Why a time or table isn't offered — Help

What this covers

Every reason a time can be missing from the list, or a booking refused. If you only read one page in this section, read this one — it answers the most common question staff ask.

Nothing here is a fault. In each case Tabledoo is protecting you from a double booking, an overloaded kitchen, or a promise you cannot keep.

Start here: the three quick checks

Before reading the whole list, check these, in this order:

Is the date right? Look at the day of the week, not just the number.
Is the pax right? Tabledoo only offers tables big enough. Six people will see far fewer times than two.
Are you open that day? A day marked closed offers nothing at all.

That covers most cases. If not, work down the list below.

Reasons to do with your opening hours

What you see	Why
No times at all for that day	You are closed that weekday, or you have not set your opening hours yet. See Operating hours.
Early times missing	The booking would start before you open.
Late times missing	The booking would still be running after you close. Tabledoo counts the whole booking, not just its start — a two-hour booking cannot start 90 minutes before closing. A shorter duration often unlocks it.

Reasons to do with tables

The table is already booked for a period that overlaps. Tabledoo compares the whole booking — start time plus duration — so a 19:00 booking of two hours blocks that table until 21:00, and no 20:00 booking will fit.
Guests are sitting there now, or have arrived and are about to be.
The table is too small for the party.
No single table is big enough. You will see "No single table seats this party — merge tables or adjust the booking." Put two tables together instead: see Merging tables for a large party.
The table is switched off. A table that has been deactivated, or a temporary table that has expired, is not offered. Check Property Settings → Tables.
The table is being held for an unassigned booking. A booking with no table yet still reserves room for itself, so the table is provisionally held. That is what stops you overselling. See Unassigned bookings and the assignment tray.
An event has taken the table. A published event blocks the tables it uses, and you will see Held for event. See What the Events module is for.

Reasons to do with your own rules

Rule	What it does
Minimum notice	Stops bookings being made too close to the time. If it is set to two hours, nothing inside the next two hours is offered. Guests booking on your public page usually have a stricter rule than your staff do — that is deliberate.
How far ahead	Stops bookings too far in the future — "up to 30 days in advance", for example.
Smallest and largest party	A party outside these numbers is refused outright, with a message saying the allowed range.
Pacing	A cap on how many guests may start in one time slot, to protect the kitchen. Slots that would break it disappear from the public page and from your staff pickers. Staff creating one anyway are warned but allowed to continue.
Seatings	If that weekday uses named service windows, only those windows are offered. See Rolling slots versus fixed seatings.

All of these live in Property Settings → Restaurant and are listed with recommended values in Booking rules reference.

Three differences worth knowing

Walk-ins ignore the notice rules. Somebody standing in front of you obviously gave no notice. Walk-ins still respect table and capacity checks. See Walk-ins.
Your staff see more than your guests. The public page silently hides anything that does not fit. Staff sometimes get a warning instead and can decide to go ahead — you know things Tabledoo does not.
Two people cannot take the last table. If two bookings are submitted for the same last slot at the same instant, exactly one succeeds and the other is told the slot has gone. You will never find a double booking caused by timing.

Still stuck?

Work through No times are available, which turns this page into a checklist with the setting to change at each step.