An event can be offered at several lengths, for example 60 minutes as the default plus 90 and 120 minute options. Each duration carries its own pricing categories and tiers, so a longer session can cost more or use different categories. Customers pick a time slot and then a duration on the booking site, and staff pick one when booking from the console.
Getting started
Open Events > Event settings, choose Edit event on an event, and switch to the Pricing tab. Durations live inside the Pricing categories section.
How it works
Durations are configured wherever pricing is configured, and they follow the same ownership rules as pricing:
- Event pricing sets the durations every slot of the event offers by default.
- Custom pricing on a booking slot gives that slot its own durations and categories, independent of the event. See Booking slots.
- Custom pricing on a schedule template carries the template's durations onto every slot the schedule generates. See Booking schedules.
One duration is the default. Its categories are the ones a customer sees first and the ones used when durations are switched off. Every other duration has its own set of categories and tiers. Durations are always listed in ascending order with the default marked.
When a duration is booked, the booking takes that length. The slot's end time moves to match, so availability, resource checks and automatic blocking all use the real length of the booking. A public slot with several groups spans its longest group.
Step-by-step guide
Turn on multiple durations for an event
- On the Pricing tab, find the Pricing categories section
- Switch Enable multiple durations on
- The categories already configured become the default duration, shown as a pill with the event's length and the word (default)
- Click Add duration, type the length in minutes, and press Enter or click the check mark. Whole minutes only; a length that already exists is refused
- Select the new duration's pill and configure its categories and tiers with Add category and Add tier
- Repeat for each length to offer
- Click Save
Each duration needs at least one category with at least one priced tier before the event can be saved.
Change the default or remove a duration
- Select a duration pill that is not the default
- Click Set N min as the default to make it the default. The previous default keeps its categories and becomes a regular duration
- Click Remove this duration to delete the duration and its pricing categories. A confirmation asks before anything is removed
- Click Save
The default duration cannot be removed while it is the default; make another duration the default first.
Set durations on a single booking slot
- Open the slot in the booking drawer from any bookings view, or create a new slot with Create time slot
- In the Slot pricing section click Edit pricing, or on a new slot switch Enable custom pricing on
- In Pricing categories, switch Enable multiple durations on and add durations exactly as on the event
- Click Save
The slot's own durations replace the event's for that slot only. The Slot pricing summary on an unbooked slot lists them in a Durations row.
Set durations on a schedule template
- Open Schedules from the sidebar and edit or create a booking schedule
- Open a slot's settings, click Edit pricing in the Slot pricing section, and switch Enable custom pricing on
- In Pricing categories, switch Enable multiple durations on and add durations
- Save the schedule
Every slot the schedule generates carries the template's durations and categories. The Slot pricing summary on a template slot lists them in a Durations row.
Book a duration from the console
A Duration selector appears in every console booking flow whenever the chosen slot offers more than one length:
- Create booking in the booking drawer
- Add booking on a transaction, opened from Add new > Booking on the transaction's All Purchases tab
- The Basket tab when creating a transaction, under each booking's date and time
- Reschedule in the booking drawer and the inline booking editor on a transaction
Pick a duration and the ticket categories switch to that duration's set with its prices. On a reschedule the selector starts on the booking's current length when the new slot offers it, otherwise on the new slot's default.
How customers pick a duration
On the booking site, after choosing a time slot, a Duration row lists the available lengths as buttons. The default is preselected. Choosing another length swaps the ticket categories and prices to that duration's set before the participant counts are entered.
Reference
Duration controls
| Control | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Enable multiple durations | Pricing categories section, on the event, a slot or a schedule template | Master switch. Off means the default categories apply and no duration selector is shown |
| Duration pills | Below the switch | One pill per duration, ascending, default marked. Selecting a pill shows that duration's categories |
| Add duration | Next to the pills | Adds a length in whole minutes. Enter confirms, Escape cancels |
| Set N min as the default | Under the pills, selected duration | Makes the selected duration the default |
| Remove this duration | Under the pills, selected duration | Removes the duration and its categories after a confirmation |
Where booked durations show
| Surface | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Booking drawer header | The booking's time window. On a public slot a group's tab shows that group's own window and length |
| Slot pricing summary | Durations row with every length offered, and Booked duration on a booked slot |
| Public booking overview | Each group's length next to its guest count |
| Schedule template slot summary | Durations row with the template's lengths |
Good to know
- Cancelling a booking, or moving it to another slot, returns the freed slot to its default length.
- A public slot spans its longest group. When that group leaves, the slot shrinks to the next longest or back to the default.
- Switching Enable multiple durations off keeps only the default duration's categories. The other durations and their categories are removed on save.
- A booking made before durations were switched on keeps its original length and shows that length in the drawer.
- Tiered resource holds that are measured from a slot's start stretch by the extra minutes of a longer booking, so a 90 minute booking holds its resources 30 minutes longer than a 60 minute default.
FAQ
Q: Do all durations need the same categories?
A: No. Each duration has its own categories and tiers. A 60 minute session can sell Adult and Child while a 120 minute session sells a single Team category.
Q: What happens to existing bookings when I change the durations?
A: Nothing. Existing bookings keep the length and price they were booked with. Changes apply to new bookings only.
Q: Can a customer change the duration after booking?
A: Not on the booking site. Staff can move the booking with Reschedule in the booking drawer and pick a different length there.