Blocking Rental Availability with Blocked Slots
What Are Blocked Slots?
Blocked slots are a feature that allows you to mark your rental inventory as unavailable for customer bookings. This is useful for situations like equipment maintenance, internal company use, or when an item is temporarily out of service. Instead of creating a customer booking, you create a blocked slot, which reserves the item and removes it from the available inventory for the specified time period.
Key Benefits of Using Blocked Slots
- Prevent Overbooking: Ensure customers can only book items that are truly available by temporarily taking inventory off the market.
- Operational Flexibility: Easily reserve items for non-sales purposes like repairs, staff training, or private events.
- Granular Control: If your rental listing has variants (like different sizes or models), you can block a specific variant.
- Partial Quantity Holds: For listings with multiple quantities, you can block a specific number of items instead of the entire stock.
- Clear Calendar View: See all blocked periods alongside customer bookings on your calendar for a complete picture of availability.
- Separate Records: Keep internal holds distinct from actual customer orders and payments.
Viewing Blocked Slots on the Calendar
In the Calendar View for rentals, blocked slots are displayed as gray blocks. You can hover your cursor over a blocked slot to see its details, including the title you gave it, the rental listing name, the date and time range, and the quantity that is blocked.
How to Create a Blocked Slot
Step 1: Access the Calendar
Navigate to Calendars and select Calendar View. Choose the Rentals calendar. Click the + New button or click and drag across the calendar grid to select the dates you wish to block.
Step 2: Select the Event Type
In the event creation form, locate the Event Type field and select Blocked slot from the options.
Step 3: Enter the Block Details
Fill in the necessary information for the hold:
- Listing: Choose the rental item you want to block.
- Variant: If the listing has variants, select the specific one.
- Quantity: Enter the number of items to block.
- Booking Title: Provide a clear, descriptive title like "Scheduled Maintenance" or "Internal Reservation."
- Start and End Times: Set the precise date and time range for the block.
Step 4: Save the Block
Click the Block time button. The inventory will immediately become unavailable for the specified duration.
How to Edit or Delete a Blocked Slot
If your plans change, you can easily modify or remove a blocked slot from the Calendar View.
- In the Calendar View for Rentals, click on the gray blocked slot you want to manage.
- To edit the details, click the pencil icon. This will reopen the form where you can change the listing, times, quantity, or title. Click to save your changes.
- To remove the block entirely, click the trash can icon and confirm the deletion. This will release the inventory, making it available for bookings again.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I use a blocked slot?
Use a blocked slot anytime a rental item needs to be unavailable for reasons other than a customer booking, such as maintenance, internal use, or an offline reservation.
Can I block only a portion of my inventory?
Yes. If your rental listing is set up with quantity-based availability, you can specify the exact number of items to block instead of the entire stock.
Are blocked slots visible to customers?
No. Customers will only see that the item is unavailable during the blocked time; they will not see the internal title or reason for the block.
What happens when I delete a blocked slot?
Deleting a blocked slot releases the reserved inventory, and it immediately becomes available for customers to book for the previously blocked time period.