts, at its best for four to five, which makes weekly the practical rebooking ceiling.
- 3,095
- UK tanning salons registered at Companies House in October 2026, up 47% from 2,103 in 2016.
- 975
- New Zealand businesses offering spray tans in a national audit; nearly half were beauty salons and only 13 were tanning-only.
- 24 hours
- Minimum rest between sunbed sessions (48 hours for skin type 2), with no more than 60 sessions a year.
Source: Sienna X, 2026
Source: Companies House data via Business Telegraph, 2026
Source: New Zealand Medical Journal, 2016
Source: The Sunbed Association, 2026
What spray tan artists need from booking software
The problems that come up every time we talk to tanning studio owners, and what TimeToBook does about each one.
| The need | How TimeToBook handles it |
|---|---|
| Twenty-minute slots with clean-up in between | A full-body spray tan at 20 minutes with a 10-minute buffer gives you the wipe-down and tent reset without a client booking into it. Online start times are offered every 15 or 30 minutes, your choice, so a day can run 9:00, 9:30, 10:00 with the clean-up built in. Feature details |
| Last-minute bookings for Saturday's event | Minimum notice is a setting. Allow bookings up to an hour ahead and a client can grab a gap this afternoon; you get a push notification in the app. Clients book from the link in your Instagram bio or Google listing with their name and phone number, nothing to approve. Feature details |
| Prep instructions clients actually read | Confirmation and reminder messages are editable templates, so "exfoliate tonight, no moisturiser or deodorant, wax 48 hours before, wear loose dark clothes" goes out automatically with every booking. SMS reminders go 24 hours before on prepaid credits; email is free. Feature details |
| Regulars back every week or two through summer | Give the spray tan service a one or two week rebook interval and TimeToBook Plus emails clients who have not rebooked a one-tap link when they are due. Clients who always come Thursday before the weekend can be booked every week in one go with repeat bookings. Feature details |
| Mobile tans at the client's home | Give the mobile service a longer buffer to cover travel and ask for the address in the booking notes field, which clients fill in when they book. TimeToBook does not calculate drive time or limit bookings by distance; you can hide your own address from the booking page. Feature details |
| Small deposits that stop the casual no-show | Where online payments are available, require a fixed deposit on spray tans and it is paid at booking, refunded automatically if the client cancels inside your notice window, and kept if they do not turn up. Deposits are part of TimeToBook Plus. Feature details |
| Sunbed sessions without double-booking the bed | Set each sunbed up as a bookable resource (the same way you add a staff member) that offers 15-minute session slots, so the bed cannot be double-booked and clients can book it online. What TimeToBook does not do: sell or count minute bundles, enforce the 24 or 48 hour gap between sessions, cap sessions per year, store skin-type assessments, or check that a client is over 18. Those stay on your front desk. Feature details |
A tanning studio service menu, as TimeToBook stores it
Every service in TimeToBook has a duration, optional processing time (hands-off time another client can be booked into), optional buffer time (clean-down nobody can book into), a price, and a rebook interval that drives automatic rebooking reminders. Here is a typical tanning studio menu set up that way. Durations are typical, not rules; adjust them to how you actually work.
Spray tans rebook weekly at most, so the rebook interval is one week. Sunbed sessions are shown as 15-minute slots because the session plus changing time fills one; TimeToBook has no per-minute pricing, so sell minutes at the desk and use the calendar for the bed's time only.
| Service | Duration | Buffer | Rebook | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full body spray tan | 20 min | 10 min | 1 wks | £25 to £35 |
| Half body spray tan | 15 min | 5 min | 1 wks | £15 to £20 |
| Face spray tan | 10 min | – | 1 wks | £5 |
| Spray tan top-up | 15 min | 5 min | – | – |
| Student spray tan | 20 min | 10 min | 1 wks | – |
| Legs only spray tan | 15 min | 5 min | 1 wks | – |
| Mobile spray tan Buffer covers travel; address in booking notes | 30 min | 30 min | 1 wks | £35 to £45 |
| Spray tan consultation First visit: skin type, shade, allergies | 15 min | – | – | Free |
| Sunbed session, up to 12 min Bed set up as its own bookable resource | 15 min | – | – | £7 to £12 |
| Sunbed first-visit consultation Skin type assessment and ID check, done by you | 15 min | – | – | Free |
Typical prices are UK ranges from published salon menus, checked October 2026. Set your own in TimeToBook; the software does not dictate pricing.
What TimeToBook costs a tanning studio
The first staff member is free, forever. Each additional staff member is £10 a month. No marketplace commission, no contract.
Solo tanning studio
Free
One bookable person. Online booking page, calendar, email reminders and confirmations, client records, the mobile app. Not a trial.
Two-artist studio
£10/month
2 bookable staff: the first is free, then 1 × £10. Two spray tan artists (or one artist and one sunbed set up as a bookable resource) on one calendar.
SMS reminders
Prepaid credits, £4 per 100. They never expire. Email reminders are free and unlimited.
Deposits
Take a deposit on online bookings with TimeToBook Plus. A 7% platform fee per deposit, card processing included. No monthly fee for payments.
No marketplace commission
Nobody takes a cut of a booking made through your page, and your clients are your clients. The only per-transaction fee is on payments taken through TimeToBook, where that is available, and it includes card processing.
Is TimeToBook right for your tanning studio?
Simple on purpose. Here is who it suits best, and the few things we leave out.
A good fit if you…
- Are a spray tan artist, mobile tanner or small studio and want bookings from your socials without replying to DMs
- Want short slots, clean-up buffers and same-day bookings handled automatically
- Want prep instructions sent with every confirmation and reminder
- Want a small deposit on tans without a card terminal or a payments subscription
What we don’t do
- Sunbed minute bundles, session gaps and annual caps tracked by the software
- Travel-time calculation between mobile appointments
Questions spray tan artists ask us
-
Can clients book a spray tan the same day?
- Yes. The minimum notice setting controls how close to the time clients can book online, down to an hour or less. Same-day bookings arrive as a push notification in the app and appear on your calendar immediately.
-
How do I send prep instructions automatically?
- Edit the confirmation and reminder message templates to include your prep list. Every booking then gets it by email, and by SMS if you have reminders switched on and credits loaded. The reminder goes out 24 hours before, which is the right moment for "no moisturiser tomorrow".
-
Can I book sunbed sessions in TimeToBook?
- You can set each bed up as a bookable resource with 15-minute slots so clients book a time and the bed is never double-booked. TimeToBook does not sell minutes, keep a minute balance, stop a client booking two days in a row, cap sessions per year or verify age. Those stay with you at the desk.
-
I am a mobile tanner. Does it handle addresses and travel?
- Partly. Clients type their address into the booking notes field when they book, and you give the mobile service a longer buffer to cover travel. TimeToBook does not calculate drive times or limit bookings to a radius. Your own address can be hidden from the booking page.
-
Can I take a deposit on spray tans?
- Yes, with TimeToBook Plus where online payments are available in your region. Set a fixed deposit on the service and it is paid at booking, refunded automatically if the client cancels inside your notice window, and kept for late cancellations and no-shows. There is a platform fee per deposit that includes card processing.
-
Can clients cancel themselves if the weather changes their plans?
- Yes. Every confirmation and reminder has a manage link. Inside your notice window (24 hours by default, adjustable) the client cancels or, with TimeToBook Plus, moves the booking themselves, and the slot reopens online. Outside the window they have to contact you.
-
Is it free for one spray tan artist?
- Yes, with no time limit. One bookable person gets the booking page, calendar, email reminders and confirmations, client notes and the mobile app for nothing. You pay only when you add a second bookable person or resource, buy SMS credits, or choose TimeToBook Plus.
Further reading
-
Online Booking That Works While You Work
Your clients want to book at 10pm on a Sunday. Here's how online booking pages let them do exactly that, without you lifting a finger.
-
How SMS Reminders Reduce No-Shows
No-shows cost salons thousands every year. A simple text message the day before an appointment can cut them dramatically.
-
Cancellation Policies That Actually Work
How to write a no-show and cancellation policy that protects your time without making first-time clients feel locked in. With a template you can steal.
TimeToBook for other businesses
-
Waxing studios
Booking software for waxing, sugaring and laser studios: short back-to-back slots, combos, 4 to 6 week rebooking reminders, deposits on long services. Free for one.
-
Beauty salons and skin clinics
Booking software for beauty salons and skin clinics: mixed menus, mask time another client can book into, consultations, reminders and deposits. Free for one.
-
Nail salons
Booking software for nail salons and nail techs: infill vs full set services, removal add-ons, 3-week rebook reminders, deposits, SMS reminders. Free for one.
- All industries
Set up your tanning studio in an afternoon
Type in your services, add your hours, share the link. Free for one person, £10 a month for each extra staff member after that.
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