Getting to Know Your Blockouts (Request Mode):

The WOWAPPS booking widget has a number of blockouts and how you use them varies slightly depending on which mode your booking widget is in (Max Pax, Table Mode, or Request Mode).

The four methods for performing ‘Blockouts’ in ‘Request’ mode are discussed below.

Rolling Blockout:

A Rolling Blockout is used to prevent customers from booking within a specified time frame. For example, you might require customers to give you 30 minutes' notice before making a reservation.

In this configuration, you would have a 30-minute rolling blockout that would continue to ''roll'' until you turn it off.

Here's How to Do It:

1. Click the Blockout & Override tab.
2. Check the box next to Enable Rolling Blockout. Once chosen, you will be prompted to select a Rolling Blockout time.
3. Choose the Rolling Blockout time by clicking on the empty field and typing in the desired time (in this case 30 minutes).
4. Do not forget to Save.

To put this in context, imagine you have a 30-minute Rolling Blockout on. If a customer arrives at your booking system at 7 pm, the earliest they can book is 7.30 pm (this will vary depending on your interval time slot and any other blockouts)

If we had a 60-minute blockout, the earliest time would be 8 pm, and so on.

It should be noted that unless manually turned off, a Rolling Blockout will remain active.

Instant Blockout:

This is the emergency switch. An Instant Blockout, as opposed to a Rolling Blockout, will turn off after the specified time and is useful if you need to close bookings for a few hours.

When an Instant Blockout is activated, customers will be unable to book within the specified times, but will be able to book outside of those times and in the future.

Here's How to Do It:

1. Click the Blockout & Override button.
2. Check the box next to Enable Instant Blockout. Once selected, you will be prompted to select a time for the Instant Blockout to end.
3. Select the time by clicking on the time field and dragging the cursor to the desired time (within a 24-hour window).
4. Do not forget to Save.

Scheduled Instant Blockout:

Scheduled Instant Blockouts are ideal for restricting bookings to specific times, such as 5:00 PM, 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM. The previous article contains a more detailed explanation of Scheduled Instant Blockouts.  Keep an eye on your booking intervals. When your booking intervals are 15 minutes, session times work best.

Single/Full-day Blockouts:

These are ideal for one-time events. For example, if you are closed for the entire day or need to close at a specific time due to staff shortages/large groups on a particular day.

Example 1 for Single/Full-Day Blockouts:

In this example, the venue is booked/closed for the day.

To accomplish this, first:

1. Click the Blockout & Override button.
2. Scroll down to Override Dates and click the Tables tab.
3. From the Table Column, select All Tables.
4. Tick all relevant checkboxes in the Timeslots section.
5. Next, choose the date on which your availability blockout will occur.
6. Do not forget to Save.

You can add more availability by clicking the Add Another button.

Example 2 Session Times/Odd hours During The Day Blockouts:

In this case, we will stop taking reservations for half of the dining period because we have an unusually high number of customers already and want to make sure those customers are taken care of before accepting new reservations.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Click the Blockout & Overrides button.
2. Scroll down to Override Dates and select the Tables tab.
3. From the Table column, select All Tables.
4. In the Timeslots section, hover over the desired period and click 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, choose the date on which your availability blockout re-occurs.
7. Do not forget to Save.

You can add more unavailability by clicking the Add Another button.

What's Next?

Step 13 - Putting your Widget Live