🎉 Early Access Available
The new Online Booking experience is part of an Early Access release that includes updates to several pages within the software.
When Early Access is enabled for your organization, you will gain access to the refreshed Resources, Event Types, and Online Booking pages. These updates are designed to improve scheduling and management tools.
If you would like to be considered for beta testing of this new feature, fill out the form linked in the main article below.
📝 Overview
With Online Booking in the Customer Portal, customers can easily reserve spaces such as rooms, fields, or event areas directly online. Depending on your setup, they can either submit a reservation request for review or complete an instant booking. This feature simplifies how customers find and reserve available resources, helping staff manage facility usage more efficiently.
🎉 Curious what customers see when booking a birthday party?
This section highlights the full party booking experience from search to checkout.
🎥 Video Demo
See how the new Online Booking experience works for facility rentals.
Click the arrow to watch how Online Booking works
Click the arrow to watch how Online Booking works
🛠 Setup
💡 Need help setting this up?
Review the Booking Manager Setup article to ensure everything displays correctly on the Online Customer Portal.
🔍 Searching
When customers open the Rentals page on the online portal, they will see a Location filter that’s set to their preferred location, along with the available Event Types for that location. Customers can use the dropdown to select a different location.
From here, customers can select the Event Type they want to book, and once clicked, they are then prompted to select the date they want to schedule the booking for, and can view additional filters.
Click the arrow to learn more about each filter
Click the arrow to learn more about each filter
There are 5 filters that can be used to search for availability:
📍 Location:
If you have multiple locations in your Dash account, they will appear in the drop down for your customer to view and select.
📂 Resource Type:
Filtering by Resource Type can be helpful if you have the same Event Type available on multiple resources. For example, you might offer Birthday Parties on fields, in pavilions, or an indoor party room. Utilizing the Resource Type filter can help your users specify the type of place they want to book.
⚙️ Amenities:
The ability to search for the amenities available on a resource. Even if your facility isn’t using the amenities field, this filter will still show to users. Amenities could include AC/heat, goals, soccer balls, etc.
⏰ Time of Day (Updated):
Allows you to search for availability for a specific time of day. If an availability overlaps, it will be shown (Morning, Afternoon, Evening).
📆 Days of the Week:
The ability to search for an available Event Type on a specific day of the week.
📊 Availability Results
Once you have entered your desired event date, and added any filters, you will see a list of results. Resources labeled "Reservation Request" allow you to pick a date, after which the facility will contact you to finalize the reservation. The "Instant Booking" option lets you pick a date and time, then pay and complete your booking.
For each resource, you will see the time slots available for the specified date. If no resources are available on the specified date, you’ll see a date picker where you can view available spots on different days.
🗓 Reservation Request
Click the "View" button next to the option labeled "Reservation Request" to see a list of available dates for the resource. The full display of options available may differ depending on how the facility chose to set up their rental.
🧩 Time picker view
You will be presented with a list of times for rentals based on your search criteria. From this list, you can click on an available time for that specific day.
Click the arrow to see how the calendar picker view looks for a reservation request
Click the arrow to see how the calendar picker view looks for a reservation request
Individual Day/Time Blocks:
After choosing a time, a form will appear to gather more information. Once this form is filled out, the customer will receive an automatic email confirming that their request has been submitted.
The staff assigned to the resource will also receive an email with the request information and will have a Task assigned to their admin employee account. It is then up to the staff member to follow up with the customer and complete the Task from their employee account.
⏱ Duration View
Once you have selected the day, you will be prompted to select a start time for the reservation, plus how long the reservation will last.
Click the arrow to learn how a duration reservation request works
Click the arrow to learn how a duration reservation request works
Start Time: What time your event/rental should begin. Available start times are set by the facility.
Duration: How long your event/rental will be. The duration times are set by the facility.
Click the "Add to Booking" button.
⚠️ If you are not logged into the customer online account already when choosing a "Reservation Request", you will be prompted to fill out the contact form.
⚡ Instant Booking
Click the "View" button next to option labeled "Instant Booking" to see a list of available dates for the resource. The full display of options available may differ depending on how the facility set up the rental.
🧩 Time picker view
You will be presented with a list of times for rentals based on your search criteria. From this list, you can click on an available time for that specific day.
Click the arrow to see how the calendar picker view looks for an instant booking
Click the arrow to see how the calendar picker view looks for an instant booking
Individual Day/Time Blocks:
When selecting an individual day from the search results, you will be brought to that specific day's availability. Select your desired time slot.
⚠️ If you are not yet logged into your customer account, you will be asked to log in or create an account at this time to proceed with your booking.
Once logged, the time slot that was selected will automatically be added to the shopping cart. If there are any required forms or questions to fill out ahead of time, they will need to be answered before continuing to the checkout.
📜 Terms and Conditions
Based on how the booking is set up, customers may be required to review and accept one or multiple Terms and Conditions (set by the facility) before completing their booking.
If this applies, the Terms and Conditions will be displayed, and the customer must check a box to confirm they have read and agreed to the terms, as well as provide their initials (capitalized) to "Accept."
Proceed to checkout once finished.
Once the rental has been added to the cart, if Terms and Conditions have not been accepted, you will be required to review and accept before you’re able to checkout.
⏱ Duration View
An available list of dates will appear to select from depending on your search criteria. Choose a date that works.
Click the arrow to learn how a duration instant booking works
Click the arrow to learn how a duration instant booking works
Start Time: From the list of available times, choose when the rental should begin
Duration: How long will the rental need to be for. The duration times are preset by the facility.
Once you have clicked the "Add to Booking" button, you will be prompted to login to the customer online account (if you are not already).
📜 Terms and Conditions
Based on the online booking setup, customers may be required to review and accept the facility rental's Terms and Conditions before completing their booking.
If this applies, the Terms and Conditions will be displayed, and the customer must check a box to confirm they have read and agreed to the terms, as well as provide their initials to "Accept."
The booking will be placed within the shopping cart and the Booking Summary will appear below to review.
Proceed to checkout when ready.
Once the rental has been added to the cart, if the Terms and Conditions has not been accepted yet, you will be required to review and accept before the checkout process can be completed.
🎉 Birthday Parties
👀 How It Looks
Click the arrow to see an example of how a birthday party booking will look
Click the arrow to see an example of how a birthday party booking will look
From the left hand side navigation bar, the customer will need to go to "Rentals".
They can select a specific Location, and birthday party event type they are looking for.
"Type" refers to the birthday party package type. If they see one they are interested in, they can choose to search by it.
Select the desired date for the event. There are additional filters to use if needed.
The Time of Day and Day of the Week filters can also be used to help limit the search results
Once you select the Resource where you’d like to book your party, you can complete your booking. Once you select a slot, you will either be prompted to log into the customer portal or if already logged in, your party package will be added to the shopping cart.
At this time if there is a custom form assigned to the event type for the customer to fill out prior to check out, they will be prompted to answer these questions now and view the summary of the party date and time.
Once the form is completed (if there is one), click on the Checkout button. Payment screen will appear to complete checkout process.
Customer will receive an email receipt plus if there was an additional template included on the product page, they will also see more details as to what the next steps will be.
💡 Pro Tips
⚠️ Always review Booking Manager setup before publishing online bookings. Including the product (fee), booking option, resource, and event type.
💬 Use Amenities filters sparingly to avoid empty search results.
⛔ If using Instant Booking, ensure Terms & Conditions are configured and up to date.
📌 Remind staff to verify confirmation emails are enabled.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
Can customers book without creating an account?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
No. Customers must log in or create an account to complete a booking.
What happens if a requested time conflicts with an existing booking?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
The system automatically prevents double-booking and only displays valid availability. Note that setup/takedown tasks and times are not respected in online booking, so if time between events is needed, be sure to use the buffer time option in the booking option.
Can I restrict customers from adding an "Instant Booking" to certain resources?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Yes. Only resources that are attached to rentable event types and has online booking enabled booking option will be available for booking in the customer portal.
Can customers request a refund through the Customer Portal?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Refunds must be processed by staff on the admin side of the software. Customers cannot request refunds in the Online Customer portal.