Guides for café owners

How to take online bookings for your gaming café

Updated 8 October 2026

An empty station at 3 PM earns nothing, and that hour never comes back. Online booking turns searches into paid sessions and takes the back-and-forth out of WhatsApp.

Why move bookings online

• Players book a free station and pay online, so you are not holding a slot on a promise.
• Bookings land in one dashboard with the station, game, time and payment status, next to your walk-ins and cash.
• People walking past are not your only discovery. A public page on nitroconsole.com can be found by players searching for a café.

Avoid no-shows and double bookings

• Bookings are paid in advance, which reduces no-shows.
• Block maintenance, holidays and events in the console before they happen so nobody can book them.
• A confirmed booking is a promise. Repeated no-shows by the café may pause a listing.

Cancellations, fairly

If you cancel or cannot host, the player is refunded in full. If a player cancels an hour or more before, they get your full share back; 15–59 minutes before, 75% of your share; under 15 minutes, no cancellation. See the partner terms for the details.

How you are paid

Payouts go out every Monday for sessions finished by Sunday, usually credited the next business day, to a payout account in your café’s name. Nitro Console takes 10% of online bookings. Walk-ins and counter cash are yours in full. Failed or fully refunded bookings carry no commission.