Sauna and cold plunge sessions

A cold plunge books the same way a sauna does in Session: as spaces in a timed session. There's no separate plunge feature to switch on. You choose how the plunge is sold - as part of one contrast session, or as its own session with its own capacity - and the rest of Session (prices, memberships, bundles, waivers and check-in) works on it exactly as it does on your sauna.

This suits sauna and cold plunge studios, bathhouses and recovery studios as much as a single sauna with an ice bath outside.

Choose how you sell the plunge

Pick the option that matches how people actually move around your space.

• One contrast session. Sauna and plunge are one booking. Customers book a space in, say, "Contrast therapy - sauna and cold plunge" and move between the two during the session. Set the capacity to how many people the whole circuit comfortably holds at once. Best when everyone does both and you don't need to count the plunge separately.
• A plunge as its own session. The plunge is a separate session with its own capacity (usually the number of tubs), its own prices and its own schedule, running at the same times as the sauna or at different ones. Best when people book the plunge on its own, when it holds fewer people than the sauna, or when you price it differently.

You can mix the two: a contrast session most of the week, and a plunge-only session at quieter times.

Set up a contrast session

1. 1
   Open the Sessions page and create a session.
2. 2
   Give it a name that says what's included, like "Contrast therapy - sauna and cold plunge", and describe the circuit in the description.
3. 3
   Set the Capacity to the number of people the sauna and plunge hold together at one time.
4. 4
   Set the length, add your prices, and add times with a repeat schedule.

Each booking takes one space per person for the whole session, and the session stops taking bookings when it's full. See how shared-capacity sessions work.

Run a plunge alongside the sauna

1. 1
   Create a second session on the Sessions page, for example "Cold plunge".
2. 2
   Set its Capacity to the number of people the plunge takes at once, and give it its own prices.
3. 3
   Add its times. They can match the sauna's times exactly or follow a schedule of their own.

Customers see the sauna and the plunge as two sessions on your booking page and book whichever they want, each with its own spaces left. You don't need to set the plunge up as a location: one address with several rooms or tubs is one location with a session per room.

Offer shorter plunge slots

A plunge is often shorter than a sauna session. On a 60-, 90- or 120-minute session you can add a Half session price, so a customer can book the first or second half, sharing the same capacity as full-length bookings. See shorter sessions.

Waivers for the plunge

Cold water can carry different health guidance from heat. If your plunge needs its own terms, create a second waiver and set it on the plunge or contrast session: open the session, go to the Messages section, and pick it under Waiver. Every booking on that session is then asked to sign that waiver instead of your default, including one signature per guest if you use per-visitor signing.

Memberships, bundles and gift vouchers

By default a membership covers every session, so members get their allowance or member rate on the plunge as well as the sauna. To leave the plunge out of a tier, open the plunge's Prices panel and move that membership to Not included - or set it from the membership's Applies to. See which sessions a membership applies to.

Bundles (session packs) work the same way: sell a pack that covers both, or restrict it to one session under Applies to. To stop bundles and session gift vouchers being used on the plunge altogether, turn off Can be used on this session in its Prices panel.

Check-in

Each session has its own list on Bookings, so staff check people into the plunge and the sauna separately, with the waiver status beside each name. A contrast session has one list covering both. See check customers in.

Common questions

1. Is there a separate cold plunge feature? No. A plunge is a session like any other, so everything you can do with a sauna session - capacity, prices, memberships, bundles, waivers, check-in - works for a plunge too.

2. Should the plunge be its own session or part of the sauna session? Make it part of one contrast session if everyone does both and moves between them freely. Make it its own session if people book it alone, it holds fewer people, or it's priced differently.

3. Can I sell the plunge as an add-on? Only if it can't run out. Add-ons don't take a space, so they can't stop you selling more plunges than you have tubs.

4. Do I need a location for each room or tub? No. Locations are for different addresses. Several rooms or tubs at one address are one location, with a session for each.

5. Why does the Sessions page say my sauna and plunge clash? Because they run at the same place and time. That's expected here, so close the banner or mute clash warnings for your account. Nothing is cancelled unless you cancel it.

6. Can members get the plunge included but pay for something else? Yes. Memberships are set per session, so a tier can cover the plunge and not another session, or the other way round.

Next, set capacity, add shorter sessions, or set up waivers.