How to Create a Trip | Guidewinds

Overview

A trip is your core offering—what anglers actually book. Most captains offer 2-4 different trips (like half-day, full-day, specialty trips) at different price points.

This guide will help you create trips that clearly communicate value and make anglers want to book.

Creating Your First Trip

Where to Start

Go to Dashboard → Trip Types → Add Trip

You'll see a form with several sections. Let's go through each one:

Basic Information

Trip Name

Choose a clear, descriptive name that tells anglers exactly what they're getting.

Good examples:

"Half-Day Inshore Fishing (4 hours)"
"Full-Day Offshore Adventure"
"Sunset Cruise"
"Kids Fishing Experience"

Avoid:

"Trip 1" (too vague)
"The Ultimate Extreme Mega Fishing Extravaganza" (too long)

Include Duration in the Name

Adding the duration to your trip name (e.g., "4-Hour Inshore Trip") helps anglers quickly compare options without reading the full description.

Description

Your description should answer: "What will I experience?" Write 2-4 paragraphs covering:

What you'll do: The type of fishing, target species, techniques used
What's special: Why this trip stands out, what makes you different
Who it's for: Beginners welcome? Families? Serious anglers?
What to expect: General timeline, highlights

Example Description

"Experience the best inshore fishing Florida has to offer! We'll target redfish, snook, and trout in the calm waters of Tampa Bay. Perfect for families and first-timers—I'll teach you everything you need to know, from casting to landing fish.

We'll fish from my 22' bay boat, equipped with quality rods and tackle. All you need to bring is sunscreen and excitement. Tight lines!"

Duration

Set how long the trip lasts. This affects your calendar availability—a 4-hour trip starting at 6 AM will block until 10 AM.

Common durations for fishing charters:

Half-day: 4-5 hours
3/4 day: 6-8 hours
Full-day: 8-10 hours
Specialty (night fishing, etc.): Varies

Capacity

The maximum number of guests you can take on this trip. This limits how many people can book a single time slot.

Capacity vs. Group Size

Capacity is your hard limit. If you set capacity to 6, one group of 6 can book, OR multiple smaller groups totaling 6. For private charters where you only want one group per trip, check the "Private booking only" option.

Pricing

Base Price

Enter your price per booking. This is what anglers see and pay.

Pricing strategies:

Per-trip pricing: One flat rate for the whole trip, regardless of group size (most common for charters)
Per-person pricing: Price times number of guests (good for shared trips)

Pro Tip

Check what other captains in your area charge for similar trips. You don't have to match them, but it helps to know the market rate.

Deposit Settings

Decide how much anglers pay upfront vs. later. Options:

Full payment at booking: Collect 100% when they book. Simplest option, best for no-show protection.
Deposit only: Collect a percentage (like 25% or 50%) at booking, with the balance due later.
No upfront payment: Angler books without paying. You collect payment separately. (Not recommended—leads to more no-shows.)

Our Recommendation

Collect at least 50% as a deposit. It dramatically reduces no-shows while keeping the booking barrier reasonable. The remaining balance can be collected at the dock.

Add-Ons (Optional)

Add-ons let anglers customize their booking with extras. They see these options during checkout.

Popular add-ons:

Additional anglers ($50/person)
Upgraded tackle package ($100)
Fish cleaning and bagging ($25)
Photo package ($50)
Extended hours (+$100/hour)

To add an add-on:

Click "Add Option" in the Add-ons section
Enter a name and description
Set the price
Choose if it's per-person or a flat fee
Set any quantity limits

Photos

Photos are one of the biggest factors in whether someone books. Good photos can increase bookings by 40% or more.

What to Upload

Aim for 3-6 photos per trip. Include:

Hero shot: Your best photo—shows the experience, happy customers, or a great catch
Your equipment: Clean, professional shot of your vessel/equipment
Action shots: Customers fishing, reeling in fish, landing catches
The setting: Beautiful water, scenery, sunrise/sunset
Results: Impressive catches (with permission from customers)

Get Permission

Always get permission before posting photos of customers. A simple "Mind if I share this on my website?" is enough. Include a photo release in your waiver to cover all bases.

Photo Tips

Horizontal orientation works best for booking pages
Natural lighting beats flash every time
Minimum 1200px wide for good quality on all devices
Show people—photos with happy customers perform better than empty boats
First photo matters most—it's what shows in search results

What's Included / What to Bring

What's Included

List everything you provide. This sets expectations and helps justify your price.

Common inclusions:

All fishing equipment (rods, reels, tackle)
Bait (live and artificial)
Fishing licenses (if you provide)
Cooler with ice for catch
Fish cleaning and bagging
Bottled water
Safety equipment

What to Bring

Help anglers come prepared. This reduces day-of confusion.

Common suggestions:

Sunscreen and sunglasses
Hat or visor
Snacks/lunch (especially for longer trips)
Camera
Cooler for taking fish home
Motion sickness medication (if prone)
Light jacket (morning trips can be cool)

This Shows in Confirmation Emails

Whatever you add here gets included in the automatic confirmation email. Anglers will have it right in their inbox as a reminder.

Publishing Your Trip

Save as Draft vs. Publish

Save as Draft: Save your work without making it public. Great for trips you're still working on.
Publish: Make the trip live on your booking page. Anglers can book it immediately.

Preview Before Publishing

Click "Preview" to see exactly how your trip will look toanglers. Check:

Photos load correctly and look good
Description is formatted well
Price and duration are accurate
Add-ons appear correctly

Ready to Publish?

Before hitting publish, double-check:

Name clearly describes the trip
Price is correct
Duration matches what you actually offer
At least one photo is uploaded
What's Included list is complete

Managing Multiple Trips

How Many Should You Offer?

Most captains do well with 2-4 trips. Enough variety to appeal to different customers, but not so many that people get confused.

A typical lineup might be:

Half-day: Your entry-level option. Lower price, perfect for beginners or those short on time.
Full-day: Your premium option. Longer trip, better chances, more variety.
Specialty trip: Something unique—night fishing, specific species, tournament prep, etc.

Duplicating Trips

Creating a similar trip? Use the "Duplicate" button to copy an existing one and modify it. This saves time when setting up variations.

Troubleshooting

My trip isn't showing on my booking page

Check these common issues:

Is it published? Draft trips don't appear publicly.
Is there available capacity? If all time slots are booked, the trip won't show as available.
Check your availability: You need to have calendar availability set for trips to be bookable.

Can I edit a trip after publishing?

Yes! Go to Trip Types → [Your trip] → Edit. Changes take effect immediately, but won't affect existing bookings.

Can I hide a trip temporarily?

Yes. Edit the trip and click "Unpublish" to convert it back to a draft. It will disappear from your booking page but all data is preserved.

What's Next?

Setting Your Availability — Control when anglers can book
Managing Bookings — Handle incoming reservations
Connecting Stripe — Set up payments to start collecting money