Activate the Online Facility Bookings app from the Apps tab!
Our Facility Bookings feature provides a simple and convenient way for organizations to create and take bookings online.
Quick and easy setup with automated scheduling across your facilities;
A seamless online booking experience for your participants;
Advanced options to support your organization's unique scheduling needs;
Add suggested or required merchandise to your online booking(s);
Real-time availability ensures that no bookings overlap.
How it Works
3. Manage Online Facility Bookings
- How admins view or cancel a booking
- How clients view a booking
4. FAQ
1. Set up an Online Facility Booking - it's easy!
In the Facilities tab, click on a facility to access its configuration and scroll down to the Online bookings section to enable online booking for this facility in your store. Saved settings in these sections are kept even if you uncheck the box later.
There are 3 sections to set up: Online bookings, Facility details & Price and payment.
Online bookings
Write the description shown in the store, set up your image(s), pick the type of online booking, assign forms, define check-in/check-out times, booking duration and notice times.
Visible means clients can book your facility online. Hidden means they can't see the facility in the store. Admins can perform online facility bookings at any time
The Store description and up to 10 images appear in the store. Learn more here.
Choose whether Hourly, Overnight or Block bookings occur at this facility. Learn more here.
Pick a Category that best describes the facility to optimize your clients browsing experience.
When you assign an adult or child registration Form, it must be completed at checkout. If no form is selected, the account owner simply confirms their contact information. You may also assign a purchase form to collect information about the booking (e.g., shelter, picnic table, campsite, etc.) with answers tied to the booking and not the person.
Show availability and allow clients to book in increments (of 15, 30, 60 mins or Custom) or set check-in/check-out times for Overnight bookings.
Buffers can be added if cleanup (or a break) is required between bookings. The buffer isn't included in the client's reservation. Ex: A client books from 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM. The next available time to book will be 4:15 PM as the admin has configured a 15 minute buffer after the booking.
You can set a minimum amount of notice required before booking a facility. Ex: If the minimum amount of notice is 60 minutes, clients can only book slots that start no sooner than an hour before they make the reservation.
How far in advance can clients book a facility? If you say x months, then clients can book slots occurring no later than x months from the date they reserve.
Facility details
Assign your staff, add facility rules and/or link merchandise that will be prompted when the online booking is added to the cart.
Assign one or more staff to the booking (it appears in their schedule and can be viewed in the Amilia app for staff).
Add the facility rules (if any) to show on the description page after clients select the facility in the store.
Merchandise appears to clients as suggested or required after selecting their facility booking. Make sure they're in stock in the Store>Merchandise subtab.
Suggested merchandise doesn't have to be added to the cart.
Required merchandise won't be prompted if the selected client already purchased the item(s) in the past. If they've never purchased the item, they must add it to their cart.
Items required with every booking must be purchased, even if the client bought the item in the past. This is ideal if you require security deposits. Admins can't bypass this requirement at checkout. Learn more here.
Price and payment
Pick the price schedule for the online facility, and accepted payment methods.
Assign 1 price schedule (per hour, per day or flat fee) to show how much your facility costs based on the booking's duration, including a 'free of charge' option. Keep in mind your price schedule should match the type of booking (hourly, overnight or block) that occur at your facility. For example, an overnight booking type should use a 'per day' price schedule.
❗ If you choose a flat fee schedule, make sure it has at least once price period with an amount. Otherwise, it'll appear as 'free' in the store.
2. How to Book a Facility Online
When at least one facility is visible and available to book online, the Facility Bookings tab shows in your store. Only visible facilities appear. If a facility has no availability, clients can see it, but they can't access its schedule to book.
Here's what to expect:
Click a facility to load its availability calendar. Choose one time slot per booking.
Choose a participant and scroll to Add to cart. When a booking is in the shopping cart, it's not available for online booking by another client.
Checkout when finished. Clients may need to complete the applicable form.
Admins can be notified when a client books a facility online. Learn more.
3. Manage Online Bookings
Admins can track online bookings in the Calendar subtab and they can download the Facility events report from the Reports tab. In other reports, sales from online bookings share the same ledger code assigned to the facility. Clients can refer to their online facility booking(s) in their personal account.
✏️ How admins view or cancel a booking
Access the facility's calendar to view an online booking, which is color coded. Click the booking to open the Event details window. It provides links to view the facility's configuration, the client's account or the invoice status (PAID or UNPAID).
Admins can't modify an online facility booking. If changes need to be made, the invoice must be canceled. Only admins may cancel facility bookings.
You may quick cancel the booking by clicking Cancel. This cancels and credits the invoice and removes the booking from the calendar. The slot becomes available online. If you need to give a refund, you must access the client's billing.
Otherwise, you may View invoice to manage the invoice directly in the client's billing. You can Cancel/Refund as you would with any other invoice.
👪 How clients view a booking
From their personal account, clients can view their online booking(s) in the Billing tab by clicking the view button on the invoice; or in the Purchases tab by scrolling down to the Facility Bookings section. It also appears in the Amilia app.
Clients can't cancel a facility booking by themselves. They must contact you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I edit the label for the Facility Bookings tab in the store?
When at least one facility is visible and available to book online, the 'Facility Bookings' tab appears in your store. In the Store>Customize subtab, you can:
Change the section's name (label) in French and/or in English;
Change the position of the section in your store;
Make the section visible or invisible (whether facilities are visible or not).
Does the online facility's availability consider all my other bookings?
Sure does! Activities, private lessons, admin bookings, contracts, facility opening hours and holidays are considered when showing available spots for online facility bookings. If your facility is reserved elsewhere or pending in a client's cart, it won't be available to book in the store.
What's the difference between hourly, overnight and block bookings?
The type of booking determines how clients can book your facility online. Price schedules should be tailored to fit the type of booking you choose for the facility.
📆 Hourly bookings: The facility can be booked in increments up to an hour. Clients choose the duration of the reservation, followed by an available time slot. The administrator can configure a min/max duration permitted for a booking. Clients cannot book overnight. We recommend using the 'per hour' pricing type.
📆 Overnight bookings: This is the only type of booking that allows clients to book a facility overnight in the store. Clients choose their check-in and check-out date but must book at least one night (or more, depending on the configuration). We recommend using the 'per day' pricing type. Overnight bookings is the only type of booking that displays a $/night when paired with a 'per day' pricing type.
📆 Block bookings: This type of booking allows you to configure time blocks to define which days of the week are available, including the time of day and the length of time permitted per booking. Clients cannot book overnight. We recommend using the 'per hour' pricing type, as SmartRec calculates the final invoice amount based on the hourly rate and the number of hours in the time block.
What's the difference between online facility bookings and contract bookings?
Online facility bookings and contracts can be used to book your facility and charge extras (aka merchandise). However, online bookings give clients the autonomy to create their own reservations, whereas contracts can only be created by admins.
Online Facility Bookings | Contracts |
Clients can book the facility in the store | Only admins can book the facility while creating a contract in the back office |
Supports discounts | Does not support discounts |
Supports extras (merchandise) | Supports extras (merchandise) |
Invoiced and paid for at checkout | Invoiced when the contract is approved. Follow up on payment is required |
Total charges are calculated based on the price schedule and the booking's duration | Total charges are calculated based on the price schedule but can be modified in the contract by an admin |
Fun to use for clients and admins alike | Only fun for admins |
Can I apply discounts in the store for online facility bookings?
Yes! All discount types (except Multi-person discounts) can be applied to a facility booking. For example, the Community Segment discount is a great way to offer incentives to customers in your community!
When you display the discount in the store, clients can click on the Discounts icon on the facility to see more details. However, rebate codes, coupon codes and question type discounts only become visible to the client at checkout.
Can linked merchandise support discounts?
Yes! Discounts on linked merchandise works the same as discounts on any item in your store.
Is merchandise suggested or required if the participant already has the item?
If the online facility booking is made for a participant that already has a required item, it won’t appear to them when the booking is added to their cart.
However, if the booking is made for a participant that doesn't have the required item, it appears for selection when the booking is added to their cart.
Suggested items are always offered whether the participant already has the item or not. If the participant doesn’t want to add it to their cart, they may click No thanks!
If the item is required with every booking, then you must select it for purchase when it appears. It doesn't matter if the client already purchased the item in the past.
What if linked merchandise is out of stock?
If no stock remains of your linked items (suggested or required), participants can book the online facility and proceed through checkout without being prompted to add merchandise to their cart. Keep an eye on your remaining stock!
Can clients add more than 1 item of merchandise if they want?
Yes, if the remaining stock of the item permits it.
How many images can I add to an online facility listing?
You can add up to 10 images per online facility listing. In the store, clients can click on the image to scroll to the next (if more are available). You can change the primary image by clicking on the ... icon.
* Last updated in December 2022