Pick a quiet time

Switch when the phone is quiet and the site is not full, so you have time to check things. You do not have to wait for the end of the season: future bookings come across with the rest.

What to get from your old system

• A bookings export, with past and future stays
• A customer list, if it is separate
• A list of your pitches and what each one has
• Your prices, seasons, minimum stays and deposit rule
• Your booking terms

Most systems have an export or report button that saves a CSV or Excel file. If yours does not, ask your supplier for one. Your prices and terms are often already on your website, and AI can read them from there.

Which files work

Nimbo Stay’s importer reads:

• CSV files, separated by commas, semicolons or tabs
• Excel .xlsx files (the first sheet)
• Files with a title or blank lines above the column headings
• Up to 50,000 rows in one file. Split bigger files into a few

Old-style Excel .xls files need saving as .xlsx or CSV first: open it in Excel and use Save As.

How the columns get matched up

Every booking system names its columns differently: “Arrive”, “Check-in date” or “From”; “Pitch No”, “Unit” or “Plot”. You do not have to rename anything. AI reads the headings and the first few rows and works out which column is the guest, the pitch, the dates, the price and so on. If AI is not available, a plain keyword match does the same job.

You then see every column as a drop-down, with our suggestion picked. Change anything that is wrong before you import. Nothing is saved at this step.

Dates, statuses and pitch names

• Dates are read day first, the UK way, unless the file clearly writes them month first. Dates like 2026-08-14, “14 Aug 2026” and Excel date numbers work too
• If there is no departure date but there is a number of nights, the departure date is worked out
• Your old system’s status words are matched to confirmed, completed or cancelled. Rows that were only enquiries or quotes can be left out
• Stays that have already ended come across as completed, so nobody gets a reminder for a stay that is over
• Pitch names are matched loosely, so “Pitch 07” finds pitch 7. Any pitch we cannot match is listed so you can match it by hand

Always run a test

The Test button runs the whole file without saving anything, then tells you what would be added and why any row would be skipped. Fix what it finds, test again, and only then import for real.

What is protected

• No double-booking: a booking that clashes with one already there is skipped and listed
• The import itself sends no emails to guests and takes no payments
• Automatic booking emails only go for stays from the day you import, unless you pick another date, so past guests do not hear from you out of the blue
• Importing the same file twice does not add the bookings twice
• Guests sign in with a link we email them, so there is no new password to set

If you use booking sites too

If some pitches are also listed on other booking websites, set up calendar sync in both directions once your bookings are across, so they cannot double-book you. Calendar feeds go in and out of Nimbo Stay.

If those sites take a large share of each booking, our commission calculator shows what moving some of those guests to booking direct could save.

Going live

• Check a handful of bookings against your old system, including one with extras and one part-paid
• Book a stay yourself on your phone and read every email it sends
• Change the Book now button on your website
• Keep your old system’s export somewhere safe

Moving from CampManager? There is a step-by-step guide for CampManager, which reads its exports directly, extras included. Choosing between systems? Our checklist covers what to ask. Or tell us about your site and we will help you move.