At a Glance • Key Takeaways
- Automated Efficiency: Streamline online bookings, live availability scheduling, and customer communication without manual intervention.
- Live Capacity & Conflict Prevention: Prevent double-booking across staff, rooms, activity sessions, or rental fleet assets in real time.
- 0% Platform Booking Fees: SmartBookings does not charge transaction fees or take percentage cuts of your ticket sales or customer payments.
Overview: Populating Your Booking Calendar
Once you have established your activity categories, you schedule the dates and times when customers can attend. SmartBookings provides three primary methods:
- Single Session: For one-off events, private facility hires, or ad-hoc additions.
- Recurring Multi-Dates: For generating repeating slots across custom date ranges.
- From Template: The fastest way to generate your entire weekly timetable across weeks, terms, or months!
Practical Scheduling Scenarios:
- Mini Golf & Adventure Golf: Staggered 15-minute tee-times (e.g. 10:00, 10:15, 10:30 … up to 19:45) with capacity capped at 6 players per tee slot.
- Soft Play Centres: Fixed 2-hour play blocks (09:30–11:30, 12:00–14:00, 14:30–16:30) with 30-minute cleaning buffers in between.
- Laser Tag: 30-minute mission slots running continuously on Friday evenings and weekends.
- Farm Parks: Full-day entry slots (09:30–17:00) with capacity set to 250 visitors per day.
Method 1: Adding a Single Session Manually
1 Go to Sessions > Dates (EventsTickets.aspx).
2 Select your Session Type / Category from the dropdown.
3 Scroll down to the Add new date / time section.
4 Enter the session parameters:
- Date: The day of the session (e.g.
25/12/2026).
- Start Time & End Time: The session window (e.g.
10:00 to 12:00, or 14:15 to 14:30 for a mini golf tee-time).
- Capacity (QTY): Total places or players permitted (e.g.
30 soft play tickets or 6 mini golf players).
- Title: Leave blank to automatically display the session times (e.g. 10:00 - 12:00), or enter a custom title (e.g. "Pirate Golf - Early Bird Tee-off").
5 Click Add session.
Method 2: Adding Multiple Dates (Date Range Generator)
If you run recurring sessions (for example, every Tuesday and Thursday morning for the next 8 weeks):
1 Go to Sessions > Dates and click the Add dates tab at the top.
2 Choose the Multiple dates option.
3 Set your From Date and To Date (e.g. 01/06/2026 to 31/08/2026).
4 Tick the days of the week to apply (e.g. Mon, Wed, Fri).
5 Enter the session start times, durations, and capacity.
6 Click Generate Sessions. The platform will automatically populate all matching calendar slots.
Method 3: Creating and Applying Timetable Templates
Templates allow you to define your standard recurring weekly timetable once, and then apply it to any date range with a single click.
Step A: Create Your Timetable Template
1 In the left sidebar, navigate to Sessions > Templates (tickettemplates.aspx).
2 Under Add new template, give your template a descriptive name (e.g. "Summer Holiday Timetable", "Term-Time Weekdays", or "Weekend Golf Schedule") and click Create.
3 Select the template and add each recurring weekly slot:
- Day of Week: Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday, etc.
- Time Slot: e.g.
09:30 - 11:30 or 10:00 - 10:15.
- Capacity / Qty: Maximum places per slot.
Step B: Apply the Template to Calendar Dates
1 Go to Sessions > Dates > Add dates (EventTicketsAddDates.aspx).
2 Select your category and select Add from template.
3 Select your saved template from the dropdown list.
4 Enter the date range (e.g. start of school holidays to end of school holidays) and click Apply Template.
Seasonal Scheduling Efficiency: Create separate templates for Term Time and School Holidays. When holidays arrive, simply apply the holiday template to the holiday date range!
Managing Closures & Bank Holidays
If your attraction is closed for maintenance, staff training, Christmas Day, or bad weather:
- Go to Sessions > Closures (
HolidayEVs.aspx) or Settings > Dates closed (Holidays.aspx).
- Add the closed date or range. The booking engine will automatically hide or block sessions falling on these dates from the public booking calendar.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set up recurring weekly sessions for a leisure centre without adding dates manually?
Use Timetable Templates (tickettemplates.aspx). Build your standard weekly schedule once -- defining your Monday to Sunday session start times, durations, and capacities -- then click 'Generate Timetable to Dates'. Choose your date range (e.g. September to December) and the system automatically publishes months of sessions in seconds.
Can I copy daily timetables to bank holidays and school holiday periods in bulk?
Yes. Using the 'Copy to Date' feature in Sessions > Dates (EventDates.aspx) or the Bulk Updates tool, you can select any existing day's schedule (such as a busy Saturday template) and duplicate it across Bank Holiday Mondays or entire half-term holiday weeks with one click.
How far in advance can customers book attraction tickets online?
You have full control over your booking horizon. As soon as dates are generated in EventDates.aspx, they are immediately visible on your live booking calendar. Venues commonly generate dates 3 to 12 months in advance to capture holiday, birthday party, and seasonal peak bookings.
Can I temporarily close or blackout dates for private venue hire or maintenance?
Yes. In Sessions > Closures / Holidays (HolidayEVs.aspx), you can block out entire days or specific time windows for private corporate hire, deep cleaning, or maintenance. Blacked-out dates display as 'Closed / Private Hire' on the public booking calendar.
How does SmartBookings handle daylight saving time shifts for session start times?
All session times in SmartBookings are stored against local clock time. When the clocks change in the spring or autumn, your scheduled sessions (such as 10:00 AM or 14:00 PM) automatically remain at 10:00 AM and 14:00 PM local time without requiring manual schedule adjustments.
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