Availability, buffers and hours

Availability controls decide when customers can book with you. You set a regular weekly schedule, override it on specific dates, add buffer time around appointments, and find out why a slot isn't showing.

For a local service business, this means blocking out holidays, adding travel time between home visits, and keeping your booking page accurate without creating blocked slots by hand.

Main settings:

• Weekly working hours: your recurring schedule, such as Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8 AM to 10 PM, applied every week.
• Date-specific hours: change your hours or mark yourself unavailable on particular dates, like a holiday or a doctor's appointment. These always override your weekly hours for that date.
• Pre and post buffers: reserve time before or after appointments for preparation, travel or cleanup. Set them in the calendar's Availability settings. Buffers reduce the number of bookable slots, so consider whether you need both. Buffers on a team member's other calendars can also affect their round robin and collective availability. To see buffers in Day and Week calendar views, open Manage view and turn on Show buffer time.
• Look busy: hide a percentage of open slots on the booking widget to create a sense of demand. All slots stay bookable from inside the app. It doesn't apply to class bookings or service menus.

When a time you expect to be open is missing, ask Calendar AI in plain language. For example, ask why a slot is unavailable on a given calendar or why a team member is unavailable on Friday. It names what is blocking the booking, such as working hours, buffers, booking limits or calendar conflicts. If it can't find a reliable answer, it points you to the full troubleshooting view.