Holiday lighting is a compressed business. You sell in early fall, install in November, handle maintenance calls through December, and take everything down in January. Then you do it all again next year, if clients remember to renew. Obravetta books installs early, schedules every install and takedown, handles in-season calls, collects payment and renews last year’s clients automatically. From $27/month.
Holiday lighting has a short window. Every install has to happen before the holidays, and every slot matters.
When booking happens by phone tag, the best weeks fill unevenly and clients slip away to whoever replies first.
The installers with full calendars sold most of their season before Halloween, starting with last year’s clients.
One holiday lighting client from the first offer to next year’s renewal. Here’s where installers lose clients and time.
| Stage | What's happening | Where it dies | What has to run automatically |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early fall | Time to book | Clients wait until it’s too late | Early booking campaign |
| The proposal | Rooflines, trees, wreaths | Price by phone, nothing in writing | Photo proposal with options |
| Signing | Deposit and dates | Install and takedown dates unclear | Deposit plus both dates booked |
| In season | A section goes dark | Calls get lost in the busy season | Photo report by text, fast reply |
| January | Takedown and storage | Takedown delayed, client frustrated | Takedown reminders |
| Next fall | Time to renew | Client forgets you | Renewal offer before booking opens |
Not a feature list. This is one client over a season when the system runs the calendar.
Last season’s clients get an early renewal offer with first pick of install dates.
SMS and email campaigns · Online bookingA new client gets a photo proposal with roofline, tree and wreath options.
Proposals with e-signatureThey pay a deposit, and both the install and the takedown window go on the calendar.
Deposit links · SchedulingA reminder goes out the day before. After install, they get an invoice and a review request.
Appointment reminders · Invoicing · Review requestsThey text a photo of a section that’s out. You reply and fix it in a day.
Two-way SMS · Unified inboxTakedown is reminded and done. They’re already on the list for next fall’s renewal offer.
Recurring reminders · WorkflowsLast year’s clients are next year’s easiest sales. Put in your own numbers to see what renewing a few more of them automatically is worth.
The math: last season’s clients × (renewal rate with an early offer − renewal rate today) × your average package. Use your own numbers.
Clients pay for lights that look great, work all season and disappear in January without them having to ask.
Will it look like the photo? Will it be up before our party? Who fixes it if a section goes out? When does it come down?
Clear proposals, booked dates, fast replies and takedown reminders answer most of that.
On Obravetta Growth and Obravetta Pro, a professional holiday lighting website is built for you as part of the plan, not quoted separately by an agency for a few thousand dollars.
Holiday lighting shoppers want to see finished houses at night. Your site should show your work, packages and service area, and make booking easy before the dates fill up.
On Obravetta Starter at $27 you get the builder and build it yourself. On Growth and Pro we build it for you.
Obravetta isn’t a light design tool. It’s the whole customer side of a holiday lighting business, and it breaks into six jobs.
Published figures, sourced below.
Safety is a real reason homeowners hire pros. Use these numbers honestly, without scare tactics.
Every plan includes a 14-day free trial, month-to-month with no contract. Annual billing charges for ten months instead of twelve.
1 team member
Owner-operator. Website builder, missed-call text back, unlimited workflows, proposals, invoicing, renewals and review automation.
Up to 3 team members
Starter plus AI voice answering for the busy season, a done-for-you website and room for 5,000 contacts. The usual fit for a small holiday lighting business.
Unlimited team members
Unlimited contacts, done-for-you setup, custom automations and renewal campaigns. Where installers with several crews end up.
Honest note on seats: Starter is one user and Growth covers up to three. A holiday lighting business with several crews and an office will want Pro at $297, where seats are unlimited.
It depends on your setup. Lighting design mockups and inventory tracking for bulbs and clips may need their own tools, and Obravetta doesn't replace them. Obravetta handles the customer side: early booking, proposals, deposits, install and takedown scheduling, maintenance calls, payment, renewals, reviews and the website.
Earlier than most homeowners expect. Many installers start booking in late summer and early fall so installs can happen before Thanksgiving. Send last season's clients a renewal offer first, then open booking to new customers.
Time, results and safety. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says about 14,900 people were treated in emergency rooms for holiday decorating injuries in the 2023 holiday season, with about 160 decorating-related injuries a day and nearly half involving falls. Many homeowners would rather not be on a ladder in November.
Book both when they sign. Put the install date and a takedown window on the calendar right away, and send reminders before each. Group homes by neighborhood to save drive time during your busiest weeks.
Make it easy for clients to report a problem. A text with a photo of a dark section, answered quickly, keeps clients happy. Obravetta keeps those messages in one inbox so nothing gets missed.
No, and we'd rather say so. We don't create lighting mockups or track bulbs, clips and timers. Many installers use a photo editing tool for mockups and run the customer side in Obravetta.
Ask right after install, while the house looks its best, and ask for a photo at night. Google's own Business Profile documentation says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, and night photos of a lit house are the best ad you have.
Importing last season's clients from a CSV takes an afternoon, and renewal offers can go out the same week. The part with a real wait is 10DLC registration, the carrier approval required to send business texts in the US, which takes a few business days on any platform. Set it up before your selling season.
Yes. Obravetta Starter at $27/month is one seat and covers proposals, scheduling, invoicing, renewals and reviews. AI voice answering and the built-for-you website start on Growth at $97, which covers up to three users. Businesses with several install crews usually need Pro at $297 for unlimited seats.
Two free weeks covers loading last season’s clients, getting business texting approved, and sending your renewal offers. No sales call needed.
14-day free trial · No long-term contract · Cancel anytime
Holiday decorating injuries in the 2023 season (Nov. 1, 2022 – Jan. 31, 2023), daily average and share involving falls: US Consumer Product Safety Commission holiday safety release (November 2024) and CPSC. Local ranking factors and the statement that more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking: Google Business Profile Help. All verified November 2026. Obravetta pricing from our own pricing page.
Nothing on this page is safety, legal or electrical advice. Licensing, insurance, electrical and HOA rules vary by state, city and community, so check your local requirements. Job stages are illustrative of how holiday lighting work typically flows, not guarantees of results. Calculator results are estimates based only on the numbers you enter, not a prediction or guarantee of results. Google does not disclose how heavily any individual ranking factor is weighted, and no platform can promise a ranking outcome. Google are trademarks of their respective owners; Obravetta is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them. Figures change, so verify current details at the sources above.