Manage booking requests and reservations

A scheduled workshop can often be booked immediately. A private event may need staff to check the programme, room setup, or a special arrangement first. A school group may need places held while its organizer obtains approval. The same request and reservation workflows support these offers as well as guided tours and other group bookings.

Choose the checkout result to match that decision. A request asks the venue to review; a reservation holds places while the next decision is pending; a booking records the accepted order. Payment is a separate choice: a booking can be paid online, invoiced, or paid at the venue.

Choose the workflow for your offer

For a firm booking paid on arrival, use Book and continue to payment with On-site payment. Use Reserve unpaid when the places should remain provisional, rather than simply because payment happens later.

Use the checkout-policy setup guide to set Checkout result and Payment method on the event or event template. Keep offers with different checkout results or payment methods in separate customer orders.

Use automatic availability where possible

You do not need to review every booking manually just because it requires staff or a room. Configure event capacity and required resources so availability reflects what the venue can deliver:

• Limit participants by the capacity of the event, instructor, room, or equipment.
• Require a particular resource or any resource with the appropriate role or function.
• Make the resource quantity grow with participant numbers when another staff member or vehicle is needed for each group.
• Include preparation and cleanup time, and keep resource availability and existing allocations current.

For example, if a workshop needs one instructor who can serve 15 people, resource capacity can limit sales to 15 even when the event's own capacity is higher. If no required resource is available for the selected time, the offer can become unavailable automatically.

Resource inquiries can also help coordinate staff: the configured inquiry process can allocate a responding staff member immediately, use first-to-accept allocation, or wait for organizer review. See Resource user workflow.

These controls handle configured availability and allocation. They do not decide whether a custom programme or a special commercial arrangement is acceptable, and a staff member's acceptance is not the customer's booking confirmation. Use Request only for decisions that still require venue judgment; use direct booking when the configured rules are sufficient.

Example: a private tour that needs venue approval

The following example shows the complete request-to-booking process. Apply the same steps to a private workshop, group visit, or other event that requires staff approval.

1. Prepare the request offer

Create the event or event template with its dates, prices, capacity, and resources. Set Checkout result to Request only. Select the payment method you intend to use after acceptance, such as Online payment or Invoice.

Explain on the offer that submitting a request does not confirm the tour, who will respond, and your expected response time. Add booking questions for information staff need to decide, such as tour language, group requirements, or accessibility arrangements. Collect contact details so staff can follow up.

Request-only checkout still uses the offer's configured dates and availability. It is not a waitlist or a way to request sold-out times. For an arrangement outside the shop's available choices, staff can discuss the request separately and create an order manually.

2. Receive and review the request

The customer selects the tour and submits checkout. The shop shows that the request was received and that the venue will contact them with next steps. No payment is collected at this stage.

Assign someone to review incoming requests under Sales > Orders. Open the order and review the requested date, group size, answers, prices, customer details, and operational feasibility. Check the event's Required resources and coordinate any outstanding staff inquiries. Do not promise a confirmed tour merely because the request was submitted.

If you cannot provide the tour, contact the customer with an alternative or decline it and cancel the order when appropriate. If you change the date, service, or price, agree the revised proposal with the customer before booking it.

3. Reserve the accepted proposal while the customer decides

When the venue can offer the tour but the customer still needs time to agree, keep working in the same order:

1. Confirm the customer, services, quantities, and proposed price.
2. Open the action dropdown beside Initiate payment and select Reserve.
3. Review the reservation deadline and email recipient in the confirmation. Keep Send email to customer selected when the customer should receive the reservation, then confirm.
4. Tell the customer what remains to be agreed or paid and by when.

Reserve holds the services and sends the reservation email when Send email to customer is selected. Configure the reservation deadline for the time the customer actually needs. Deadline controls are available only where enabled for the account. Do not promise that places will stay held indefinitely.

This reservation step is optional: if the customer has already agreed and no provisional hold is needed, staff can proceed to booking or payment directly.

4. Invite the customer to complete the booking

For online payment, choose Online / Pay-by-link on the order and select Initiate payment. A reservation by itself does not create a payment link. Follow Send or copy a payment link for the payment request and follow-up actions.

The order can become Booked when staff start this process or when required information is completed, before payment succeeds. This is not a separate customer accept-or-decline reservation screen. Use the customer's agreement and the payment state to determine what still needs follow-up. A payment-link expiry is also not the same as a reservation deadline; once the order is booked, do not assume the former reservation deadline will release it.

For an agreed booking with payment at the venue or by invoice, use the appropriate booking and payment workflow. Book marks the order as booked without collecting payment; keep Send email to customer selected to send the booking confirmation. If the customer has not yet agreed to proceed, retain the reservation and follow up instead of treating an unpaid booking as their acceptance.

When customers should reserve directly in the shop

Choose Reserve unpaid when the venue is already willing to hold the selected places without reviewing each request first. Examples include a school visit awaiting internal approval or a group organizer confirming the final participants before payment.

The customer completes checkout, receives the reservation result, and pays nothing immediately. The shop tells them the venue will provide payment or arrival details. Staff do not first need to convert a request into a reservation, but they still own the follow-up.

Before offering this flow:

1. Set a suitable reservation deadline where available, so provisional groups do not keep capacity blocked longer than intended.
2. Explain the follow-up process and deadline on the offer and in the reservation communication.
3. Assign staff to review reservations and contact customers before they lapse.
4. When the customer agrees, use the same order to initiate payment or book using the agreed payment method.

If the customer declines, cancel the reservation to release the places. If more time is needed, adjust the deadline where permitted before it expires. An expired reservation is not a promise that the same places remain available.

Related articles

• Configure checkout results and payment handling
• Configure checkout holds and unpaid order deadlines
• Limit event capacity with resources
• Review resource allocation for a day
• Add an order manually
• Ask a customer to complete and pay for an order