Why a booking app belongs in the stores
A bookmarked web page gets forgotten. A store app sits on the home screen, sends the reminder before the appointment and makes the next booking one tap away.
- Customers find you where they look for apps, in the App Store and on Google Play.
- Confirmations and reminders arrive as notifications, not emails they miss.
- Rescheduling and rebooking happen in the app, which keeps regulars coming back.
Lovable can't submit to either store itself; see your options for publishing a Lovable app.
Can a booking app take payments without Apple's in-app purchase?
Yes, for services people use in the real world. Appointments, classes, rentals and tables are paid with your own checkout, and both stores require it.
“If your app enables people to purchase physical goods or services that will be consumed outside of the app, you must use purchase methods other than in-app purchase to collect those payments, such as Apple Pay or traditional credit card entry.”
Google Play says the same: its billing system must not be used for physical services, and it lists gym memberships and tickets for live events as examples. Anything digital that's used inside the app is different. A paid feature or premium membership that unlocks part of the app goes through Apple's and Google's in-app purchase (Guideline 3.1.1).
- How it's paid in the app
- Your own checkout, such as Stripe
- How it's paid in the app
- Your own checkout
- How it's paid in the app
- Your own checkout
- How it's paid in the app
- Apple's and Google's in-app purchase
| What you sell | How it's paid in the app |
|---|---|
| Appointments, classes, table bookings | Your own checkout, such as Stripe |
| Rentals of rooms or equipment | Your own checkout |
| Tickets for live events | Your own checkout |
| A premium tier that unlocks features in the app | Apple's and Google's in-app purchase |
Booking reminders need native push notifications
Confirmations and "see you tomorrow" reminders are what cut no-shows. On a phone that means native notifications, with permission asked at the moment it makes sense, like right after the first booking.
Confirmations and reminders are part of the service. A nudge to book again is marketing, and Apple treats it that way:
“Push Notifications should not be used for promotions or direct marketing purposes unless customers have explicitly opted in to receive them via consent language displayed in your app's UI, and you provide a method in your app for a user to opt out from receiving such messages.”
What App Review and Google Play check in a booking app
- More than a website: a wrapped booking site risks a Guideline 4.2 rejection. See how to fix a 4.2 rejection.
- Every payment mapped to the right checkout, as above.
- In-app account deletion if customers can sign up (Guideline 5.1.1(v)).
- Privacy labels and Google Play's Data safety form that match what you collect.
- A demo account with bookable slots, so the reviewer can make a booking (Guideline 2.1).
- For new personal Google Play accounts, a 14-day closed test with 12 testers. More on the 12-tester requirement.
The full list, with every fee, is in the Lovable launch checklist and costs.
What changes when your booking app goes native
Your backend stays as it is: availability, bookings and customers keep living in Lovable Cloud, Supabase or your own APIs, and the native app talks to the same data. The screens are rebuilt as native views, so changes you make in Lovable afterwards update your website, not the store app.
Why the screens have to change is covered in can Lovable export to React Native?
We take your Lovable app the last mile.
We convert your Lovable booking app into a native React Native and Expo app on the same backend, set up reminders and push notifications, map every payment to the right checkout and submit it to both stores. See pricing.