Booking rules & cancellation policy
Configure lead times, cancellation windows, and the studio rules customers must agree to.
Booking rules protect you from last-minute bookings you can't accommodate and same-day cancellations that leave the room empty. They're shown to customers on the booking page and captured in the booking record (so you have receipts if there's a dispute).
Configure rules
Admin → Settings → Bookings.
Lead times
- Minimum lead time — how far in advance customers can book. Common: 2–24 hours.
- Maximum lead time — how far in the future customers can book. Common: 90 days.
Cancellation window
- Free cancellation window — how long before the session a customer can cancel without losing the deposit. Common: 48 or 72 hours.
- Inside the window: they forfeit the deposit. You can override per-booking.
Studio rules
Free-form text shown on the booking page and on every confirmation email. Customers tick "I agree" before payment — this is your damage policy, equipment use rules, food/alcohol rules, etc.
Pro tip: keep it scannable. 6–8 short rules beats a 3-paragraph legal block. Customers won't read the long version.
Buffers (setup + breakdown)
Per-room in Rooms → [room] → Edit:
- Setup buffer — minutes blocked before every booking so you can prep
- Breakdown buffer — minutes blocked after every booking for cleanup
A 2-hour booking with a 15-min setup and 15-min breakdown blocks 2.5 hours on the calendar but the customer only sees and pays for 2 hours.
Customer messaging
- Booking confirmation — auto-sent at booking
- Reminder email — sent 24 hours out
- Access instructions — sent after the 48hr deposit auth succeeds (includes door code, parking, etc.)
Customize these in Admin → Email Branding — see Email branding.
Common mistakes
- Minimum lead time too tight — if you set it to 0 hours, expect last-minute bookings you can't staff. Default to 2 hours minimum.
- Cancellation window too loose — 7 days of free cancellation means customers will book early and cancel often. 48hr is the sweet spot.
- Forgetting buffers — leads to back-to-back bookings with no cleanup time. Even 10 minutes helps.