Appointment-Only Days

Appointment-only days let a venue pause public self-booking for a date without treating the day as completely unavailable. Customers cannot choose a normal online time for that date. Instead, the storefront can show a message and collect an enquiry with the selected services, date, and professional context.

TL;DR

• Appointment-only mode is available for whole-venue all-day blocks.
• Public online times are hidden for the date, but customers can send an enquiry or join the waitlist fallback.
• The calendar shows a By appointment only banner with Restore online booking.
• Staff can still create manual bookings, subject to normal calendar conflicts.

How appointment-only days work

Appointment-only days create an active booking day policy for one date. OpenChair stores the policy separately from the closure so the storefront can return an appointment-only state instead of ordinary availability.

Surface	What happens
Calendar	The date shows a By appointment only banner. Owners can restore online booking from the banner.
Public booking flow	The date shows the customer message or This day is by appointment only. Send an enquiry to request a time.
Customer enquiry	The request keeps the selected services, date, and professional in the enquiry payload.
Manual scheduling	Staff can still create or manage bookings internally, with normal conflict checks.

Make a day appointment only on web

Use the calendar's day block-out flow to make a date request-only.

1. Open Calendar.
2. Click Block out time.
3. In Block out a day or longer, choose Whole venue.
4. Turn on All day.
5. Choose the date.
6. Under client booking response, choose Let clients request.
7. Choose the customer message mode and add a custom message if needed.
8. Click Block out time, Review affected bookings, or Create series, depending on the selected range and conflicts.

Appointment requests are only available for whole-venue all-day blocks. If the block is for specific staff or part of a day, the flow stays as a normal closure or time off block.

Make a day request-only on mobile

On mobile, use the Block out day sheet from the Schedule calendar.

1. Open Schedule.
2. Open Block out day.
3. Choose Venue under Who is unavailable?.
4. Choose the start and end date.
5. Under client booking response, choose Request only.
6. Add an optional Customer message and Internal note.
7. Tap Make request only.

Mobile also explains that appointment requests are available for whole-venue all-day blocks.

What customers see

Customers cannot select a normal self-booking time on an appointment-only date. The availability step shows the appointment-only message and a request path.

Customer state	What appears
Venue can receive enquiries	The customer sees an enquiry form and Send request.
Enquiry form is not available	The fallback button can show Join the waitlist.
Custom customer message exists	The custom message appears instead of the default appointment-only copy.
Suggested requestable slots exist	The form can include Preferred times options.

After the request path appears, the page tells customers: Your selected services, date, and professional stay in the request.

Restore online booking

Restore online booking when the date should go back to normal public availability.

1. Open Calendar on the appointment-only date.
2. Find the By appointment only banner.
3. Click Restore online booking.

If restore fails, the recovery action shows Restore again. If no active appointment-only policy exists for the date, the server returns No appointment-only day found for this date.

Who can use this

Role	Access
Owner	Can create and clear appointment-only day policies.
Manager	Can use the calendar block-out flow according to normal calendar permissions, but policy save uses owner-level access.
Team	Can see the calendar impact and handle manual bookings according to normal booking permissions.
Customer	Can send an enquiry or join the fallback path when the public booking flow marks the date as appointment-only.

Common mistakes

Mistake	What to do instead
Trying to make only one staff member request-only from this flow	Use staff-specific request-only scheduling when documenting staff weekdays. Appointment-only days are whole-venue all-day blocks.
Expecting the date to disappear completely	The date remains visible so customers can request a time instead of self-booking.
Forgetting to restore online booking	Use Restore online booking on the calendar banner when the date should reopen.
Expecting existing bookings to disappear	Existing bookings stay visible so the team can handle them manually.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Let clients request is not available	Confirm the block is Whole venue and All day. Appointment requests are not available for staff-only or partial-day blocks.
Customers still cannot book after restore	Refresh public availability and confirm the By appointment only banner is gone for that date.
The request form does not appear	The storefront may fall back to Join the waitlist depending on available venue contact settings.
Existing bookings conflict with the closure	Review affected bookings. On mobile, Create and keep bookings leaves those bookings visible for manual handling.
Customer message is missing	Add a custom customer message in the block-out flow. Without one, OpenChair uses the default appointment-only copy.

FAQ

What is an appointment-only day?

An appointment-only day is a whole-venue all-day block where public booking times are hidden and customers are invited to send an enquiry instead.

How do I make a day appointment only?

Open the calendar block-out flow, choose a whole-venue all-day block, set clients to request-only, add an optional customer message, then save the block.

Can I restore online booking for that day?

Yes. On the calendar, use Restore online booking on the By appointment only banner for that date.

Can staff still create bookings on appointment-only days?

Yes. Appointment-only days hide public self-bookable slots, but internal manual bookings still use the normal calendar conflict checks.

Related Articles

• Blocking Out Time
• Using the Calendar
• Booking an Appointment Online
• Smart Waitlist & Gap Filling