Venue & Settings
Venue Pulse
Last updated 15 April 2026
Venue Pulse
Venue Pulse is the AI-powered insight card on your dashboard that highlights the single most important thing to know about your business right now, a cancellation spike, waitlist opportunity, quiet spell, or great day.
Where to find it. Web: The Venue Pulse card appears on the Dashboard (the page you land on after selecting a venue).
Mobile: The Venue Pulse card appears on the Today tab.
TL;DR
- Venue Pulse is visible to Owners and Managers only, staff do not see the card.
- Six insight types are shown in priority order. If none apply, the card doesn't appear (that's a good sign).
- The "Staff scheduling gap" insight requires PRO in addition to the Owner or Manager role.
- Dismissals last until midnight and reset daily, dismiss with the X button if you've already handled the insight.
Overview
Venue Pulse lets you:
- See a prioritised, real-time insight about today's business health at a glance
- Act on specific opportunities with one-tap actions (view schedule, view waitlist, share booking link)
- Dismiss an insight for the day if you have already addressed it
- Receive AI-generated observations with a practical next step when more context is useful
Venue Pulse is available on both web and mobile for Owners and Managers.
How Venue Pulse Works
Venue Pulse is not a static report. Every time the dashboard loads, OpenChair calculates live metrics from your bookings, waitlist, staff roster, and revenue, then selects the single highest-priority insight to display.
The dashboard refreshes metrics every 60 seconds automatically.
Insight types
Venue Pulse shows one insight at a time, chosen by priority. The highest-priority insight that matches your current data wins.
| Priority | Insight | When it appears | CTA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cancellation spike | More cancellations than usual today (detected via anomaly analysis) | View schedule |
| 2 | Open slots + waitlist match | You have open gaps AND clients on the waitlist | View waitlist |
| 3 | Staff scheduling gap | A team member has no bookings in the next 48 hours (PRO only) | View schedule |
| 4 | Revenue pace below target | This week's projected revenue is behind your average (detected via anomaly analysis) | None |
| 5 | Quiet day | Occupancy is below 50% | Share booking link |
| 6 | Great day | Occupancy is above 80% | None |
If no conditions match, Venue Pulse does not appear on the dashboard.
What each insight shows
Each Venue Pulse card displays:
- A coloured icon matching the insight type (e.g., red for cancellation spike, green for great day)
- A headline summarising the situation (e.g., "Cancellation spike", "3 open slots, 2 on waitlist", "Quiet day")
- A body with context and a suggested action
- An optional CTA button that takes you directly to the relevant screen
- A dismiss button (X icon) to hide the insight for the rest of the day
Insight examples
| Insight | Headline | Body |
|---|---|---|
| Cancellation spike | "Cancellation spike" | "More cancellations than usual today, review your upcoming schedule." |
| Open slots + waitlist | "3 open slots, 2 on waitlist" | "You have 3 open slots and 2 clients on the waitlist, a great time to fill your day." |
| Staff scheduling gap | "Staff scheduling gap" | "A team member has no bookings in the next 48 hours." |
| Revenue pace warning | "Revenue pace below target" | "This week's projected revenue is behind your average." |
| Quiet day | "Quiet day" | "Quiet day, share your booking link to fill open slots." |
| Great day | "Great day" | "Occupancy is excellent, keep up the great work." |
Data Sources
Venue Pulse analyses live data from multiple sources to determine which insight to show.
| Metric | How it is calculated | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Occupancy rate | Total booked minutes today divided by (active staff count x 8 hours), capped at 100% | Booking table + active staff |
| Available gaps | Count of 30-minute time slots where at least one staff member is free, from now until end of business day | Booking table + staff availability roster |
| Waitlist count | Count of waitlist entries with status "Pending" | Waitlist entries table |
| Revenue today | Sum of booking prices for confirmed, completed, and arrived bookings today | Booking table |
| Cancellation anomaly | Detected via anomaly analysis in reporting data | Reports anomaly detection |
| Revenue pace anomaly | Detected when weekly projected revenue is below average | Reports anomaly detection |
| Gap nudge | Identifies team members with no bookings in the next 48 hours | Concierge operator (PRO only) |
AI-Generated Insights
In addition to the structured insight cards, Venue Pulse can generate a personalised 2-sentence AI observation using your venue's metrics. The AI receives:
- Your occupancy rate, gap count, and waitlist count
- Today's revenue, pending revenue, and average transaction value
- Your guest mix (new vs returning) and top service category
- Your business type and market (AU, NZ, or GB)
The AI produces exactly two sentences: one observation about your current situation, and one practical tactic to try. The tone is supportive, quiet periods are framed as opportunities, not failures.
AI fallback behaviour
If the AI is temporarily unavailable, Venue Pulse falls back to a deterministic message based on your occupancy and waitlist data:
| Condition | Fallback message |
|---|---|
| Gaps available + clients on waitlist | "You have open slots and clients on the waitlist, a great time to contact clients with availability." |
| Occupancy below 50% | "Quiet day, a good time to share your booking link or reconnect with regulars." |
| Occupancy above 90% | "Occupancy is excellent, keep up the great work." |
| All other | "Business is steady. Looking good for today." |
Fresh venues
If your venue has no bookings yet, Venue Pulse shows a welcome message instead of analytics:
- No services set up: "Welcome to OpenChair! Add your services to start accepting bookings."
- Services live, no bookings: "Your services are live, share your booking link to get your first client."
Dismissing an Insight
Click the X button on the top-right corner of the Venue Pulse card to dismiss the insight for the rest of the day. The dismissal resets at midnight. A different insight type may still appear if another condition is met.
On mobile, dismissal state is stored locally on your device (MMKV). On web, dismissal state is stored in your browser (localStorage).
Access and Permissions
| Role | Access |
|---|---|
| Owner | Full access to all insight types |
| Manager | Full access to all insight types |
| Stylist | Venue Pulse card is not shown |
The Staff scheduling gap insight (priority 3) additionally requires a PRO subscription.
Platform Differences
| Feature | Web | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Dashboard page | Today tab |
| "Share booking link" CTA | Copies link to clipboard | Opens native share sheet |
| Dismissal storage | Browser localStorage | Device MMKV storage |
| Waitlist CTA | Navigates to /app/[slug]/waitlist |
Navigates to /waitlist tab |
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Venue Pulse card is not showing on my dashboard | Venue Pulse only appears for Owners and Managers. If you have the correct role and still see no card, none of the insight conditions currently apply, this means business is steady. |
| The insight doesn't match what I see on the calendar | Venue Pulse refreshes every 60 seconds. Recent booking changes may take up to a minute to reflect. Refresh the page to force an immediate update. |
| I dismissed the card and want it back | Dismissals last until midnight. Refresh the page the next day, or clear your browser's localStorage (web) to reset immediately. |
| "Staff scheduling gap" insight never appears | This insight requires a PRO subscription and the Owner or Manager role. Free-tier venues see the other five insight types but not this one. |
| Insight says "Quiet day" but I have bookings | "Quiet day" triggers when occupancy is below 50%. If your team has many active staff members, even a moderate number of bookings can result in low percentage occupancy. |
FAQ
What is Venue Pulse?
Venue Pulse is an AI-powered card on your dashboard (web) or Today tab (mobile) that highlights the single most important insight about your business right now. It shows one of six insight types, from cancellation spike to great day, based on live metrics calculated from your bookings, waitlist, and revenue.
Why is Venue Pulse not showing on my dashboard?
Venue Pulse only appears for Owners and Managers. If you have the right role and still see no card, none of the six insight conditions currently apply, this is a good sign meaning business is steady. The card reappears as soon as a condition is met.
What insights can Venue Pulse show?
Venue Pulse shows six insight types in priority order: cancellation spike (1), open slots matching the waitlist (2), staff scheduling gap. PRO only (3), revenue pace below target (4), quiet day below 50% occupancy (5), and great day above 80% occupancy (6). Only the highest-priority matching insight is shown at a time.
How often does Venue Pulse refresh?
The dashboard refreshes metrics automatically every 60 seconds. Recent booking changes may take up to a minute to appear in Venue Pulse. Refreshing the page forces an immediate update.