Online booking system for your community center or village hall: what are your options?
What is an online booking system for halls?
An online booking system lets hirers view the availability of your spaces 24/7 and submit a booking request themselves. As the administrator you can view all bookings in a single overview and automatically send confirmations and invoices.
The benefits for community centres and village halls:
- No more phone calls about availability
- No double bookings
- Automatic invoices, no manual work
- Visitors can always make bookings, including evenings or weekends
- A professional appearance
The most commonly used systems for community centres
Zaalagenda.nl
Zaalagenda is a specialised Dutch system for hall reservations, popular with sports clubs and community centres.
- Functions: Online availability calendar, booking requests, administrator dashboard
- Price: From around €30–€50 per month (€360–€600 per year), depending on the number of halls
- Advantage: Specialised in hall reservations, intuitive interface
- Disadvantage: Reservation only, no member administration, volunteer planning or accounting
Verenigingsplanner
Verenigingsplanner offers hall reservations as part of a complete association management platform.
- Functions: Online availability calendar, booking requests, automatic invoices as PDF, multiple spaces and price types (per hour, half-day or day), WordPress plugin
- Price: €99.95 per year, including also member administration, volunteer planning, events and accounting
- Advantage: One system for everything, cheaper than specialised booking systems
Huurdersportaal van de gemeente
Some municipalities offer their own booking system for subsidised facilities. This is either free or inexpensive but offers less flexibility.
- Advantage: Free or heavily subsidised
- Disadvantage: Limited customisation, dependent on the municipality, not always suitable for all spaces
Planyo / Checkfront (internationaal)
International booking platforms also used by Dutch organisations.
- Price: From around €40–€100 per month
- Disadvantage: More expensive, no Dutch invoices, not aimed at associations
Which features are most important for a community centre?
When choosing a system, these are the most relevant questions for a community centre or village hall:
- Can you manage multiple halls?: Do you have a large hall, a small meeting room and a kitchen to rent? Then the system must support multiple spaces with their own availability.
- Are there different rates per audience/group?: Community centres often charge a lower rate for members or local residents than for external parties. The system must support this.
- Are invoices generated automatically?: This saves the treasurer hours per month.
- Is the calendar visible on your website?: Hirers must be able to view the availability without logging in separately.
- Can you set special conditions?: Minimum booking duration, setup and take-down times, security deposit, cancellation policy.
Cost comparison
| System | Annual costs | Automatic invoices | WordPress integration | Extra modules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zaalagenda.nl | €360–€600 | Limited | Yes (embed) | No |
| Planyo/Checkfront | €480–€1,200 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Municipal portal | €0–€100 | No | No | No |
| Verenigingsplanner | €99.95 | Yes (PDF) | Free plugin | Complete |
Subsidy for your booking system
Many community centres and village halls may be eligible for a municipal digitalisation subsidy for implementing a booking system. The €99.95 per year cost is fully reimbursed by many municipalities. Download a free sample letter for your subsidy application.
Conclusion: which option best suits your community centre?
For community centres and village halls that are simply looking for a booking system, Zaalagenda.nl is a good specialised option. But for most organisations, Verenigingsplanner is more cost-effective and comprehensive: for €99.95 per year you get not only a booking system but also member administration, volunteer planning, events and accounting in one system.