Booking Types
SlotBase supports several booking types to cover the full range of activities at a sports facility. Each type serves a different purpose and may have different rules for who can create it, how it appears on the calendar, and how it interacts with scheduling.
Types at a Glance
| Type | Created By | Player-Facing | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Play | Player or Admin | Yes | Standard session booked by a player for general use |
| Lesson | Player (via coach) or Admin | Yes | One-on-one or small-group coaching session |
| League | Admin | Yes | Match or practice scheduled as part of a league |
| Tournament | Admin | Yes | Session booked as part of a tournament event |
| Private | Admin | Yes | Exclusive reservation of a resource for private use |
| Block | Coach or Admin | No | Coach availability block; not a player session |
| Maintenance | Admin | No | Facility downtime for repairs, cleaning, or setup |
Open Play
Open Play is the most common booking type. It represents a standard session where a player reserves a resource (court, field, room) for a specific time.
- Who can create it: Players through the public booking flow, or admins on behalf of a player.
- Calendar appearance: Standard booking color for the assigned resource.
- Approval: Subject to facility approval settings (if enabled).
- Payment: Standard facility rates apply.
This is the default booking type when a player books through the normal flow.
Lesson
A Lesson is a coaching session booked through a coach's availability. Lessons connect a player with a coach at a specific resource and time.
- Who can create it: Players book lessons by selecting from a coach's available time blocks. Admins can also create lessons manually.
- Calendar appearance: Displayed with the coach's name and a lesson indicator.
- Approval: May require coach or facility approval depending on settings.
- Payment: Uses the coach's pricing, which may differ from standard facility rates.
Coaches must first set up availability blocks before players can book lessons. See Coaching for details on how coaches manage their schedules.
League
League bookings are sessions tied to a league schedule. They are typically created in bulk by an admin when setting up a league season.
- Who can create it: Admins only.
- Calendar appearance: Labeled with the league name and marked distinctly from standard bookings.
- Approval: Not required (admin-created).
- Payment: May be covered by league registration fees or billed separately.
League bookings are usually created as part of the league setup process. If you are managing a league, you can generate the full season schedule and have all bookings created automatically.
Tournament
Tournament bookings reserve resources for tournament matches and events. Like league bookings, they are typically generated as part of the tournament setup.
- Who can create it: Admins only.
- Calendar appearance: Labeled with the tournament name and round information.
- Approval: Not required (admin-created).
- Payment: Typically covered by tournament registration fees.
Tournament bookings may span multiple resources simultaneously (e.g., all courts blocked for a weekend tournament).
Private
A Private booking reserves a resource for exclusive use. This is used when a player or group wants guaranteed sole access to a court or field, without sharing it with other players.
- Who can create it: Admins only. Players may request private bookings by contacting the facility.
- Calendar appearance: Marked with a private indicator to show the resource is exclusively reserved.
- Approval: Not required (admin-created).
- Payment: May carry premium pricing depending on facility policy.
Private bookings differ from Open Play in that they guarantee exclusive use. An Open Play booking may share a resource with other players (depending on the resource's capacity), while a Private booking does not.
Block
A Block is a time reservation made by a coach to indicate their availability for lessons. Blocks are not player sessions -- they are the time windows within which players can book lessons.
- Who can create it: Coaches (through their dashboard) or admins.
- Calendar appearance: Shown as a coach availability window, often with a distinct color or pattern.
- Approval: May require facility approval for the coach to use the resource.
- Payment: No direct payment. Payment occurs when a player books a lesson within the block.
Blocks reserve resource time even though no player session is scheduled. If a block goes unfilled, the resource time is unavailable to other players. Coaches should manage their blocks to reflect realistic availability.
Maintenance
Maintenance bookings block off resource time for facility upkeep -- cleaning, repairs, equipment setup, or any non-player activity.
- Who can create it: Admins only.
- Calendar appearance: Displayed with a maintenance indicator. Clearly distinguished from player bookings.
- Approval: Not applicable.
- Payment: Not applicable.
Maintenance bookings prevent players from booking the resource during that time. They are not visible to players in the public booking calendar -- players simply see the slot as unavailable.
Booking Type and the Player Experience
Players primarily interact with two booking types:
| Type | How Players Book |
|---|---|
| Open Play | Select a time slot on the public calendar and confirm |
| Lesson | Browse a coach's available blocks and book a lesson |
All other types (League, Tournament, Private, Block, Maintenance) are created by admins or coaches and appear on the calendar as scheduled events that players cannot directly book.