Using your team’s availability
“Only offer times when a suitable team member is free” lives on Bookings → Availability → Tables / people. It changes where your bookable times come from, and it is the one setting on that screen that can leave you with none at all — so it is worth knowing exactly what it does before you tick it.
Off (how most businesses run)
Times come from your opening hours and how many bookings can run at once — either the pets at once number or the tables / groomers you have listed. Nobody in particular is implied by a booking; you decide who does it when it arrives.
On
A time is offered only when at least one team member who covers that service is genuinely free — their weekly hours, their days off and what is already in their diary. That is what makes “which groomer would you like?” possible on the customer’s booking form, and it is why two people with different days off no longer show each other’s times.
The trap
Everything the setting offers depends on somebody qualifying. A person qualifies only when all three are true: they are a team member (a WordPress user who can edit content, or who has app access), they are ticked as covering that service on their Team record, and they have weekly hours. Miss any one of those for everybody and the honest answer to “is anyone free at 10am?” is no — for every time, on every date.
The customer does not see an error. They see a booking form with no times in it, which reads as fully booked. So the Availability screen now says so outright, in red at the top, whenever the setting is on and nobody qualifies, and the Tables / people tab lists each person with a tick or a cross and the reason.
It needs the Team screen
Weekly hours, days off and which services a person covers are all set on the Team screen, which is a Premium feature. On plans without it the tick box is shown but switched off and cannot be turned on — there would be nowhere to give anybody the hours it asks about. Your times come from your opening hours and your tables instead, which is what a single-handed business wants anyway.
If you imported the demo data
Older versions of the demo importer switched this on when it created the demo team, and left it on when the team was removed. If your booking form went empty after tidying the demo away, that is why: turn the setting off and your opening hours take over again. From this version the importer puts it back itself.
Example
Two groomers, one of whom does not work Wednesdays. With this on, Wednesday only shows the other one’s times, and a customer who picks a slot both could do is asked who they would prefer. With it off, Wednesday shows a full day of times and you sort out between you who takes them.
FAQ
My booking form shows no times at all.
Almost always this setting, on, with nobody who qualifies. The Availability screen says so in red at the top when that is the case. Turn it off, or give somebody hours and the services they cover on the Team screen.
Who counts as a team member?
A WordPress user who can edit content, or who has been given app access. They then need weekly hours and at least one service ticked before they can be offered.
One person is never offered.
The list under the setting says why for each person — either the service is not ticked on their Team record, or they have no working days set.
Why is nobody asked which groomer they want?
Because only one person can be offered, and one name is not a choice. The question appears as soon as two or more can do the time picked.
Can I use this for one service and not another?
Yes — under “Availability by service type”, switch a service type on and it can carry its own answer.
Can staff set their own hours?
Yes — in the staff app under Settings → My availability. Owners can set them for anyone on the Team screen.