How to Limit Group Bookings to One Reservation per Slot

Group bookings are perfect for businesses offering private sessions, tables, or events where only one reservation should be allowed per timeslot, regardless of the number of people in that group. With this setup, you can let customers select how many people are attending while making sure no one else can book that same time once it's taken. This guide will walk you through every step to configure your service to support exclusive group bookings.

Step 1: Set the Maximum Number of People Per Timeslot

To define how many people can book a service in total (regardless of how many customers are making the reservations), you’ll need to set a booking limit per timeslot.

1. Go to Apps

2. Go to Cowlendar Dashboard

3. Go to My Services.

4. Click the Edit button on the service you want to configure.

1. Open the Advanced tab.

2. Look for the setting Booking limit per timeslot.

1. Set the maximum number (e.g. 12) — this is the total number of people allowed for that timeslot.

Hint: This feature ensures your timeslots are only available to one group at a time, no matter the size of the group.

Step 2: Allow Customers to Choose the Group Size

Now you’ll configure a quantity picker so customers can choose how many people they are booking for.

1. Go to the main Settings menu from the dashboard.

2. Click on General Settings.

3. Scroll down to Quantity on service.

1. Create a new rule.

2. Select the service you just edited.

3. Set a Minimum quantity (e.g. 5) and a Maximum quantity (e.g. 12).

Hint: Make sure the minimum quantity reflects the smallest group size allowed for a booking.

Step 3: Block the Timeslot Once Booked

To ensure that only one booking is allowed per timeslot regardless of quantity, you’ll use an advanced booking rule.

1. In the dashboard, go to Settings.

2. Click on Advanced Settings.

3. Select Booking Rules.

4. Click New Rule.

1. Under Service 1, choose the service you edited.

2. Under Service 2, choose the same service again.

3. In the Rule section, select Block booking after reaching limit.

4. In the field Number of bookings, set the minimum depending on your configuration (e.g. 5)

5. Keep Count bookings by set to Timeslot.

This configuration ensures that after a single group books a slot, no one else can book the same slot, regardless of how many people they selected.

Final Thoughts

By combining these three settings, you’re offering flexible group bookings while maintaining full control over slot availability. This is ideal for private events, table reservations, classes, or any scenario where the presence of one group should block others from booking at the same time.

Hint: This feature is available in Pro Plan and works especially well for exclusive services or VIP-style experiences.

Feel free to reach out if you need help customizing this setup further!