I have a reapeat customer who I LOVE both her and her dog who has already requested to book with me for Christmas! I would like to extend the friendly gesture of not booking quite yet so she can wait to pay, but how should I go about this? Can we just let the request messages sit in the inbox for later or is there another way?
Since you only accept one dog for boarding--and this is the one you want to accept--you can just leave the request in your Inbox. Remember, don't wait until the last minute to have the payment processed. It wouldn't be unreasonable to get this finalized at least 6-8 weeks prior to its start. This is the busy season and people should be used to making commitments and booking in advance.
Remember, while this request is considered open, you will not get any other request for that same time period. Make sure this customer knows you will be turning down others while you hold the slot open for her. You could always archive the request. It can always be resurrected. Both of you can message each other from the archive.
P.S. Make sure you respond to the initial request so you don't throw off your Response Rate.
What I do with requests that are more than 8 weeks out is this. I tell the client I will mark off the days on my personal calendar for them and then I archive the request as owner's plans changed. I make a note on my calendar to contact them 8 weeks out from the start date. I also tell the client I will let them know if anyone else requests the same dates. If someone does contact me, I tell them I have a tentative request for that date but will let them know within 48 hours. I then contact client #1 and give them 24 hours to confirm the stay and pay for it.