Booking Page - Add option to Approve booking
I would like to have an option to approve a booking before it is considered accepted. Right now it is automatically accepted. What I would like an option to do, is set it up so that once someone book a slot, it will be marked as unavailable in the front end, bt in the email to the custommer it is made clear that the booking is not yet accepted, but pending approval.
Once I have look at it, i can approve it and it will automatically let the customer know its all good and turn it into an accepted booking, Or i might need more information and contactem for more information first.
Vegar
shared this idea
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George Smith commented
Good ask. Auto-accept breaks down the moment you get a booking you can't actually fulfill. The pattern that usually works: new bookings go to "Pending" status (slot blocked on the calendar right away, but not confirmed yet), the customer gets an instant email saying it's received and pending confirmation, you get notified to review it, and then you either approve it (which triggers a confirmation email) or follow up for more info before deciding. It's also worth adding an auto-expire on pending bookings, so slots don't sit blocked forever if one slips through the cracks.
Check if your current booking plugin already has a "pending approval" status hiding in settings. Many do, just not enabled by default.
This kind of approval workflow seems to come up a lot for operators in the chauffeur and limo space too, since they deal with the same problem of holding a slot without overpromising. I came across https://growyourlimo.com/ a while back, and they go into a few approaches for handling this on the booking side, if that's a useful reference while you're figuring out your setup.
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bj
commented
absolutely essential, as well as a limitation of the booking page preview: https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/284483-proton-mail-calendar/suggestions/51304741-booking-page-extends-endlessly-into-the-future-a