Welcoming guest artists

Step by step

1. 1

   Turn on Guest Management

   Activate the Guest Management module from your subscription settings. Once it's on, you can configure your terms and start receiving requests.

2. 2

   Set your guest spot terms

   Open your own profile, tap Guests, and go to Settings to configure:

   • Availability — whether you're currently accepting guest artists at all.
   • Pricing — pick chair rental or commission and set the rates. They're all in your studio's single currency (from Payment Settings) — there's no separate guest currency to choose. See Guest spot pricing for how the models work.
   • Equipment — what you provide (machines, needles, supplies).
   • Requirements — what you expect of a guest, such as years of experience, a hygiene certificate toggle, or your own custom requirements. The hygiene toggle is a stated requirement today — artists see it when they request, but there is not yet an upload step to prove a certificate (planned post-launch — see master roadmap G.7).
   • Working hours — the days and times guests can work.
   • Guest experience — three optional, self-declared settings: Flexible hours (guests can set their own working hours), We promote our guest artists, and We can connect guests with clients, each with an optional note. These are your own claims, not anything InkMap verifies — but they help you stand out, and artists can filter the map by them (see Be discoverable in the guest spot finder below).
   • Capacity — your studio-wide max in Settings (how many guests at once). See Limit capacity for a period below if you need a lower cap or a full close-out for specific dates without changing that overall number.

   These are exactly what an artist sees when they look at your studio and send a request.

3. 3

   Receive requests

   Incoming requests arrive in the Requests tab of your Guests screen. A calendar and a "months needing attention" row help you spot where requests are stacking up, and the Pending subtab lists the requests waiting on you. Each card shows the artist, their dates, their pricing choice, and their cover letter.

   ### Limit capacity for a period Renovating, travelling, or just need a quieter month? On the Requests tab, tap Limit guest capacity for a period, then tap a start date and an end date on the same calendar. When both dates are selected, tap Set limit for these dates.

   In the popup you can lower your max for that stretch only (down to zero with Totally closed to guest artists). Period limits never raise your studio-wide max from Settings — they only shrink or close hosting for the dates you pick.

   • Your limits for this month — saved periods that overlap the month you're viewing appear in a short list above the calendar (with a remove button). Flip to another month and you'll only see limits that touch that month.
   • On the calendar — limited dates use an amber date number; fully closed-to-guest dates use red. If there are pending requests, confirmed guests, or conflicts on those days, those colors take priority so you still see what needs action.

   To remove a limit, tap the trash icon on its row in the list.

4. 4

   Accept or decline

   On a pending request, choose to accept or reject — both let you send a message along with your decision. Accepting confirms the spot and the artist is notified; rejecting lets the artist know it didn't go ahead.

5. 5

   Resolve overlapping requests

   When more than one artist wants overlapping dates and you don't have the capacity for all of them, InkMap walks you through choosing who to accept. The artists you don't pick are declined automatically so the dates don't get double-booked.

6. 6

   Assign work stations

   Confirmed guests can be given a work station for their stay (or day by day) from the Confirmed subtab. If a guest still needs one, a banner flags it. You can also mark stations guest priority so confirmed guests get one automatically. Work stations are part of your booking setup — see Capacity, colors, and work stations for creating them, and Assigning and changing work stations for the full picture of how stations get assigned.

   ### Be discoverable in the guest spot finder Touring tattoo artists can search the Map for studios that can host them — by date window, how many days in a row they need, your cut or chair-rental price, and your guest-experience claims. Your studio only turns up in that search when you're genuinely set up to host, which is part of what the Guest Management subscription gives you: you appear in front of every artist looking for a spot near you.

   To be found, make sure all of these are true:

   • Guest Management is on (the subscription) — without it your studio never appears in the finder.
   • Guest hosting is switched on (your Availability setting).
   • A currency and at least one guest price are set (daily rate, weekly rate, or commission).
   • Your guest capacity is above zero — and, for a given search, you have free days inside the artist's window.

   Filling in the Guest experience settings (flexible hours, promoting guests, connecting clients) helps too: an artist who filters on those will only see studios that have ticked them. The more complete your guest setup, the more searches you show up in.

Frequently asked questions

A guest cancelled — where does that show?

Cancelled guests move to the Cancelled subtab of your Requests tab. Acknowledge the cancellation to clear it from the list.

Can my studio host guest artists if it isn't a tattoo studio?

No. Hosting guest artists is only available to tattoo studios. See How guest spots work.

We're renovating, or I don't want guests for a month — can I lower capacity without changing my overall max?

Yes — see Limit capacity for a period above. On Guest Management → Requests, use Limit guest capacity for a period, pick start and end dates on the calendar, tap Set limit for these dates, then choose a lower max or tap Totally closed to guest artists. Your normal max in Settings stays the same for other dates.