Online bookings
Customers choose a craft, how many, wetsuit sizes and a free time within your opening hours. A full time offers a waiting list.
For kayak and paddleboard hire
Bludge for water sports hire
Hire booking software: bookings, waivers and deposits online, so the crew can stay on the beach.
Bludge is a hosted system for running a business, set up for you by a person. For water sports hire, we have built a setup for a beachside or lakeside business hiring kayaks, paddleboards and wetsuits. Customers book, sign and pay a deposit online. The crew runs check-out, lessons and equipment checks from the same records. Bludge answers the phone too.
The setup in Bludge
The work it handles
What the setup does for your team
Waivers signed at booking
Each paddler’s name, age and swimming ability are recorded. The hirer signs the agreement, and a parent or guardian consents for anyone under 18.
Deposits and refunds
Take a card deposit into your own Stripe account. It is refunded when a customer cancels in time or you cancel for weather, and kept for a no-show.
Group lessons
Run classes of up to six at set times, with an instructor who is free. A lesson with fewer than three people booked a day before is cancelled and refunded.
Safety at check-out
Each hire gets a ten-point safety briefing to tick off. A hire still out when it is due back alerts the shift lead.
Weather cancellations
Text everyone booked today in one go. Their bookings move to Cancelled for weather, with a task to offer a new time.
Damage reports and weekly checks
Unsafe equipment comes out of the booking count straight away. Every Monday, each kind of equipment in service gets a check for the crew.
A day with the setup
How a day runs for water sports hire
- 7:00
Today’s bookings
Each booking shows the signed hire agreement and the deposit paid.
- 9:00
Check-out
The crew runs the check-out checklist from the same booking.
- 11:00
A call about lessons
Bludge answers, creates the enquiry and arranges a call-back.
- 13:00
Weather turns
One text goes to everyone booked today. Deposits are refunded and a task offers a new time.
- 17:00
Equipment checked
Equipment checks are logged against the gear that went out.
How it comes together
Set up for you, then shaped as you go
A kit is configured forms, records, rules and roles. A person sets it up with you and keeps adjusting it.
Start from the hire setup
Booking forms, equipment, checklists, rules, documents, a safety library and dashboards are already set up for a hire business.
A person sets it up with you
We set up your hours, prices, deposits and crew with you, you confirm your fleet numbers, and we tune the wording for your waterway. We adjust it as your season changes.
The phone answered
Bludge answers calls about hire, lessons and whether you are open today. Each call becomes an enquiry with a call-back arranged, so the crew is not pulled off the beach.
Customers kept up to date
Each booking sends a confirmation and a link to change or cancel. Email and text reminders go out for you. The hire terms are in the customer portal.
A plan to grow
With Strategy & growth, we work through Discover, Design and Deploy with you. Agree who you want on the water, then build the website and social posts to bring them.
Your AI assistant works inside it
A compatible AI assistant can connect to Bludge and work inside it, with the same access as the person using it. Ask it what is booked today or which equipment needs repair. It makes the changes that person asks for and never acts on its own. Ask for a draft when you want to review first.
Questions about Bludge for water sports hire
Does it replace our waiver?
It holds a hire agreement signed at booking. Check the wording with your advisers, especially before you limit liability.
Can it stop us double-booking boards?
Yes. Each kind of equipment takes only as many bookings as you have ready. Damaged or out-of-service units come off that count.
What happens when the weather turns?
Staff cancel everyone booked today with one text announcement. Their deposits are refunded, and each booking gets a task to offer a new time.
Who can give refunds?
The owner can refund in part or in full, with a reason. Shift leads can see deposits and send payment links, but they cannot give refunds.
What does it cost?
You get a quote for your business. It covers setup, ongoing service and any usage charges, such as phone calls. There is no fee per user.
More answers on the FAQs page.
Compare with the tools you use
See how Bludge compares with the software most water sports hire look at first.
See it set up for your business.
Bring an example of the work you want to improve. We’ll show you how the water sports hire setup would handle it and agree a clear scope.