Resources (Rooms & Equipment)
Define the rooms, chairs, machines, and other physical assets your venue needs to deliver services. OpenChair uses resources to prevent double-bookings, manage blocked time, and support resource-only services without inventing fake staff members.
Where to find it
Web: Sidebar -> Resources
Mobile: More -> Resources
Overview
Resources let you:
- Create named resources with a capacity, category, priority, and lifecycle state
- Group similar resources into categories so services can use any eligible item in a pool
- Set category or resource hours and add blocked time for maintenance or downtime
- Support both staff-led and resource-only services
- Prevent double-bookings by assigning concrete resource reservations to bookings
- Review operational health, repairs, activity, and utilization insights from the resource hub
Note
Resource management requires a PRO subscription.
Core Mental Model
- Resource: a specific room, chair, bed, machine, or space
- Category: a pool of interchangeable resources, such as
Treatment Rooms
- Resource-only eligible: the resource can be used by services configured as
Resource-only
- Preferred order: choose lower-priority-number resources first
- Balanced rotation: spread bookings more evenly across a category
Customers still book services, not named rooms or machines.
Creating a Resource
On web
- Go to Resources.
- Click Add Resource.
- Fill in the resource form:
| Field |
Required |
Notes |
| Name |
Yes |
Internal name, 2-100 characters |
| Capacity |
Yes |
Concurrent capacity for the resource |
| Preferred order |
Yes |
Lower numbers are chosen first when the category uses Preferred order |
| Category |
No |
Optional pool such as Treatment Rooms or Saunas |
| Resource-only eligible |
No |
Turn on if this resource can be used by Resource-only services |
- Click Create Resource.
On mobile
- Go to More -> Resources.
- Tap Add Resource.
- Fill in the same fields.
- Tap Create Resource.
Managing Categories
Categories help OpenChair allocate any eligible resource from a pool rather than one fixed item.
For each category you can:
- rename or archive it
- set default weekly hours
- choose an assignment strategy:
- Preferred order
- Balanced rotation
Use Preferred order when your team wants predictable priority. Use Balanced rotation when you want usage spread more evenly across similar resources.
Setting Availability and Blocked Time
Resources now support:
- Category hours: default availability for all resources in the pool
- Resource hours: override the category only when a specific resource needs different hours
- Blocked time: take a resource offline for cleaning, maintenance, repairs, or private use
OpenChair uses resource hours plus blocked time when offering slots and assigning resources.
Assigning Resources to Services
Go to Services and configure resource requirements in the service form.
You can assign:
- a specific resource
- a category or pool
- the quantity required
You can also choose the service booking mode:
- Staff-led: normal service booking with staff plus any required resources
- Resource-only: no staff selection, but valid resource availability is still required
Tip
Keep most normal salon services Staff-led. Use Resource-only only when the resource itself is the operational constraint, such as a sauna session, float room, or studio booking.
How Availability Works
When OpenChair calculates a slot, it checks:
- venue business hours
- service booking mode
- category or resource availability rules
- blocked time
- existing resource reservations and capacity
If any required resource cannot be satisfied, the slot is not offered.
For pooled categories:
Preferred order follows resource priorityBalanced rotation spreads usage more evenly across eligible resources
Calendar and Operations
Resource operations are visible in the calendar and resource hub:
- see resource bookings and blocked time
- reassign supported bookings
- preview impact before archiving, deactivating, or changing hours
- repair bookings that no longer match current resource rules
- review recent activity and operational health
Insights
The resource hub also shows:
- occupancy
- idle capacity
- blocked-time volume
- override and repair pressure
- bottleneck categories
- underused resources
- lightweight guidance for tuning hours, pooling, and assignment strategy
Editing or Deleting Resources
Edit
Update the resource name, capacity, priority, category, or Resource-only eligible flag.
Deactivate or archive
Prefer these for live venues. OpenChair previews future impact before saving.
Delete
Only delete resources that are no longer in use. Deleting removes the resource permanently.
Best Practices
- Start with categories for any interchangeable rooms or equipment
- Use
Preferred order when teams care about predictable room choice
- Use
Balanced rotation when wear, cleaning load, or utilization fairness matters
- Reserve
Resource-only for services that truly do not need a staff member
- Use blocked time instead of fake bookings for maintenance and downtime
- Check the resource hub regularly for health issues, repairs, and bottlenecks