Open an Unmanned FacilityThe order to do it in, so nothing blocks opening day.
Opening an unstaffed facility comes down to six things in a specific order: choose an access controller with an API, connect a payment processor, finalize the waiver, model your resources and rates, wire booking to the door, and test one real booking end to end on the actual hardware. The order matters because the access controller decision constrains everything downstream.
How it goes together.
- 1
Pick an access controller that has an API
Do this first. A controller that can't create and expire credentials programmatically forces every other decision into a workaround. Confirm the API can create a PIN, assign it to a door, and set a validity window.
- 2
Connect payments
Stripe Connect onboarding is about ten minutes and money settles into your own bank account. Payments must be collected in full at booking, not on arrival.
- 3
Finalize your waiver
Get the language from your attorney or insurer, decide which clauses require separate initials, and make signing a required step of checkout.
- 4
Model your resources and rates
Each tunnel, bay, or court is a bookable resource with its own hours and rate. Set memberships, peak and off-peak pricing, and the turnover buffer between sessions now rather than after launch.
- 5
Wire booking to the door
Connect the booking system to the controller so a confirmed booking issues a code for that window and a cancellation revokes it.
- 6
Test one real booking end to end
Book it, pay for it, sign the waiver, walk to the building, and punch the code into the actual keypad. Then cancel a second one and confirm the code stops working. Do not skip this.
What's the most common mistake?
Buying the access hardware last, or buying a controller with no API. Everything else in an unmanned facility can be changed after opening; the controller is on the wall and it decides whether automatic per-session codes are possible at all.
What can't be automated?
Cleaning, maintenance, restocking, and the genuinely weird exception — a customer who can't get in, a jammed pitching machine, a light that's out. The model doesn't remove that work; it moves it off a posted schedule and onto yours.
How long does setup take?
With the access controller already installed and an API confirmed, a facility can be taking bookings within a week. The two things that add time are payment onboarding, which needs your business details, and text messaging, which requires US carrier registration and takes roughly one to three weeks.
Launching with email and calendar-invite code delivery avoids the carrier wait entirely, and texting can be switched on later without changing anything else.
What should I have before the first booking?
A tested code on the real keypad, a signed waiver flow, a working refund path, cameras on the entrance, and a phone number a customer can reach at 9pm. The last one is not software, and it's the one people forget.
Asked and answered.
How much does the software cost to start?+
Do I need a website too?+
Can I start staffed and go unstaffed later?+
One system. Booking, payment, waiver, door.
$249/mo flat, every feature included, no transaction fees and no contract. Free migration from whatever you run today.