Determining the availability of products

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Learn how to set up product availability, including who it is available to, how it is booked, when it is available, and how to manage booking rules.

New to the Product Builder? Read the first article in this series for an introduction to the Product feature.

 

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Inventory > Products > Products > Add Product/Add New Product/Edit Product > Availability

What prerequisites are there?

• Admin permissions to manage inventory or restricted permissions to View products and assets and Manage products and assets.
  
  

Which Checkfront version supports this feature - classic, new, or both?

• Your account must have access to products (Inventory > Products), a key feature of our newest version of Checkfront.
  

 

New to Checkfront - Products ✨ Products (Inventory > Products) is the successor feature to (Inventory > Items) and is available in our newest version of Checkfront. Not yet on our newest version and interested in upgrading? Please get in touch with our Technical Support team for more information. Discover more product-related help articles here: Products (New). Accessing help articles related to products (new version) What are the differences between the Item Builder and the new Product Builder? Understanding product terminology

 

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Within this step of the Product Builder, you can determine...

• who the product is available to (guest types).
• how the product is booked (all day, nightly, timeslots or flextime).
• when the product is available (or unavailable).
• how to manage booking rules on availability.
• how to determine availability based on guest types.

 

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Guest types allow you to allocate inventory by type, specify price points for your product by type, and collect Guest information for guest forms, for example, Seniors, Adults, Youth, Children or simply Guests.

Start typing in the field to create a new guest type or select a pre-existing guest type from the drop-down list. Select one or more to associate with your product.

You can then configure rates per Guest type from the Pricing tab of the Product Builder.

 

Determines how the product is booked and later priced. Choose between All Day, Nightly, Timeslots or Flextime.

 

Keep in mind, that bookings depend on a combination of inventory numbers and availability settings. For example, you may have several timeslots available for a given day, but if you have fixed inventory or inventory based on a limited number of assets, the day becomes disabled within the booking calendar, once all your inventory is booked.

 

Configure your product to be booked All Day. This setting is used for full-day or multi-day experiences. Most commonly used for tours and rentals.

 

Configure your product to be booked Nightly. This setting is used for experiences booked per night with next-day check-outs. Most commonly used for hotels and campsites.

 

Configure your product to be booked by Timeslots. Timeslots are used for bookings with fixed start and end times. Timeslots are most commonly used for tours and activities.

 

Configuring timeslot display settings

Timeslot display settings determine how your Guests see timeslots on the Booking page. The preview window to the right of the settings gives you a sense of how those timeslot options look to those making the booking. 

 

Setting	Description
Dropdown display	Select to have timeslot options displayed within a drop-down menu. Leave unselected to display timeslot options as buttons.
Show end times	Select to show the start and end times of the timeslot e.g. 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM. Leave unselected to display only the start time e.g. 09:00 AM.
Show unavailable items	Select to show unavailable timeslots to the Guests. Unavailable timeslots are greyed out. Leave unselected to hide unavailable timeslots.

 

Configured your product to offer flexible booking options. This setting is used for experiences with flexible start and end times resulting in flexibility with durations. Most commonly used for rentals.

 

Determines at what time increments your product is available. Options always start at the top of the hour. Increments range in length from 10 mins, 15 mins,  20 mins to 1 hr. The booking duration is flexible, so Guests can select one or more sequential increments.

 

Setting	Number of Increments	Length	Start Times	Examples
10 mins	6	10 minutes	:00, :10, :20, :30, :40, :50 every hour	09:00 am - 09:10 am 09:10 am - 09:30 am
15 mins	4	15 minutes	:00, 15, :30 and :45 every hour	09:00 am - 09:10 am 09:15 am - 09:45 am
20 mins	3	20 minutes	:00, :20 and :40 every hour	09:00 am - 09:20 am 09:20 am - 10:00 am
30 mins	2	30 minutes	:00, and :30 every hour	09:00 am - 09:30 am 09:30 am - 10:30 am
Hourly	1	60 minutes	:00 every hour	09:00 am -> 10:00 am 10:00 am -> 12:00 pm

 

Availability events are used to determine the dates and times your product is available or unavailable. Your product is not available until you add an availability event.

There are two types of availability events - availability and closure.

• Availability events determine when the product is available for booking with the option to modify the base price of your product during those select periods.
• Closure events determine when the product is unavailable for booking, allowing you to block the product from your booking calendar for a specified period e.g. for an off-season or maintenance period.

 

An event can only be associated with one product. Events associated with multiple products are not supported at this time.

 

An event may not be created or updated if overlapping another event. Events are considered to be overlapping if they are applied to the same date span and applicable days of the week. However, you can create availability events that share the same date span and applicable days of the week, if using timeslots that DO NOT overlap.

 

Configuration options vary slightly, depending on how your product is booked - all day, nightly, via timeslots or using flextime. See below.

 

Is your product configured all day or nightly? Then, follow these steps to create a new availability event.

1. Select Availablity from the Create New drop-down menu. This opens the Create an Availability Event modal.
2. Specify the Event Name. For example, Summer 2023. Rate names have a 13-character limit.
3. Select the Date Range. Start by typing into the field to open the calendar selection tool. From the calendar, select the Start Date and then the End Date of your event e.g. 08/31/23 -> 08/31/23. You can make the product available indefinitely by clicking X Remove End Date. The product is then always available.
4. Choose which Days of the Week are applicable to the event e.g. Thursday (T), Friday (F), Saturday (S), and Sunday (S). Days that are greyed out are NOT available for booking.
5. Apply any booking rules to your event e.g. Min or Max booking Durations.
6. Specify the minimum or the maximum number of guest types, where applicable. These are optional but can be configured by guest total or by guest type. You can also choose whether to apply these to Customer bookings only, Staff-side bookings only, or both. Learn more below.
7. Save your changes. The event is now active and appears within your Availability Events list. 

 

Is your product configured with timeslots? Then, follow these steps to create a new availability event.

1. Select Availablity from the Create New drop-down menu. This opens the Create an Availability Event modal.
2. Specify the Event Name. For example, Summer 2023. Rate names have a 13-character limit.
3. Select the Date Range. Start by typing into the field to open the calendar selection tool. From the calendar, select the Start Date and then the End Date of your event e.g. 07/01/22 -> 08/31 /22.  You can make the product available indefinitely by clicking X Remove End Date. The product is then always available.
4. Do you need to add any new timeslots to support this event? Then, do so now by specifying the time range and days applicable. You can add as many timeslots as needed by clicking the + Add Timeslot button and specifying a time range.
5. Choose which Days of the Week are applicable to the event for each timeslot e.g. Thursday (T), Friday (F), Saturday (S), and Sunday (S). Days that are greyed out are NOT available for booking.
6. Apply any booking rules to your event - Booking Window or Cutoff Window rules.
7. Specify the minimum or the maximum number of guest types, where applicable. These are optional but can be configured by guest total or by guest type. You can also choose whether to apply these to Customer bookings only, Staff-side bookings only, or both. Learn more below.
8. Save your changes. The event is now active and appears within your Availability Events list. 

 

Is your product configured with flextime? Then, follow these steps to create a new availability event.

1. Select Availablity from the Create New drop-down menu. This opens the Create an Availability Event modal.
2. Specify the Event Name. For example, Summer 2023. Rate names have a 13-character limit.
3. Select the Date Range. Start by typing into the field to open the calendar selection tool. From the calendar, select the Start Date and then the End Date of your event e.g. 06/01/22 -> 08/31/22. You can make the product available indefinitely by clicking X Remove End Date. The product is then always available.
4. Do you need to enforce a fixed start time for all bookings? Then, enable Fixed Start Time.

   This setting establishes the start time for all bookings according to the configured time, for example, 09:00 AM.

   Bookings must start at the same time, but can be of different durations depending on the increments you have configured and the Guest's selection, for example, 09:00 AM - 10:00 AM for a short kayak rental or 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM for a longer experience.

5. When can this product be booked? Determine when this product can be booked - using Business Hours or Custom hours. Business hours are configured within Calendar settings. Custom hours can be configured outside of business hours via the settings provided. 
6. Apply any booking rules to your event e.g. Min or Max booking Durations.
7. Specify the minimum or the maximum number of guest types, where applicable. These are optional but can be configured by guest total or by guest type. You can also choose whether to apply these to Customer bookings only, Staff-side bookings only, or both. Learn more below.
8. Save your changes. The event is now active and appears within your Availability Events list. 

 

To create a new Closure Event, follow these steps:

1. Select Closure from the Create New drop-down menu. This opens the Create a Product Closure modal.
2. Specify a unique Event Name. For example, Fall Maintenance. Rate names have a 13-character limit.
3. Select the Date Range. Start by typing into the field to open the calendar selection tool. From the calendar, select the Start Date and then the End Date of your event e.g. 10/01/22 -> 10/31/22.
4. Choose which Days of the Week are applicable to the event e.g. Monday (M), Tuesday (T), Wednesday (W), Thursday (T) and Friday (F). Days that are highlighted in blue are closed. Days that are greyed out are AVAILABLE for booking.
5. Save your changes. The closure event is now active and appears within your Availability Events list. 

 

Editing a product closure may impact other products that share that closure event, for example, if you modify the dates.

 

Product closures can be shared by more than one product. You can also manage product closures from the Product Closures list (Inventory > Product Closures) including determining which products the closures apply to. Learn more here... Introduction to product closures

 

Booking rule options vary depending on how your product is booked. They are configured with your Availablity Events, as mentioned above. Which rules are available depends on how your product is booked.

 

Setting	How this product is booked	Description	Options
Min Duration	Nightly, All Day, Flextime	Set if this product requires a minimum duration when being booked, e.g. minimum of 3 hours.	Do not apply min duration Apply to Staff Bookings Only Apply to Customer Bookings Only Apply to Customer & Staff Bookings
Max Duration	Nightly, All Day, Flextime	Set if this product requires a maximum duration when being booked, e.g. maximum of 10 hours.	Do not apply max duration Apply to Staff Bookings Only Apply to Customer Bookings Only Apply to Customer & Staff Bookings
Booking Window	Timeslots, Nightly, All Day, Flextime	Set how far in advance bookings can be made, e.g. 4 weeks. Availability falling OUTSIDE this window will be HIDDEN.	Do not apply Minutes Hours Days Weeks
Cutoff Window	Timeslots, Nightly, All Day, Flextime	Restrict bookings from being accepted too close to when the booking is meant to start, e.g. 2 days. Availability falling INSIDE this window will be HIDDEN.	Do not apply Minutes Hours Days Weeks

 

Set restrictions on the amount that can be added to a single booking. These restrictions are configured along with your availability events, as described above.

 

Min/Max by guest type

Specify a minimum (Min) or maximum (Max) per booking by guest type. For example, you may wish to require at least one adult to attend with every booking of one to five children.

1. Make sure you choose one or more guest types under Who is this product available to?.
2. Select the Min/Max by guest type option.
3. Choose to Apply to both customer & staff bookings, Apply to customer bookings only, or Apply to staff bookings only.
4. Next, set a Min (minimum) or Max (maximum) for each guest type.
5. Save your changes.

Min/Max by guest total

Specify a minimum or maximum per booking by guest Total. For example, you may wish to limit the total number of guests per booking to six, but they can be any combination of Adults and Children.

1. Select the Min/Max by guest total option.
2. First choose to Apply to both customer & staff bookings, Apply to customer bookings only, or Apply to staff bookings only.
3. Next, set a minimum (Min) or maximum (Max) per booking by the Total number of guest types.

 

Added product events are listed in table format with the following information displayed for each event.

You can sort your list of events in ascending (↑) or descending (v) order by clicking on the column headers within the table.

Value	Description
Name	The unique name of your event.
Type	The type of event - availability or closure.
Date Range	The dates the product event applies.
Status	The status of the availability event. Once created, an event is active, but is only applicable within the date range specified.
Edit	Click on the ellipses (...) at the end of the row to open the event in edit mode.
Copy	Click on the ellipses (...) at the end of the row and then the Copy option, to open a copy of the availability event. You can update the Event Name and other settings as needed. The event is active as soon as you save your availability event. This means, that if your product is also active, the event is immediately live!
Delete	Click on the ellipses (...) at the end of the row and then the Delete option to permanently delete the event. Once the event is deleted, the event cannot be re-activated!

 

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Once you Save the initial details (Name, SKU, and Category) of your product, you can navigate between the steps in the product builder via the links listed in the top navigation menu (Details, Inventory, Availablity, Pricing, Advanced) or in the footer of the page.

 

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The following options are available from the Actions menu at the top-right of the Product Builder.

 

Need to copy your product? Select this option from the Actions menu in the top-right corner of the Product Builder.

Click Copy to instantly create a duplicate, draft copy of the product in focus. Be sure to Save your copy via the navigation options in the footer of the Product Builder! 

Once saved, the copy can be found within the Products list prefixed with Copy of in the name of the product, for example, Copy of Kayak Rental. The copied product has a Draft status, so filter the Products list accordingly. A new SKU has been generated automatically, so you may need to update that value to match your identification system.

 

How do I copy a product?

 

If your product is already Active, you are presented with the option to Deactivate the Product.

 

The Deactivate Product option removes the product from your booking page. No new bookings can be accepted, but any future bookings already made for this product remain intact unless manually cancelled or changed.

 

Need to archive your product? Select this option from the Actions menu in the top-right corner of the Product Builder.

 

Archiving a product removes it from your booking page, and prevents you from changing its configuration. No new bookings can be created, but existing bookings for the product remain intact unless manually cancelled or changed.

 

Once Archived, the product can be found within the Products List with a status of Archived.

You can unarchive the product by editing the product and selecting the option to Unarchive from the warning at the top of the page or the Actions menu.

When a product is unarchived, it is given the status of Draft. This allows you to update the product before setting it to Active.

 

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Use this navigation option to move back a step in the Product Builder.

 

The Preview option allows you to view the product from the Customer's perspective within the Customer-facing booking page once the product is Active.

 

Allows you to save the progress you have made so far when building a product or any edits to your product.

This option becomes available, once the minimum required product information has been added.

 

Need to activate your product? Click the button the Activate Product button in the footer menu. Once your product is Active, it is displayed on the Customer Booking Page and bookings can be booked according to how you have configured your product.

This button is not visible if your product is already active.

 

What is the minimum amount of information I need to activate my product? This depends on your business needs, but the most basic product includes a product name, SKU, category with unlimited inventory, availability event, and a base rate. The Activate Product button becomes enabled once you have saved your initial updates. You can click the Activate Product button to receive additional guidance on what you need to configure before going live. Look for the warning icon (!) next to the button for guidance. Once activated, the product is bookable based on your settings including visibility - visible to everyone, staff only, or as an upsell.

 

You can deactivate your product via the Actions menu.

 

Navigate forward through the steps of the Product Builder. The Continue button is enabled once the minimum required product details are provided. 

 

 

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< Establishing inventory on products   |   Configuring pricing on products >

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