Managing Beauty Bookings Before Lunar New Year 2027 | OmceanBooking
by Sarah Chen
· 13 min read
"Can I still book a color before New Year? I'd like the same stylist as last time."
"I'm only back on Friday. Can I get a lash fill in the evening?"
"Two of us want massages together. Do you have two beds free this afternoon?"
In the run-up to Lunar New Year, messages like these come in one after another. Take a three-person hair salon. One stylist is rinsing out color, while another reads the message and assumes the stylist the regular client asked for will reply. By shift change, the color inquiry has been pushed down by transfer screenshots and rescheduling messages. Worse still, 3 p.m. on Saturday still looks free on the calendar, but another colleague has already promised someone that slot on LINE.
Before New Year, beauty businesses can make their LINE Official Account the place where bookings start. Clients choose their service, check time slots and pay according to the shop's rules, while the team confirms bookings and payments in one back office. Start with services that have a clear length, such as basic gel nails, a new set of lash extensions, a basic facial or a 60-minute massage. For bookings that need a look at the client's hair, a discussion about designs, or arrangements for two people coming together, the shop can confirm the details itself.
Why Do Bookings at Hair Salons, Nail and Lash Studios, and Beauty Spas Get Messy Before Lunar New Year 2027?
According to the office calendar published by the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration, government agencies' Lunar New Year holiday in 2027 runs from February 4 to February 10, with Lunar New Year's Eve on February 5. Shops can set their own closures, extra hours and holiday pricing separately. Some clients want to cover their gray roots before heading home, some want a facial, lash extensions or a New Year nail design before family photos, and others plan to book massages together while family is back in town. Clients' schedules all differ, but the times they can make often come down to the last few evenings and weekends before the holiday.
What Gets Missed Most on a Shared LINE Account Is "How Far Along Is This Booking?"
"Asked about the price," "slot on hold," "deposit paid" and "booking confirmed" can all be in the same chat thread. A LINE Official Account can use chat tags to mark statuses like "needs reply" or "awaiting payment." If the shop also uses a paper book, a calendar or another back-office system, someone still has to copy over the final confirmed time and payment. Miss one update at shift change, and the next shift may give away a slot already held for a client.
A Shared Back Office Also Has to Check That Staff, Service Time and Equipment All Fit
After a facial, there needs to be time to tidy the room. When a massage spa gets an inquiry from two people coming together, it has to confirm two therapists and two beds at the same time. The same thing happens at other businesses that take bookings over LINE. When a Pilates studio moves a private session, for example, the instructor may be free, but the studio still has to check whether the Reformer can be moved too. Schedules are tight in peak season, so one booking running 20 minutes over can leave several clients after it waiting.
OmceanBooking can, based on your settings, take service length, add-on time, staff schedules and required equipment into account when working out available time slots. The booking page shows clients the times they can actually choose, and the team checks the day's bookings in the back office.
How Should Beauty Businesses Schedule Bookings Before New Year? Set Up These 4 Things Before Opening LINE Bookings
| What to Set Up First | Common Pre-New Year Scenario | What Your Shop Can Do |
|---|---|---|
| Service length and add-ons | A hair salon only booked enough time for a color, and the client says at the salon that they'd also like a hair treatment | Set up services whose time can be estimated in advance, such as hair treatments or gel removal, as add-ons with their time and price included |
| Deposits and cancellations | A spa has already scheduled two massage therapists, but at shift change staff are still checking whether the couple's booking deposit has been paid | Post when a booking counts as confirmed, how to pay, and the cancellation and rescheduling rules |
| Holiday pricing and closures | A client sees an old price list and only finds out about the Lunar New Year surcharge at the shop | State the dates, eligible services and amounts, and block out closure dates in the system |
| Post-holiday follow-up | The shop took on many new clients before New Year, but afterwards only remembers a few LINE nicknames | Use customer and booking records to find people worth inviting back, and plan their next booking based on the service they had |
1. From Color With a Hair Treatment to Gel Nails With Removal, Build the Time Into the Booking
Say a color takes 120 minutes, and a hair treatment adds another 30. When a client ticks the hair treatment add-on while booking, the system looks for time slots using 150 minutes. Nail salons can also add removal of another salon's gel to a gel booking, and lash studios can set up new sets, fills and removals separately. If a beauty studio needs to tidy the room or disinfect equipment between clients, it can set a separate buffer time.
For bleach and color that needs a look at the client's hair first, lash fills that need assessing, or hand-painted nail art where the design needs discussing first, the shop can ask clients to send photos through LINE and schedule after confirming. Open self-booking for services with a fixed length first, and in peak season you'll answer "So how long does this take?" a lot less often.
2. How Should You Take Deposits for Pre-New Year Bookings? Let Clients Know When a Booking Counts as Confirmed
A pair of clients want to book a couples massage on Saturday, and the shop has held two therapists and two beds for them. The clients send "I've made the transfer," but the colleague on the next shift can only see the message in LINE, and still has to ask whether the last shift checked the payment. Just then, another client asks about the same time slot, and the front desk has to ask them to wait.
Before New Year, losing a booking sometimes comes down to this. If a slot stays on hold, clients who want to book may not wait and may book somewhere else. If the slot is given away too early, and the client who already paid a deposit comes back to confirm, the shop may have to rearrange two therapists and beds at the last minute. When a deposit doesn't match up, the front desk has to scroll through LINE, check incoming payments, then go back to the schedule.
With OmceanBooking, shops can set a deposit as a fixed amount or a percentage. After clients open the booking page from LINE, they can pay the deposit according to the shop's settings. Once a supported online payment provider that sends back payment results is connected, the colleague on the next shift can check the booking and its payment status in the same back office. If a Saturday afternoon booking is already confirmed, the front desk can offer another client a different time right away, without waiting for a colleague to reply.
The booking page can also explain the deposit amount, how payment is confirmed, and how rescheduling, cancellations and late arrivals are handled. Shops can set a deadline for clients to cancel on their own, such as 24 hours before the service starts. When someone cancels, the front desk can first check whether the freed-up slot fits the service a waitlisted client wants, then contact them to fill it.
3. Show Lunar New Year Surcharges, Extra Hours and Closures When Clients Book
If a shop plans to charge more for the last few popular time slots before New Year, it can first spell out which days, which time slots, which services and how much. For example, a hair salon could post: "From January 30 to February 3, selected color and perm services starting after 6 p.m. have an NT$200 surcharge." If a beauty studio only charges holiday prices for extra evening hours during the long weekend, the notice can list the dates and services the evening rate applies to. Add-on fees, such as for hair treatments or lash removal, can be listed separately, so clients can check prices while choosing a time slot.
For booked services paid in a single payment, OmceanBooking's Flexible Pricing lets you set higher or lower prices for specific dates or time slots. Confirmed bookings keep the price agreed at the time of booking. Closure dates can be set as closed periods, so clients can't book by mistake on days the shop is closed.
4. After New Clients' Pre-New Year Visits, Plan Their Next Visit
New clients who come in before New Year have different reasons to come back afterwards. Lash clients might want a fill, color clients might want a hair treatment, and first-time facial clients might want to keep up their regular skincare. When a service ends, chat about what would suit them next time and when they're free, then give them the same booking link.
If a client isn't sure yet, after the holiday the shop can look through OmceanBooking's customer and booking records to find people worth contacting. For example, if a client asked about hair treatments after a color, the follow-up can pick up from last time: "Last time you asked about a treatment after color. If you'd like to book one, the stylist who did your color is free on Wednesday and Friday."
From Solo Studios to Multi-Staff Shops: How Does OmceanBooking Help You Manage Bookings?
A solo studio can start by listing the two or three services it does most often. Set available time slots, service lengths and payment rules, then put the link in your LINE rich menu. While you're giving a facial, doing lashes or giving a massage, the next client can check times on their own. Clients can book straight from the booking page on their phone, with no app to download.
At shops with several staff, the front desk, service providers and manager can view or edit the back office according to their roles. When the front desk takes a booking by phone or LINE, it enters it directly into the same system. Stylists, beauticians and massage therapists can check their own appointments before their shift starts, and the manager can review bookings, payments and revenue at closing time. This also gives you the data to see which time slots get booked up most often, and decide whether next year you should add evening hours or keep more slots free for longer services.
Pre-New Year Beauty LINE Booking FAQ
When several people share one LINE Official Account, how do you avoid missed replies or double bookings?
Put services that clients can book a time for directly into the LINE rich menu, so clients can book on their own. For designs, special requests or exceptional reschedules that need a staff reply, use chat tags to hand them over and assign one person on shift to follow up. Enter manually confirmed bookings into the same back office right away, so the next shift sees the latest time slots.
Can nail, hair and massage spa businesses collect deposits through LINE bookings?
Yes. Clients go from LINE to the OmceanBooking booking page and pay a fixed-amount or percentage deposit at checkout, according to the shop's settings. The payment methods available depend on the payment providers the shop has turned on. Before opening bookings, go through choosing a time slot, checking out and checking the payment in the back office once on your phone.
Can a Lunar New Year surcharge apply only to certain days or evening time slots?
Yes. For booked services paid in a single payment, you can set higher or lower prices for specific dates or time slots. For example, you could charge more only after 6 p.m. on the last three days before New Year, and keep daytime prices as usual. Confirmed bookings keep their original price.
How much does OmceanBooking cost per month for a solo beauty studio?
OmceanBooking's Basic plan has an early-bird price of NT$999 per month, billed annually. It includes 400 bookings per month and comes with a 7-day free trial, with no credit card required. The system takes no commission, and online payment processing fees are charged separately. To send system reminders from your LINE Official Account, you need to turn on the LINE Bot feature, and message quotas and fees depend on your LINE plan.
For less than NT$1,000 a month, you can put your busiest pre-New Year services online first. Pick the one service clients ask about most, such as a basic facial, color with a hair treatment, or a 60-minute massage. Try booking it once from LINE on your phone, then go back to the back office and check which time slot it landed in. When the pre-New Year messages really start pouring in, you can spend your time on the client in front of you.
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