Resource slots

A resource slot is a time window for a specific resource — a room, a staff member, a piece of equipment — that booking slots can automatically consume when they're created. Resource slots let you model capacity: how many events one room can host at a time, who's on shift, which equipment is in use. They're optional infrastructure; you only need them if you want automatic resource assignment or resource-based blocking rules.

Getting started

Open any booking view (Bookings > Bookings) and either:

• Click Create new > Custom resource slot from the toolbar (available with resource_slots_update permission), or
• Go to the Resource calendar, click Create > New resource slot, or click a resource column header to edit an existing slot

How it works

Resource slots live on the Resource calendar and relate to booking slots through an assignment link. A booking slot "consumes" one or more resource slots for its duration. The match rules depend on the resource's configured priority, capacity, auto-block settings, and whether it's saturated (locked after the first assignment).

Two independent concepts live on a resource slot:

• Identity — what the resource is (a specific staff member, or an anonymous label like "Room A")
• Behavior — capacity, priority, and blocking rules that determine when this resource auto-blocks or auto-assigns to bookings

Every screen that touches resources uses the same side panel — the Resource slot drawer. 


You'll see it on the resource calendar, the event calendar, the kanban board, and the classic bookings list and booking calendar. It opens on the right side of the screen and keeps your calendar visible behind it. It replaces three older popups that each did things a little differently, so there's only one UI to learn.

The drawer has two sub-views:

• Detail view — the main edit form with 5 collapsible sections (Timing, Identity, Capacity, Blocking rules, Assignments)
• Activity log view — chronological history of changes and assignments, with the correct staff name on every action

From any booking, you can also open a side-by-side resource panel to assign or swap resources without leaving the booking. See the Assign a resource to a booking section in the Booking slots article for details.

Step-by-step guide

Create a custom resource slot

Only the timing fields (dates and times) are required. Everything else — identity label, category, capacity, blocking rules — has sensible defaults or can be left off.

1. Click Create new > Custom resource slot from the toolbar
2. The Resource slot drawer opens to the Detail view with the Timing and Identity sections expanded; the rest are collapsed by default
3. Under Timing, set:

• Start date (required)
• Start time (required; defaults to 10:00 AM for manual creation)
• End date (required)
• End time (required; defaults to 8:00 PM). End date/time must be after start date/time

1. Under Identity, use the segmented toggle to pick the resource mode:

• Staff member — links the resource to a specific user. Search by name or email in the autocomplete and select
• Anonymous — a labeled resource without a user. Enter a Resource label (e.g., "Room A", "Station 1")

1. (Optional) Assign a resource category. Category is not required — skip this step if you don't use categories:

• Toggle Add resource to category on. The category dropdown appears
• Pick an existing category from the dropdown, or choose + Create new category to add one inline (fill in name and color, then save)
• Use the gear icon next to the dropdown to manage categories later

1. (Optional) Expand Capacity to tune assignment logic:

• Assignment priority — 1 is highest. Only matters when multiple resources compete for the same booking. The default is fine for most setups
• Concurrent events — maximum bookings this resource can host at the same time. 0 disables assignments (useful as a soft close)

1. (Optional) Expand Blocking rules to enable automatic blocking and saturation. See the Enable auto-block, Enable auto-unblock, and Enable saturate-on-first-assignment sections below for details
2. Click Create resource slot

Tip: If you turn on Auto-block with Selected events and don't pick any events, a confirmation asks "No events will be blocked because none are associated with this slot. Save anyway?" — confirm only if that's what you want.

Edit an existing resource slot

1. On the Resource calendar, click the resource column header's edit icon, or open a booking that uses it and navigate from there
2. The Resource slot drawer opens to the Detail view, pre-filled
3. Expand any collapsible section and edit its fields
4. Click Save changes

Switch between Staff member and Anonymous resources

1. In the Identity section, use the segmented toggle: Staff member or Anonymous
2. Staff member links the resource to a specific user (reporting shows it under that user). The autocomplete searches your company users by name or email
3. Anonymous treats the resource as a named slot without a user (e.g., "Room A"). You set a Resource label

Configure assignment priority and capacity

1. Under Capacity, set Assignment priority: 1 is the highest priority (preferred first), higher numbers are used if lower-priority slots are full
2. Set Concurrent events: the maximum number of bookings this resource can host at the same time
3. When multiple resources match a booking, priority decides which is picked. If the preferred resource has concurrent capacity, it's used; otherwise the next priority down is tried

Enable auto-block

1. Under Blocking rules, toggle Auto-block events when this resource is missing on
2. Under Block slots with the following status, pick the status used for blocked slots (Blocked, Call to book, or whatever you've configured)
3. Toggle Include event start/end time in block rule if slots starting or ending at the same time should be treated as overlapping (prevents tail-end collisions)
4. Under Apply blocking rule to, pick All events or Selected events. For Selected events, pick one or more from the dropdown
5. Click Save changes

When auto-block is on, the system automatically blocks any booking slot at a time when this resource is unavailable. This is the workhorse of capacity management.

Enable auto-unblock

1. Under Blocking rules, toggle Auto-unblock when bookings change on
2. Save

When on, blocked slots automatically return to Available when resource capacity allows (e.g., a booking was cancelled and the resource is now free). Closed-period schedules override auto-unblock — slots inside a closed period stay blocked regardless.

Enable saturate-on-first-assignment (lock after first booking)

1. Under Blocking rules, toggle Lock resource after first assignment on
2. Save

Once any booking is assigned to this resource, it blocks all further events even if concurrent capacity remains. Useful for event types that need exclusive use of a room for the whole slot — the first booking "saturates" the resource.

Assign a resource to a booking

Resources are usually auto-assigned via auto-block rules and priority, but you can assign manually:

1. Open the resource slot for editing
2. Expand the Assignments section
3. Click Assign to a booking
4. Search for a booking by name or slot ID in the autocomplete and select
5. The assignment is added with the booking's name, slot id, and lock status
6. Save

Lock or unlock an assignment

1. In the Assignments list, each assignment row has a lock/unlock icon
2. Click it to toggle — the change saves instantly with a confirmation toast so nothing gets lost
3. Locked means auto-reassignment rules won't move this assignment elsewhere
4. Unlocked means the system is free to reassign if capacity or priority changes

Remove an assignment

1. In the Assignments list, click the X on any assignment row
2. Confirm in the prompt
3. The resource link is removed. The linked booking is unaffected but loses this resource

View the resource slot's activity log

1. In the Detail view of the drawer, click Activity log at the bottom
2. The view switches to a chronological list of changes: creation, edits, auto-block events, assignments, unassignments, and who did what

Delete a resource slot

1. In the Detail view, expand the Delete resource slot section at the bottom (visible only with resource_slots_delete permission)
2. Click Delete
3. The system first checks for active assignments. If any exist, the prompt warns you so you don't lose data by mistake
4. Confirm
5. The resource slot is removed. Any bookings previously linked to it retain their records but lose this resource

Reference

Resource slot drawer — sections

Timing fields

Identity fields

Capacity fields

Blocking rules fields

Assignments list

Each row in the Assignments section shows:

Permissions

Resource column header icons (on the Resource calendar)

Meanings you'll see on the resource calendar's column headers:

Good to know

• Resource categories are optional. You can create a resource slot without assigning a category. Categories are useful for grouping resources by type (rooms, staff, equipment) for reports and filtering. Toggle Add resource to category in the Identity section to assign one, or use the inline + Create new category option in the dropdown to add a new category on the fly.
• Priority is only consulted when multiple resources match a booking's needs. If only one resource matches, priority doesn't matter.
• A concurrent events count of 0 effectively closes the resource: no new assignments are allowed. Useful for temporarily disabling a room or staff member without deleting the slot.
• Auto-block pairs with Auto-unblock to keep your calendar honest as capacity changes (bookings cancelled, resources added, etc.). Turn both on for fully automatic capacity enforcement.
• Auto-unblock respects closed-period schedules. Slots inside an active closed period stay blocked even when capacity returns.
• Saturate-on-first-assignment is useful when a single booking claims the resource for the entire time window — for example, a private-reservation event in a dedicated room. It's the opposite of a resource with high concurrent capacity.
• Locking an assignment prevents the system from reassigning it automatically. Unlocked assignments are candidates for auto-reassignment when priorities or capacity change.
• Delete is permanent. Deleting a resource slot with active assignments leaves those bookings without this resource (but the bookings themselves stay intact).
• The activity log captures both manual edits and system-driven events (auto-block triggers, auto-assignments, cancellations), so it's a full audit trail.

FAQ

Q: What's the difference between a Staff member resource and an Anonymous resource?

A: Staff member links to a specific user in your company. Reporting attributes usage to that user, and scheduling can be constrained by their availability. Anonymous is a labeled resource that doesn't map to a user — for rooms, equipment, or generic "Station" slots.

Q: Do I have to use resource slots?

A: No. They're optional. Small operations with one room and fixed hours might not need them. Resource slots shine when you have multiple rooms, shared equipment, or staff-constrained events where automatic assignment and blocking save time.

Q: What does "Assignment priority" actually do?

A: When a customer books an event and multiple resources match the event's requirements, priority decides which is preferred. A resource with priority 1 is picked first; 2 is used if 1 is full; etc. Priority only matters when there are competing matches.

Q: What's the difference between Auto-block and Saturate-on-first-assignment?

A: Auto-block triggers when the resource has no remaining concurrent capacity — if you have 2 events that can run at once and both are booked, auto-block prevents a third. Saturate is stricter: as soon as the first booking is assigned, the resource is locked and won't accept any more, regardless of concurrent capacity.

Q: How do I see which resources are over- or under-used?

A: The Resource calendar shows a coverage bar on each resource's column header. The filled percentage is a quick visual for utilization. Full bars indicate over-subscribed resources (candidates for duplication); empty bars indicate under-used resources.

Q: What happens if I delete a resource slot that has assignments?

A: The resource slot is removed, and the linked bookings lose this resource but retain their records. No bookings are cancelled. Auto-block rules that referenced the deleted resource stop firing.

Q: Why is "Lock resource after first assignment" (saturate) on a resource I didn't set up?

A: It might have been enabled automatically as part of event-specific rules. Check the resource's Blocking rules section. Saturate is a common setting for private-reservation event types where the entire time window is consumed by one booking.

Q: Can a resource slot span multiple days?

A: Yes, set End date after Start date. This is useful for extended rentals or multi-day events.

Q: Does the "Concurrent events" count include the resource itself?

A: No. It's the number of bookings, not the count of resources. A resource with concurrent events = 2 can host 2 bookings at once, not 1.

Q: Do I have to pick a resource category?

A: No. The category is optional. Leave the Add resource to category toggle off and save — the resource slot works fine without a category. Categories are useful for grouping resources in reports or filtering, but aren't required for the scheduling or blocking logic to work.

Q: How do I create a new resource category?

A: In the Identity section, toggle Add resource to category on. In the dropdown, scroll to + Create new category and pick it. An inline form appears with Name and Color inputs. Save to add the category and assign it to the current slot. Use the gear icon next to the dropdown to manage existing categories.