Quick start for hosts

This is the shortest sensible path from "registering as a host" to "first paying angler at your lake". Plan 30 to 60 minutes for the active work, plus a verification window of up to 48 working hours if you ask for the Verified badge.

For the detailed contractual side, the Become a Host page is the long-form version. This page is the operational walk-through.

1. Register as a host

Sign up as a host. The sign-up form is short. It asks for your name, email and password, a tick for our Terms and Privacy Policy, an optional yes to newsletters and an optional referral code. The link above already switches on I own or manage a lake, which is what makes the account a host account.

What you'll need to hand for the steps that follow:

• A way to invoice for the remaining balance. In Romania most hosts use a PFA, II, SRL or ONG; elsewhere, the equivalent in your country works. We prefer a registered entity because of how Romanian fiscal rules work for receipts, but if you're a small private operator, write to us before signing up and we'll find the right path.
• Your tax details for Tax & compliance (step 2). As an individual, that's your legal name, date of birth, CNP and tax residence. For a business, it's the company's CUI, trade register number, VAT number and registered address.
• Optionally, an ID document (or the company's registration certificate) to upload with those details.
• No bank details for now. When we roll out full online payments in 2027, you'll need a bank account for payouts, and we'll ask for it then. Nothing is transferred to you in the current model.

Your lake is created the moment you sign up. Confirm your email from the link we send, and you land on the Set up your lake checklist. It lists the setup steps and links each one to the page where you fill it in.

2. Add your tax details

Under Account → Tax & compliance you give us the details we need for EU DAC7 tax reporting. An individual enters a legal name, date of birth, CNP and tax residence. A business is added as a business entity, with its CUI, trade register number, VAT number (if registered) and registered address. Uploading an ID document (individual) or a Registration certificate (business) is optional.

The checklist step also counts your address in Account settings and a confirmed email. These details serve DAC7 reporting only. They don't pre-fill any invoice (we don't issue invoices to hosts), and they don't hold up Accept bookings. They are a required checklist step, though, so the full dashboard and Request verification wait for them. You can build the rest of the listing in step 3 in the meantime.

Verification itself needs no document (see step 5). The only time we may ask for proof, such as a title deed, a lease or management contract, or an ANPA authorisation, is when you claim a lake we already list as an Unclaimed listing, with Claim this lake on its page. Even then, the document can follow later in Messages.

3. Build the listing

The Set up your lake checklist links each part of the listing to its page in the dashboard. Work down it in order; the more you trust the flow, the better the result.

The fields that matter:

• Lake profile. A profile picture, the name, a description, the address with its GPS coordinates (the address search finds them) and the lake metrics, including Water type, Surface area in hectares and Max depth. Your contact email and phone go in Lake settings. Anglers see them on their ticket once their booking is confirmed, and you get their email and phone at the same moment.
• Swims. Each swim is a separate row with a name, a description, a pin on the map and photos. Capacity (Included anglers per swim, plus included rods and non-fishing guests), Fishing type, amenities and rules are set on the package, so one swim can serve several packages. Don't merge swims that anglers expect to book separately.
• Fish stock. A row per species with its Approximate stock and Trophy size. Keep it up to date as the seasons change your water.
• Rules. Free text on the lake, and on any package whose rules differ. Barbless / barbed, no-kill / take with permit / take below a size limit, group caps, quiet hours, dogs, children, drone use. Be specific. "No kill" is clear; "preferably no kill" is not.
• Amenities. Chosen per package, from restroom, electricity and potable water to a shower, parking, a tackle shop, 24h service and dogs allowed. Accommodation is set on the package too.
• Photos. As many as you like, in the Gallery. Reorder by drag-and-drop. The first photo is marked Cover. Photos are the single biggest lever you have on click-through.

You don't have to do all of this in one sitting. Photos save as soon as you add them, but forms don't save on their own, so press Save changes (or the form's own save button) before you leave a page. The checklist shows what's still missing.

4. Configure pricing (this is the important step)

LakeBooking's pricing model is built around two pieces. Read Swims and pricing for the full version, but the headline is:

• A billing unit is a session length with a base price, and it belongs to the package. Lengths come from a fixed list (6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144 and 168 hours), one billing unit per length. You can run 12h day-tickets, 24h overnighters, 48h weekends and 168h carp weeks side-by-side. Anglers pick the one that fits their session. The dashboard also calls a billing unit a charging period; it's the same thing.
• Pricing rules on a billing unit override or multiply its base price for date ranges, seasons or days of the week (peak summer vs winter, weekends vs weekdays). Add them if you want them.

Discounts for longer sessions, promotions for your next bookings, extras such as boat hire, and fees for additional anglers, guests and rods all live on the package as well.

In our first season there's no payout setup to do, because the remaining balance is paid to you directly at the lake. The 10% booking fee the angler pays online is retained by us as commission per your Host Agreement, so no platform-to-host transfer is needed. We'll add full Stripe-based payouts in 2027 if you want to switch on all-online payment then.

5. Go live

Turn on Accept bookings in Lake settings once your packages are priced. It only needs your lake to be published, which it is by default, and turning it on is itself one of the checklist steps. You'll see the lake appear in search within a few minutes, ordered by distance from the place the angler searched. Nobody can pay to rank higher.

When every required checklist step is done (profile, contact details, rules, swims, packages, bookings on, tax details and a confirmed email), the full dashboard opens and you can hit Request verification for the public Verified badge. Our team reviews every request within 48 working hours. Verification only adds the badge; it doesn't change where you appear in search. If we can't approve it yet, our note reaches you in Messages and the dashboard offers Request again. You fix what we flagged, and we don't make you start over.

What week one looks like

Days 1 to 3. Anglers start finding the lake in search. Booking requests arrive by email and under Bookings, and anglers who have booked can write to you in Messages. The dashboard tracks revenue, occupancy, bookings and reviews as they come in.

Days 4 to 7. First bookings, especially if your pricing is at or below the regional median. Out of the box every booking is a request. Confirm or decline it and answer messages within 24 hours. An angler left waiting usually books somewhere else.

Week 2. We'll send you one check-in email asking what's working and what isn't. It's a real human, not a survey, and the reply rate determines what we ship next.

Ongoing. You collect the remaining balance directly from each angler at the lake, and issue your usual receipt or invoice for it. We invoice the angler for the booking fee (retained as our commission) separately. There's nothing for you to reconcile, no payouts to wait on.

Where to next

• Swims and pricing: packages, billing units, seasonal pricing, discounts and promotions.
• Calendar and bookings: blocking dates, confirming or declining requests.
• Payments, payouts, and taxes: the v1 flow, RO e-Factura, what changes when we add full online payments.
• Become a Host (long-form): the contractual version of this page.

For situations that don't fit the standard flow (federation-managed waters, hotel-attached lakes, river beats), email contact@lakebooking.com before signing up, and we'll set up a short call.