No times are available
What this covers
A checklist for when a time you expect is not offered — to you or to a guest online. Work down it in order; the first few causes account for most cases.
For why each rule exists, see Why a time or table isn't offered. This page is the "find it in two minutes" version.
Before you start
Establish who cannot see the time, because staff and guests are governed by different rules:
- Nobody, including staff — the cause is in the first four checks below.
- Only guests online — jump to check 5. Public bookings have their own stricter settings.
1. Is the restaurant open that day?
Property Settings → Restaurant → Operating hours.
- Is that weekday switched on? A closed day offers nothing to anybody.
- Is the time inside the open and close times?
- Did somebody switch a day off for a one-off closure and forget to switch it back? This is the single commonest cause, because nothing reminds you (link Operating hours).
2. Is it too close to now?
The minimum advance hours setting blocks bookings inside that window.
If your staff cannot book for tonight, this is usually why — and the fix is to set the staff minimum to 0. Someone on the phone at 18:45 asking for 19:00 should get a table (link Booking rules reference).
Also check maximum advance days if the date is far ahead — a request for next April against a 30-day limit offers nothing at all.
3. Is every suitable table genuinely taken?
Open the Timeline for that date and look.
- Is every table of the right size occupied for an overlapping period? Remember a booking holds its table for its whole duration, not just its start time.
- Is an event blocking tables that day? Events reserve tables and can quietly remove most of your room (link Creating an event).
- Are tables deactivated? A deactivated table is not offered. Check whether a temporary table expired (link Managing your tables, Temporary tables).
4. Is the party too large for any table?
Check the pax against your largest table. If no single table fits:
- Merge tables to seat them (link Merging tables).
- Check maximum party size — a party above it is refused regardless of your tables.
5. Guests only: the public booking rules
If staff can book the time and guests cannot, the cause is on Property Settings → Public Pages Design → Booking — a different page from the one in check 2, which is where people get stuck.
- Advance notice — separate from the staff setting and usually longer. A 4-hour notice hides everything this afternoon.
- Public interval — if it is 30 minutes, 19:15 is never offered even when free.
- Public duration — a longer public duration needs a longer free gap.
- Is the page switched on at all?
- Minimum and maximum party size — a guest booking for two sees nothing if your minimum is four.
6. Is the pacing cap reached?
Max covers per slot limits how many covers may start in one interval. When it is reached, that time disappears for guests and from staff pickers — while the tables are visibly free, which is what makes it confusing.
The tell: one specific time is missing while the ones either side are offered, and the Timeline shows empty tables. Staff can still create over the cap and get a warning (link Pacing: max covers per slot).
7. On a seatings day, is a seating covering it?
If the weekday is set to seatings, only times inside an active seating are bookable — nothing between sittings, and nothing outside them.
- Is there an active seating covering that weekday and that time?
- Does the seating sit inside your operating hours? A 23:00 seating on a day closing at 22:00 offers nothing.
- Has the seating's own max covers been reached?
(link Managing seatings, Rolling slots vs fixed seatings)
Quick diagnosis by symptom
| Symptom | Look at first |
|---|---|
| No times at all, any party size, one date | Operating hours for that weekday; an event blocking the room |
| No times at all, every date | Advance notice; whether the public page is on |
| Times today but not this evening | Advance notice window |
| One time missing, neighbours present, tables free | Pacing cap |
| Times for 2 but not for 6 | Table sizes and maximum party size |
| Only round hours offered | Booking interval — and remember the public one is separate |
| Staff can, guests cannot | The public booking settings, check 5 |
| Nothing between 15:00 and 19:00 | Seatings — the gap between sittings |
If none of it explains the gap
Report it, and include: the date and time you wanted, the party size, whether staff or a guest, and a screenshot of the Timeline for that date showing the free tables. That last one saves a day (link Reporting a problem).