The ‘Availability’ tab is where we start to add recurring availability. When your booking widget is in request mode, this area is primarily used to select times that you DO NOT want people to book on a re-occurring basis.

This is not the place for 'one-time' blockouts such as Christmas or Easter.

One-time blockouts, for example, are performed in the ‘Blockout’ tab, which is covered in the ‘Blockouts & Override’ lesson.

Adding a ‘Re-occurring Blockout’: 

1 - Make sure you are in the table section of the ‘Availability’ tab.

2 - From the ‘Table’ column, select ‘All Tables’.

3 - Select '0' in the ‘Available’ section.

4 - Hover over the desired period in the ‘Time Slots’ area and click on the 'Drop Down' arrows.

5 - Additional times will appear after clicking. By checking each individual checkbox, you can choose which times you DO NOT want customers to book.

6 - Next, select the days on which your availability blockout reoccurs.

7 - If you want to add another, use the ‘Add Another’ option or, when finished, click ‘Save’.

Remember to keep track of your Intervals and to test regularly.

As previously discussed in the previous lesson, this is where your intervals and start time start to come into play. While the time slots will likely always be displayed in 15-minute intervals, you may find yourself blocking out times that are never displayed, or restricting availability as a result of this. Remember you can always use the preview and links tab to make a booking, if unsure of what your settings will do.

The following examples will assume interval times of 30 minutes. We will go over this in greater detail later.

Reoccurring Blockout Availability Example 1:

We have a venue that is only open from  5:00 P.M -10:00 P.M, but we would like their first booking slot to begin at 6pm and their last booking slot to begin at 8.30  P.M. This is the procedure that will be followed for the setup.

Reoccurring Blockout Availability Example 2:

This location is open seven days a week from 11:00 A.M to 10:00 P.M. The venue is open for take-out, but only for a sit-down lunch on Wednesdays, but for dinner seven days a week.

Reoccurring Blockout Availability Example 3:

In this example, we have a venue that is only open from 5:00 P.M -10:00 P.M, but prefers to take bookings at 5.30 P.M, 6:00 P.M, 7:00 P.M and 8::00 P.M Sunday through Thursday and 5:00 P.M,  6:00 P.M, 7:00 P.M and 8:00 P.M. Friday through Saturday.

What Comes Next?

Blockouts. Click ‘next’ to learn about the various types of blockouts that can be performed and how to perform them.