=== BookiFlex – Vacation Rental & Accommodation Booking Plugin ===
Contributors: bookiflex, freemius
Tags: apartment-booking, vacation-rental, glamping, accommodation, booking-engine
Requires at least: 6.6
Tested up to: 7.0
Requires PHP: 8.1
Stable tag: 1.7.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Direct accommodation booking for vacation rentals, short-term rentals, glamping, apartments, guesthouses & small hotels. Any theme, no code.

== Description ==

**Online accommodation booking, made simple. No complex setup, no bloated forms — just click & book.**

**[Website](https://bookiflex.com?utm_source=wporg&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=plugin_listing) | [Live Demo](https://demo.bookiflex.com) | [Customization](https://bookiflex.com/support/knowledge-base/widget-theming/?utm_source=wporg&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=plugin_listing) | [Support](https://bookiflex.com/support/?utm_source=wporg&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=plugin_listing)**

BookiFlex is a lightweight direct booking plugin for owners of self-contained accommodation:

- vacation rentals
- short-term rentals
- apartments
- cabins
- glamping units
- guesthouses
- bed and breakfasts (B&Bs)
- small & family hotels

…who want to accept reservations directly on their WordPress website.

Each unit is booked **as a whole**, has its **own availability calendar**, and follows a simple, clear booking flow without hotel-style complexity.

## Everything you need to accept direct bookings

From apartment booking to small guesthouses and family hotels, BookiFlex gives you everything you need to accept reservations directly on your WordPress website — and it fits naturally into any theme and design.

- **Ready to take bookings on day one — no extra plugins needed** — manage accommodation, pricing, availability, payments, and guest notifications without installing additional booking plugins.

- **Works with any WordPress theme** — the booking widget is isolated from your site's styles, helping prevent layout conflicts.

- **Easy to match your brand** — customize colors, typography, border radius, and other visual elements using CSS design tokens.

- **Fully responsive** — guests can book comfortably from desktop, tablet, or mobile devices.

- **Flexible booking search block** — place a search form with a calendar anywhere on your website using Gutenberg, Elementor, or a shortcode.

## A simpler booking experience

Unlike traditional booking systems that send visitors through multiple pages, BookiFlex keeps the entire booking process inside a single modal window.

**Guests can:**

1. choose their dates;
2. view available accommodation;
3. complete their reservation;
4. pay online (or choose offline payment);

all without leaving the page they're currently viewing.

**You decide how visitors open the booking widget:**

- with a **Book Now** button placed anywhere on the page;
- through a **booking search form** designed as a call-to-action section;
- using an optional floating booking button that's available across the entire website.

## Why it matters

👆 **Less clicking.**
Visitors stay on the same page instead of navigating through multiple booking screens.

⚡ **Less waiting.**
Fewer page loads mean a faster booking experience.

📱 **Less friction.**
The entire flow is optimized for desktop and mobile devices.

🎯 **More completed bookings.**

[**Open Demo Website**](https://demo.bookiflex.com)

## Need help with customization?
- [Open the booking widget from any element](https://bookiflex.com/support/knowledge-base/open-widget-from-any-element/?utm_source=wporg&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=plugin_listing)
- [Matching the widget to your site's style](https://bookiflex.com/support/knowledge-base/widget-theming/?utm_source=wporg&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=plugin_listing)
- [Get Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bookiflex/)

## Perfect for

1. Owners of vacation rentals, apartments, cabins or glamping units booked as a whole
2. Guesthouses, B&Bs and family-run small hotels where each room is booked as a whole
3. Small short-term rental businesses
4. Hosts who want to increase direct bookings
5. Anyone tired of overly complex booking plugins

Not sure it fits your case? [Ask in the support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bookiflex/) — or [reach out privately](https://bookiflex.com/support?utm_source=wporg&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=plugin_listing#support-form) if you'd prefer.

## Who this plugin is NOT for

1. Large hotels or properties with complex operational workflows
2. Hostels, shared rooms or bed-based accommodation
3. Properties requiring guest relocation or room-level inventory management
4. Properties requiring a full-featured channel manager
5. Businesses needing housekeeping or staff scheduling

## Key Features (Free)

The free version includes everything you need for direct accommodation booking on your WordPress website:

* **Direct bookings from your own website**
  Accept reservations without sending guests to external booking platforms.

* **Modal booking widget**
  A fast and distraction-free booking experience (on desktop and mobile) that works with any WordPress theme.

* **Flexible booking CTAs**
  Add booking actions anywhere on your website using a booking button, Gutenberg block, Elementor widget, or shortcode.

* **Availability management per accommodation**
  Manage availability for each unit with built-in overbooking protection.

* **Flexible pricing**
  Set prices based on the number of guests.

* **Multiple rates support**
  Create different pricing options with individual prices and payment settings.

* **Payment options**
  Accept offline payments, bank transfers, or online payments with configurable deposits.

* **Email notifications**
  Automatically notify guests and administrators about booking activity.


## Advanced Features (Pro)

As your rental business grows, the Pro version helps you save time, reduce manual work, and increase revenue from direct bookings:

* **Channel synchronization with iCal**
  Keep availability synchronized with external platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com to avoid manual updates and overbookings.

* **Advanced availability management**
  Manage multiple units, availability rules, and more complex booking scenarios without spreadsheets or manual tracking.

* **Configurable booking calendar**
  Control calendar behavior, including date selection rules and unavailable dates display.

* **Grow your revenue per booking**
  Offer paid extras, additional guests pricing, and flexible rate options to generate more revenue from each reservation.

* **Dedicated support**
  Get help with setup, configuration, and making the most of BookiFlex for your rental business.

Explore the full Pro feature list and documentation: [bookiflex.com](https://bookiflex.com/pro?utm_source=wporg&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=plugin_listing)



== Screenshots ==

1. Add a “Book Now” button to any page of your WordPress site. Guests can start a booking instantly without leaving the page.
2. After clicking the button, a simple booking window opens where guests select their dates and check availability.
3. Available apartments and rates appear instantly. Guests choose the option they want and book in seconds.
4. Get started in minutes with the guided setup, or load demo data to explore the plugin before configuring your property.
5. View and manage all reservations from a simple dashboard. Check guest details, dates and booking status at a glance.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Do I need to create a separate booking page? =
No. BookiFlex works out of the box.

The booking button is automatically added to your website and opens a modal widget where guests can complete their booking — no separate pages or shortcodes required.

= Can I manage multiple apartments or rental units? =
Yes. You can create multiple rental units (apartments, cabins, glamping units or guesthouse rooms),
each with its own availability calendar and pricing.

Each unit is booked as a whole.
The plugin is not designed for shared rooms, beds or hostel-style accommodation.

= Is this a booking system or just a contact form? =
This is a real booking system.

Guests select dates, see availability and confirm their reservation directly on your website.

= Can I accept online payments? =
Yes. You can configure offline payments, bank transfers and online payments with optional prepayment settings.

Additional payment options may be available in the Pro version.

= Can I customize the booking button and widget design? =
Yes. You can customize the booking button text and color directly from the plugin settings.

If you need more control, the default styles can be further customized using CSS to match your website design.

= What happens if two guests try to book the same dates? =

The plugin includes built-in overbooking protection.
Once a booking is confirmed, availability is automatically updated.

= Does the free version have limitations? =

The free version is fully functional and allows you to accept real bookings without artificial limits on apartments, rates or reservations.

The Pro version adds advanced availability rules, synchronization and pricing logic for growing rental businesses.

= Is BookiFlex a good WordPress hotel booking plugin for guesthouses, B&Bs and small hotels? =
Yes. If each room or unit is booked as a whole, BookiFlex is a great fit for guesthouses, bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) and family-run small hotels. It handles small hotel bookings just like a single apartment — each room is its own bookable unit.

It's not built for large hotels that need room-level inventory pooling, a channel manager or a full PMS with housekeeping and advanced reporting.

= Not sure if this plugin fits your use case? =
If you’re unsure whether BookiFlex is the right solution for your property, open a topic in the support forum and describe your setup.
We’ll help you evaluate if the plugin fits your needs.

== Changelog ==

= 1.7.0 - 9 July 2026 =
* New: Search-first booking flow — the widget now opens with a date & guest search step and only loads offers once real dates are known, instead of showing a default availability guess.
* New: Standalone search form — a Gutenberg block and an Elementor widget let you place the date & guest picker anywhere on your site, not just inside the booking modal.
* New: Guest-refined search — filtering by number of adults and children now returns accurate, correctly-priced availability instead of an empty result.
* New: [Pro] Children occupancy support can be turned on or off in Settings, with a configurable maximum number of children per booking.
* New: Appearance settings tab merges the previous Magic Button and Widget Appearance tabs.
* New: [Pro] Calendar controls in Appearance settings — minimum nights, default guest count, and whether unavailable dates are shown.
* New: Promo codes entered in the widget are now carried through to the cart and checkout instead of being dropped.
* Improved: Booking widget interface refreshed — sticky mobile header, loading skeletons, redesigned rate plan cards with pagination, and clearer amenity/capacity information.
* Improved: [Pro] Unavailable-dates lookups are cached and deduplicated, making the calendar feel faster.
* Fixed: Accommodation types with no priced rate plan for the selected dates are now shown instead of disappearing from results.
* Fixed: Rate plan pricing no longer undercounts guest allocation when combining placements.
* Fixed: Various booking widget and search widget issues on mobile — crashes, guest wording, alignment and styling glitches.

[See changelog for all versions](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/bookiflex/trunk/CHANGELOG.txt).


== Installation ==

1. In your WordPress admin panel, go to **Plugins → Add New Plugin**, search for **BookiFlex**, and click **Install Now**, then **Activate**.
2. An **onboarding wizard** launches automatically — walk through the basic setup (company info, rental units, pricing, and booking terms) or load demo data to explore the plugin before configuring anything.
3. You’ll be asked whether you’d like to share anonymous usage data to help improve the plugin — choose what feels right for you.
4. Enter your license key, or click **”Free version”** to activate the plugin at no cost.
5. After activation, the **Book Now** button is visible to administrators only. Once you’re ready, enable it for all visitors in **BookiFlex → Settings**.

That’s it — guests can now book directly from your website.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 1.0.0 =
Initial public release.


== Third-Party Libraries ==

This plugin bundles several third-party libraries distributed under GPL-compatible licenses (such as MIT, BSD, ISC and GPL).

Some JavaScript files are minified for performance reasons. The original source code and project libraries are available in the BookiFlex repositories: [github.com/BookiFlex](https://github.com/BookiFlex)

A complete list of third-party licenses is available in the NOTICE file.


== External services ==

When Stripe payment gateway is enabled, payment and transaction data is sent to [Stripe](https://stripe.com) for processing. No data is sent until a user initiates a payment.

* Stripe Privacy Policy: https://stripe.com/privacy
* Stripe Terms of Service: https://stripe.com/legal
