At a glance
Overview
- 1 Confirm your plan includes Booking Automation and set Profile → Timezone (slots and exports use it). Connect WhatsApp.
- 2 Open Advance Tools → Automations → Booking Automation → Create Event. Pick a mode: Individual (1:1 slots), Group (webinar), or Stay / Accommodation.
- 3 Fill mode-specific settings (duration & days, webinar datetime & capacity, or room types & availability), optionally turn on Auto-approve and Email Notifications, then Create Event.
- 4 In Chatbots, add a Book A Slot node, select your Active Booking Event, save, and activate the bot. Share entry via menus, Ice Breakers, campaigns, or Link & QR — there is no separate public booking page.
- 5 Manage requests under WhatsApp Suite → Bookings (and Home → Bookings): Approve/Confirm, Reject, Cancel, Complete, send reminders, and Export.
Step by step
How Bookings works
Set up an event, connect a chatbot, then manage and export from the Bookings inbox.
Two homes: setup vs inbox
Setup and day-to-day ops live in different places.
- 1 Booking Events (create/edit modes, reminders, email toggles): Advance Tools → Automations → Booking Automation.
- 2 Bookings inbox (list, approve, export): WhatsApp Suite → Bookings — pending count badge when items wait for action.
- 3 Home → Bookings shows Today / Tomorrow / Overdue style ops filters for 1:1, Webinar, and Accommodation.
- 4 Booking Type (Appointment / Reservation / Booking) is a label for which table the booking is stored in. Event Mode controls the scheduling rules. WhatsApp reminders are set on each event.
- 5 Customers only book through Chatbots → Book A Slot. WhatsApp Flows’ Appointment Booking starter is a lead form only — it does not reserve slots from Booking Events.
Create a 1:1 (time slot) event
Mode: Individual Event (Time Slots). Best for consultations, demos, and physical or virtual meetings.
- 1 On Create Booking Event, enter Event Name, Booking Type, choose Individual Event, and optional Description / Cost / Currency (cost can feed a chatbot Payment node).
- 2 Set Duration (30 / 45 / 60 / 120 min), Advance Booking Days (1–365), and Minimum Notice in days (0 = same-day).
- 3 Choose Available Time Slots (pills), Available Days (Mon–Sun), and optional Available From / To date range.
- 4 Under Appointment location: Virtual needs Join link + provider (Zoom, Meet, Teams, etc.) and optional instructions; Physical needs Venue name, Street address, and optional Location / Map link.
- 5 Toggle Auto-approve bookings and Active, then Create Event. The system blocks conflicting slots using your Profile timezone.
Create a group event
Mode: Group Event (Capacity-based). One fixed session — not a multi-slot calendar. Online (join link) or in-person (venue).
- 1 Choose Group Event. Set Event Date & Time and optional Capacity (blank = unlimited).
- 2 Choose Online or In-person. Online needs Join Link, Join Provider, and optional Join Instructions. In-person needs Venue name, Street address, optional Map link, and optional venue notes.
- 3 Each contact can register once; capacity is enforced when set.
- 4 Turn on Auto-approve if you want the join link or venue details delivered as soon as someone books.
- 5 Create Event, then connect Book A Slot in a chatbot. Manage registrants under Bookings → Webinars.
Create an accommodation event
Mode: Stay / Accommodation (Date Range). Pricing comes from room types, add-ons, and tax — not the shared Cost field.
- 1 Choose Stay / Accommodation. Set Unit type (Room, Tent, Cabin, Villa, Pod, Other), Check-in time, and Check-out time (defaults 14:00 / 11:00).
- 2 Add Room types: Name, Qty, Price/night, Currency, Adults, Kids. Optional Add-ons (Per stay or Per night) and GST / Tax %.
- 3 Configure Availability by date (from/to) and Auto availability (Full week, Weekends only, or Mixed days). Use the calendar to remove availability per room/date.
- 4 Create Event. Customers pick dates, units, guests, and add-ons in the chatbot; operators Confirm (not Approve) pending stays.
Connect Chatbot (Book A Slot)
This is the only in-product booking UX for customers. The event must be Active.
- 1 Open Chatbots and add a Book A Slot node from the palette.
- 2 Select Booking Event — duration, slots, capacity, rooms, and copy all come from that event.
- 3 Optional: add a Payment node with amount Fetch from connected Booking node so the booking is created after payment.
- 4 Save and activate the bot. After an approved 1:1 schedule, customers may see Reschedule and Cancel quick replies (max 2 reschedules per booking).
- 5 Drive traffic with Ice Breakers, campaigns, Inbox, or Link & QR / Chat Widget into WhatsApp — not a hosted booking URL.
Event reminders & email
WhatsApp reminders are chosen on each event with the bell. A template saved on the old shared Reminder Messages page is kept, and it is not sent. Approval, rejection, and cancellation WhatsApp copy stays system-managed.
- 1 On Booking Events, open the bell for that event.
- 2 Add a reminder: pick when (for example 24 hours earlier, when it starts, or 24 hours after) and an approved WhatsApp template. Map each body variable. Upload a header file if the template needs one. Save. An event can have several.
- 3 An event with no reminders sends none. Set the bell on every event that should remind people, including events that used the old shared template.
- 4 The hourly job sends only those saved reminders, for approved appointments and confirmed stays. Follow-ups also include completed visits.
- 5 Use Email Notifications: ON/OFF (and Save Email Settings) for operator mail on pending, auto-confirmed, or manually approved bookings. Web push can also open the Bookings inbox.
Manage bookings (inbox & Home)
Statuses for 1:1 / webinar include Pending, Approved, Rejected, Reschedule request, Cancelled, and Completed. Accommodation uses Pending, Confirmed, and Cancelled.
- 1 Open WhatsApp Suite → Bookings. Switch tabs: 1:1 Appointments, Webinars, Accommodation.
- 2 Open a row with View. Approve (or Confirm for stays), Reject, Cancel, or Complete (Mark as completed) using the modals — optional reasons send on WhatsApp where applicable.
- 3 Reschedule requests from customers stay in Reschedule request until you Approve or Reject.
- 4 On the detail page review Booking & event details, Payment received (if paid via chatbot), Event information, and the embedded Contact CRM (notes, reminders, activity).
- 5 On Home → Bookings use filters (All, Overdue, Pending, Approved, …) and date groups (Overdue, Today, Tomorrow, Future, Completed) for a daily ops view.
Export bookings
Export for ops lists, webinar attendance, or accommodation stay sheets. Timezone follows the account Profile.
- 1 On the Bookings page click Export to open the aggregate export modal.
- 2 Choose Include (All / 1:1 / Webinars / Accommodation), Period (All time / Today / Yesterday / Custom), and Match on Bookings received vs Service date. Check live counts, then download Excel (.xls) or CSV.
- 3 On Webinars or Accommodation tabs, use per-event Export → Download CSV or Download for Excel for that event’s participants or stays.
- 4 Delete is available on cancelled/rejected rows where the UI offers it — treat as cleanup, not the primary cancel path.
Tips
- Set Profile timezone before creating slots — wrong timezone = wrong available times for customers.
- Auto-approve group events when you want instant join-link or venue-details delivery; keep manual approve for high-touch 1:1s.
- Use a reminder WhatsApp template for contacts who may be outside the 24-hour messaging window.
- Test Book A Slot with your own number before promoting the bot.
- Customers can reschedule at most twice per booking; after that they need a new booking or operator help.
- Team permissions for Booking Automation (create / edit / delete) live under Team. Upgrade via Billing if the feature is locked.