Bookwhen requires every event to have a start and end time, so fully open-ended bookings aren’t supported. You can still offer appointment-style events, such as 1:1 sessions or private lessons. By structuring your schedule with clear time slots and ticket options, you make it easy for parents or guardians to book the right session.
This article explains how to create flexible appointment-based sessions while working within Bookwhen’s scheduling structure.
Overview
Appointment-based events let families book specific time slots for activities that require individual or small-group attention. Examples include:
Santa’s Grotto visits
One-to-one tuition or coaching
Family craft sessions
Private play sessions
This setup helps you manage attendee flow, avoid overbooking, and keep each experience personal.
Creating your event entry
There are a few ways to create appointment-style entries for children's activities:
Separate entries for days of the week (for easier filtering on the public page).
To create the entry:
Open your Scheduling page and select Create an entry:
In the Information tab, add a clear Name (e.g. Santa's Grotto Experience).
Use the Description field to include what’s included in the visit (e.g., each child receives a small gift from Santa).
Add any additional Attendee instructions, such as the target audience, capacity limits, and any other important attendance information.
Add any additional information such as an age range:
Please note: Age ranges are not enforced. They are shown as guidance on the public page.
Add a Booking confirmation message to share extra details with bookers once they’ve completed their booking. On the Standard plan or above, this message also appears in the reminder email.
For example:
Add a location under the Location tab, then start adding your timeslots under Dates & Times.
All timeslots in one entry
Start by selecting a Start date and time, as well as the Duration for each time slot. Once added, select Repeating event:
Select how often the event repeats, and the recurrence. For example, if your timeslots are 15 minutes, you may set the recurrence to every 20 minutes, allowing a 5-minute buffer time between each appointment:
Once set, select Save.
Alternatively, if you'd prefer to choose the days of the week for the appointments, choose Repeat weekly then select the days of the week:
If you choose this method, you will need to repeat the process for each time slot. You may also need to adjust/remove some individual time slots, so be sure to double-check timings and amend as needed.
Next, select the Tickets & Costs tab, and add an event capacity under Maximum event size:
The number you add in this field applies to each date/time in the entry, not the entire entry.
We recommend setting this to 1 to avoid multiple children/families booking the timeslot (unless you want to allow this).
Select Create ticket:
Name the ticket and add a Description to outline the ticket conditions. Then, add a cost and any other additional information. Once completed, select Save ticket:
To offer multiple ticket types, select Create ticket again and set up each ticket as a Single ticket, even for multiple attendees.
This ensures that bookings respect the maximum capacity of 1. Bookwhen doesn’t currently close other tickets automatically when one is booked, so increasing the capacity could result in double bookings.
Select the Booking form tab, then Select & reorder fields to tailor the booking form:
Use the plus (+) and minus (-) signs to add or remove fields from the entry:
💡 Tip:
It's a good idea to use Ticket fields for this entry type, as you may have different ticket types that require different information.
If you haven't set these up, you can do so within the Booking fields section on your account.
Select Yes under Will children be attending? to ensure booker's can mark relevant attendees as children:
Select Save form.
Select Save & Exit to save the entry to your schedule.
✨ Styling Tip: Make your entry more engaging and eye-catching by adding images and emojis.
Separate entries for days of the week
For easier filtering on the public page, you can opt to create separate entries for each day of the week. This option provides a little more control over timings and can be easier to manage.
To do this:
Select Create an entry from the Scheduling page.
Add all relevant information under each tab, then select the Dates & Times tab.
Add a Start date and time, Duration and tick the Repeating event checkbox.
Tip: Although the drop-down menu under Start time shows 15-minute intervals, you can amend the start time manually by typing directly in the field.
Under How often does it repeat? select Repeat weekly, the day of the week it repeats on and the Repeat until end date:
Select Save changes to add the timeslot to the entry.
You will then need to repeat this action for every time slot in the entry by selecting Add another date/time and repeating the above steps.
Once added, select Save & Exit to save the entry to your schedule.
Duplicating the entry
To speed up the creation process, you can duplicate your entry and adjust the duplicated entry to suit the next day of the week.
💡 Be sure to tick the Include all Dates & Times checkbox:
To adjust the dates in the duplicated entry:
Select the Dates & Times tab, then the pencil and paper icon next to the timeslot:
Select the new day of the week under Repeat on days of the week and Save changes:
You will then need to repeat this process for each time grouping within the entry.
Once completed, select Save and Exit to save the entry to your schedule.
Tagging the entry
If you opt to create separate entries for days of the week, you can tag each individual entry to use as filters on your public page. This is a great idea to help parents find suitable dates more easily.
To do this:
Select the entry from your Scheduling page, then Edit entry:
Open the Information tab and scroll down to the Tags field:
Select an existing tab using the drop-down menu, or add a new tag by manually typing it into the field. For example: Wednesday.
💡 Tip: Make sure you press enter when typing a new tag to add it to the entry (so it appears in its own box)
Select Save & Exit to save the entry.
You will then need to repeat this process for each entry.
Next, you can start creating your Filter buttons to add to the public page.
Adding the filter buttons to your public page
To add the filter buttons to your public page:
Open your public page:
Select Customise page:
Paste your codes into the General information field and select Save header text:
Your buttons will then appear at the top of your page:
Using the attendee list for easier attendance management
You can customise the attendee list for each entry to make managing attendance easier and more organised. For example:
Select the entry from your scheduling page, then the Attendees button:
Select the pencil and paper edit icon 📝 to open the list settings:
You can include any of the booking form fields you added to the entry by ticking/unticking the field.
For example, displaying the name and ticket type helps you quickly identify attendees and their booking details.
Once amended, select Save changes.
Best practices for children’s appointment events
Schedule enough buffer time between appointments for resets or breaks.
Keep event details family-friendly with simple language and clear information on what’s included.
Use passes for recurring sessions, such as weekly one-to-one appointments.
Track attendance using the attendee list to stay organised on the day.
Follow up with families using post-event emails or thank-you messages.
💡 Example: After your Santa’s Grotto event, you could send a thank-you email with a discount code for future family activities.