Bookings Near This Slot is a rule condition that counts the bookings you already have just before, just after or around a time slot, and lets the rule act on that.

Use it for rules like "only take a booking online if we already have a game within two hours of it" (so your staff aren't in for a single game), or "switch to peak pricing when we are already busy around that time".

To ask how full the slot itself is, use Slot occupancy instead. To leave a gap for resetting a room between games, set the room's Reset Time (see Creating Bookable Items); you don't need a rule for that. If you are new to rules, read Rules first for how conditions and actions fit together.

Where to find it

1. Go to Settings > Rules and add or edit a rule.
2. Under Conditions, add a condition and choose Bookings near this slot.

The condition reads as a sentence you fill in, for example:

fewer than 1 booking around this slot within 2 hours, in any bookable item, counting confirmed bookings

The fields

• at least / fewer than: match when there are at least this many bookings nearby, or fewer than this many.
• a number: how many bookings (or people) to compare against.
• bookings / people: Bookings counts each booking as one, however many players are on it. People adds up the players across those bookings.
• the position: where to look, before, after or around the slot (see below).
• within: how far to look, in hours and minutes, up to 24 hours.
• in ...: which bookable items to count bookings from:
• this slot's bookable item (the default) counts bookings in the same room as each slot. A rule that applies to several rooms judges each room on its own bookings.
• any bookable item counts bookings across your whole site.
• these bookable items counts only the ones you pick.
• counting ...: which bookings count:
• confirmed bookings (the default).
• confirmed and pending bookings adds bookings that are placed but not yet confirmed, including booking requests you haven't accepted.
• confirmed, pending and in-cart bookings also adds bookings a customer is still checking out with.

What each position counts

Using a slot that runs 10:00 to 11:00, with a 15 minute window:

Which bookings count

The counting field decides which bookings count. Cancelled bookings and carts the customer has left never count. Slot occupancy counts all three kinds, so choose confirmed, pending and in-cart bookings if you want the two conditions to agree.

Bookings during the slot in the slot's own bookable item are never counted: they are the slot's own bookings, which is what Slot occupancy is for.

Examples

Approve lone games before you take them

If a single game on a quiet day means bringing someone in for it, you can ask to approve those bookings first:

1. Add a rule and set Apply for bookable items to All items.
2. Add a Bookings near this slot condition: fewer than 1 booking around this slot within 2 hours, in any bookable item.
3. Under Actions, set Change booking mode to to Request to Book.

Slots with another game at the venue within two hours stay instantly bookable. A slot with nothing near it becomes a request you can accept or decline. As soon as one booking comes in, the slots around it open up for instant booking.

Switch to peak pricing when you are busy

1. Add a rule for the relevant rooms.
2. Add a Bookings near this slot condition: at least 20 people around this slot within 2 hours, in any bookable item.
3. Under Actions, add a Pricing action that switches to your peak price group.

People adds up the players across every nearby booking, so a few large groups are enough to trigger peak pricing.

Any questions or feedback are gratefully received. Please use the message button on the bottom right of the screen or the "Help & Support" option within the app. Or feel free to email or call.