Setting Your Availability

How Availability Works

Your availability controls when anglers can book trips. Think of it as your "open for business" sign.

Key Concepts

• Available: You can be booked on this date/time
• Blocked: No one can book (vacation, maintenance, already committed)
• Booked: A booking already exists for this time

The Calendar View

Where to Find It

Go to Dashboard → Calendar

Understanding the Calendar

The calendar shows a month view with color-coded dates:

• White/Light: Available for bookings
• Gray: Blocked (not available)
• Green: Has confirmed bookings
• Yellow: Has pending bookings awaiting confirmation

Click any date to see details or make changes.

Setting Availability

Option 1: Click Individual Dates

The simplest approach—click a date to toggle it between available and blocked.

1. Go to your Calendar
2. Click a date you want to open
3. In the popup, click "Mark as Available"
4. Set the start times you offer (e.g., 6:00 AM, 1:00 PM)
5. Save

Option 2: Recurring Availability (Recommended)

Set a recurring schedule and let the system handle it. This is the best approach for most captains.

Setting up recurring availability:

1. Go to Dashboard → Settings → Availability
2. Under "Recurring Schedule," set your regular hours
3. For each day of the week, specify:
   • Whether you're available that day
   • Your start time(s)
4. Save your schedule

How Far in Advance?

In Settings → Availability, you can set:

• Advance booking window: How far ahead anglers can book (e.g., 3 months)
• Minimum notice: How much lead time you need (e.g., 24 hours, 48 hours)

Blocking Dates

When to Block

Block dates when you can't take bookings:

• Vacation or personal time
• Boat maintenance
• Bad weather periods (if you know in advance)
• Holidays you don't want to work
• Private events already scheduled outside Guidewinds

How to Block Dates

1. Go to your Calendar
2. Click the date(s) you want to block
3. Select "Block Date"
4. Optionally add a reason (for your reference only)
5. Save

Blocking Specific Times Only

If you're only unavailable for part of a day (morning appointment, afternoon commitment), you can block specific time slots:

1. Click the date
2. Instead of blocking the whole day, click on the specific time slot
3. Block just that slot

Multiple Time Slots Per Day

If you offer multiple trips per day (morning and afternoon trips), you can add multiple start times to each day.

Example Setup

For a captain offering both half-day AM and half-day PM trips:

• Slot 1: 6:00 AM (for 4-hour morning trip)
• Slot 2: 1:00 PM (for 4-hour afternoon trip)

What Anglers See

When anglers visit your booking page, they only see:

• Dates that are available
• Time slots that aren't booked

They do NOT see:

• Why a date is blocked
• Who else has booked
• Your private calendar notes

Syncing with External Calendars

Guidewinds can sync with your personal calendar (Google, Apple, Outlook) to automatically block times when you have other commitments.

Setting Up Calendar Sync

1. Go to Settings → Integrations → Calendar Sync
2. Click "Connect Calendar"
3. Choose your calendar provider
4. Authorize Guidewinds to read your calendar
5. Select which calendar to sync

How Sync Works

• External events → Block in Guidewinds: Events on your personal calendar automatically block those times in your Guidewinds availability
• Guidewinds bookings → Show on your calendar: Bookings appear as events on your personal calendar

Overbooking Protection

Guidewinds automatically prevents double-bookings. Once a time slot is booked:

• That slot disappears from your booking page
• Other anglers can't book the same time
• The system accounts for trip duration (a 4-hour trip blocks 4 hours)

Common Questions

Can I change availability after someone books?

Yes, but carefully. If you block a date with an existing booking, you'll need to cancel or reschedule that booking. The system will warn you.

What if I get a booking I can't fulfill?

Contact the angler as soon as possible to reschedule. See our Refunds and Cancellations guide.

Can I offer the same time slot to multiple groups?

Not for the same trip. If you want shared trips where multiple parties book the same time, set the capacity higher. Individual bookings won't block the slot until total capacity is reached.

How do I set seasonal availability?

For seasonal businesses, set your recurring schedule for peak season, then block out the off-season months. Or update your recurring schedule as seasons change.

What's Next?

• Connecting Stripe — Set up payments to start accepting bookings
• Managing Bookings — Handle your incoming reservations
• Refunds and Cancellations — Handle schedule changes and cancellations