Vacation coverage
Take vacation without losing the book
Solo artists rarely take vacation because the math of "what happens to my book while I'm gone" feels scary. 30 minutes of pre-vacation setup turns it into a smooth out-and-back.
Pre-vacation
Five steps, 30 minutes total
01
Block the calendar 60-90 days ahead
Time-block the entire vacation window in /app/calendar so the booking page shows you as unavailable. Block 1-2 days before + after for buffer (jet lag, restock, calendar review).
02
Set the vacation auto-responder
Settings → Messaging → Auto-responder. Configure dates + the away message. Inbound SMS to your goldenhour number gets the auto-reply during the window; regular inbox still receives + you can respond manually if needed.
03
Announce to your regular book
30 days before: SMS broadcast to your top 30-50 regulars announcing the dates + asking them to book pre-vacation if their cadence falls inside the window. Heads off the inevitable 'I tried to book but you're closed' frustration.
04
Reschedule conflicting bookings
Goldenhour shows you bookings inside the vacation window. Personally reach out (don't just auto-cancel): offer 2-3 alternative slots before or after. Most clients reschedule willingly when you give them options.
05
Plan the return-from-vacation week
Pre-book your first 3 vacation days back at LIGHT load. You'll spend the first morning catching up on inbox + checking the audit log + responding to anything urgent. Don't compound jet-lag with a 12-hour day.
While you're gone
Stay disconnected
Goldenhour’s automated flows (confirmations, reminders, prep checklists, post-care, rebook nudges) continue running through cron jobs even with you offline. The auto-responder handles inbound; the audit log records everything for catch-up on return.
- Confirmations + reminders fire automatically
- Prep checklists + post-care messages fire automatically
- Rebook nudges fire automatically (per-client cadence)
- New bookings + payments process normally (calendar shows you blocked)
Post-vacation
Three steps the first day back
01
Review the audit log first
Anything happened while you were away: failed payments, auto-canceled bookings, customer messages: surfaces in the audit log. 15-minute scan catches it all.
02
Inbox triage
Sort by oldest-first. Mark anything time-sensitive (booking requests, complaints) for same-day reply; everything else gets a single 'sorry for the delay, here's what we can do' batch reply.
03
Fire the welcome-back campaign
Send a 'I'm back!' SMS to your top regulars with a booking-link CTA. Many will book the same day if you give them the nudge.
Sick day variant
For a 1-3 day unexpected sick day: shorter playbook. Block the calendar, set the auto-responder to a brief "out sick today, will respond [date]" message, personally reach out to clients with same-day appointments to reschedule. Skip the 30-day announcement; treat it as a mini-vacation.