In today’s fast-evolving digital economy, service and rental marketplaces must offer more than just simple listing and booking capabilities—they need to deliver flexibility, customization, and a smooth user experience to stay competitive. Sharetribe, a leading no-code platform for building online marketplaces, continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible without complex development. With its latest feature releases—Price Variations and Fixed Booking Slots—Sharetribe empowers marketplace owners to offer tiered pricing, control session durations, and enhance provider availability management with ease.
These new tools unlock new business models for coaches, consultants, salons, spas, rental hosts, and many more—all while maintaining Sharetribe’s signature simplicity and scalability.
Price Variations: Offer Tiered Services Within a Single Listing
One of the most requested features in service marketplaces is the ability to offer different price points or packages under one listing. Previously, service providers had to create multiple listings if they offered the same service in different durations or with different levels of detail. This created clutter in the marketplace and made managing availability difficult, especially when each listing had its own calendar. Sharetribe’s new Price Variations feature solves this problem elegantly.
With Price Variations, providers can now offer several distinct pricing options within a single listing. For example, a life coach can list 30-minute, 60-minute, and 90-minute coaching sessions in one listing, each with its own price. Customers simply select the option that best fits their needs, making the experience seamless and intuitive. All booking variations are managed through the same calendar, meaning that a session booked under one variation will automatically block that time across all other options. This keeps scheduling simple and eliminates the risk of double-bookings.
The implementation of price variations is straightforward. Marketplace admins only need to enable the feature in the listing type settings under the calendar booking transaction process. Once active, providers can name each variation however they choose—typically including both the price and duration to help customers compare offerings easily. For instance, a salon could list services like “Haircut – 30 mins – $30” and “Haircut + Styling – 60 mins – $55” within one unified listing. This not only makes the listing page cleaner but also offers more value to customers by showing all available choices upfront.
This feature is especially impactful for service-based marketplaces that cater to professionals like consultants, therapists, personal trainers, or beauticians. It’s also valuable for rental listings where pricing might change based on add-ons or the number of guests. With this update, Sharetribe empowers providers to create a better customer experience while simplifying listing management and calendar control.
Fixed Booking Slots: Control Duration for Predictable Scheduling
In many service marketplaces, time is the most valuable resource. Providers often deliver services that are meant to last a specific amount of time, such as 30-minute consultations, 45-minute massages, or 2-hour tours. However, until now, Sharetribe’s standard booking options (hourly, daily, nightly) meant that the customer decided the length of the session. This was not ideal for services with fixed durations. With the launch of Fixed Booking Slots, Sharetribe gives providers the ability to lock in a fixed length for each booking session—regardless of the start time chosen by the customer.
This new capability introduces greater predictability and efficiency for service-based businesses. Once enabled, providers can define how long each session should last—from as little as 15 minutes up to 11 hours and 45 minutes. They can also decide how frequently new bookings can begin—for example, every 15, 30, or 60 minutes. This is especially useful for professionals who need time between appointments for cleaning, resetting, or preparation. When customers book a service, they choose the date and start time, and the system automatically reserves the fixed length as defined by the provider.
Setting up Fixed Booking Slots is simple. Marketplace administrators enable the “Fixed” booking unit in the listing type settings. Providers then assign a session length and a price, along with setting their availability. For example, a massage therapist could offer a fixed 90-minute session for $120, available on weekdays from 10 AM to 6 PM. Once published, the listing allows customers to book 90-minute sessions at available start times, ensuring clarity and consistency in both pricing and scheduling.
This feature opens up new possibilities for all types of marketplaces. A wellness center can now offer massages of specific durations without needing multiple hourly rate listings. Tour operators can schedule fixed-time experiences like city walks or museum visits. Tutors and educators can organize classes or sessions that always last a set period. This results in better time management for providers and a clearer, more trustworthy experience for users.
Combining the Two: Flexible Pricing and Precise Timing
What makes these two features even more powerful is their ability to work together. By combining Price Variations with Fixed Booking Slots, providers can offer different session lengths at different prices within a single listing, while also maintaining control over availability and scheduling. For instance, a hairdresser could offer three options: a 30-minute cut for $35, a 60-minute cut for $60, and a 90-minute style and finish for $85. Each option appears as a variation in the same listing, and the fixed session length ensures that appointments are automatically scheduled for the correct duration.
This combination is ideal for services where both time and pricing tiers are critical. Wellness professionals, fitness instructors, event hosts, and personal stylists will benefit greatly from having this level of control—without needing to build custom code or manage complex calendars manually. With just a few settings, your marketplace can offer a premium-level booking flow comparable to industry leaders like Airbnb, ClassPass, or MindBody.
Enhanced API Capabilities for Custom Dashboards and Integrations
In addition to these no-code features, Sharetribe has also enhanced its Marketplace API and Integration API. These improvements give developers more flexibility in building custom tools and interfaces. Marketplace owners can now perform more advanced queries on transactions, including new filtering and sorting options. This is particularly useful for creating custom inbox experiences, management dashboards, or analytics tools for providers and admins.
For example, if you’re building a B2B-style service marketplace where providers need detailed booking history and status updates, these API updates allow you to deliver that functionality efficiently. You can also create tailored dashboards that show revenue breakdowns by service type, popular booking times, and performance comparisons—all made possible through Sharetribe’s evolving developer tools.
Don’t Forget to Update Your Marketplace and Email Texts
With the introduction of these features, Sharetribe has also released updated marketplace copy and email templates to reflect the new functionality. It’s important to review these changes and adapt them to fit your brand tone and service types. You’ll find the new templates in Sharetribe’s Help Center, which you can copy into your Marketplace Text Editor and Email Text Editor within the Console.
Keeping your marketplace content aligned with your new capabilities ensures a consistent and professional user experience. Clear, concise texts also help reduce support tickets and increase user confidence when booking.
Final Thoughts: A Big Leap Forward for No-Code Marketplaces
The addition of Price Variations and Fixed Booking Slots marks a major milestone in Sharetribe’s mission to democratize marketplace technology. These features allow marketplace founders to offer professional-grade booking flows that rival custom-built solutions—without the complexity or cost of coding. Whether you’re launching a coaching platform, a wellness service, or a niche rental business, these tools give you the power to scale faster and serve users better.
If you’re already running a Sharetribe-powered marketplace, now is the perfect time to enable these features and start exploring the possibilities. Head over to your Console, try out Price Variations and Fixed Booking Slots, and experience the difference flexibility makes.
FAQ's
1. What is the difference between Price Variations and creating multiple listings?
Answer:
Price Variations allow providers to offer multiple pricing options (e.g., different durations or service levels) within a single listing. This keeps the marketplace cleaner and simplifies calendar management, as all bookings—regardless of variation—are managed through one unified calendar. Creating multiple listings for each service variation, on the other hand, can clutter the marketplace and increase the risk of double bookings due to separate calendars.
2. Can Price Variations be used with all types of bookings in Sharetribe?
Answer:
No, Price Variations are currently only supported with calendar-based booking listings. To use them, you must set the transaction process to “Calendar booking” in your listing type settings. They are not available for listings using “hour,” “day,” or “night” units alone without calendar integration.
3. How do Fixed Booking Slots work compared to hourly or daily bookings?
Answer:
Fixed Booking Slots allow the provider to define a set session length (e.g., 30 mins, 90 mins, 2 hours), which the customer cannot modify. Unlike hourly or daily bookings where customers choose start and end times, fixed slots ensure each booking follows a predetermined duration. This is ideal for time-based services like consultations, massages, or tours.
4. Can I combine Price Variations with Fixed Booking Slots in one listing?
Answer:
Yes! When both features are enabled, providers can offer multiple price options with different fixed durations (e.g., 30-minute massage for $50, 60-minute for $80, 90-minute for $110). Customers select the variation they want, and the booking is automatically scheduled for the correct time and price. This combination offers maximum flexibility while keeping booking logic clean and predictable.
5. Do I need to update my marketplace texts and emails after enabling these features?
Answer:
Yes, it’s recommended. Sharetribe has introduced new default marketplace and email texts to support Price Variations and Fixed Booking Slots. You should review and customize these texts in your Marketplace Text Editor and Email Text Editor to ensure clarity for your users and alignment with your marketplace’s brand voice.
