Setting Availability

Your availability is what turns a session type into actual bookable time slots. You tell TribeNest which weekdays you are open and the time ranges within each day, and it builds the slot grid your audience picks from.

Availability is set on each session type, not on you as a person. Two different sessions can have completely different schedules, so you might do songwriting consults on Tuesdays and mixing reviews on Thursdays.

Where to set availability

Availability lives inside the create and edit screens for a session, alongside the title, description and price.

1. Go to Scheduling then Products in your dashboard.
2. Either click Create Product to start fresh, or click the menu on an existing session and pick Edit product.
3. Scroll down to Timezone, Availability Days and Blocked Days.

Save the product (or update it) for your changes to take effect.

Time zone

Pick the time zone your availability is based in. Your own time zone is selected automatically when you create a new session, and you can change it from the dropdown.

Your audience sees the slots in their own time zone, converted automatically. So if you set yourself open from 18:00 to 20:00 in your time zone and someone books from another one, they see the slot in their local time.

Availability days

This is where you define the weekly schedule. Each entry is one open block on one day of the week, with a start time and an end time.

Adding a time block

1. Click Add Day in the Availability Days section.
2. Pick a Day of Week from the dropdown, Sunday through Saturday.
3. Enter a From Time (when you open) and a To Time (when you close).

Add as many blocks as you need. There is no limit.

Multiple blocks on the same day

You can add more than one block on the same day, which is useful if you take a midday break.

For example, on a Tuesday:

• One block from 09:00 to 12:00
• A second block from 14:00 to 18:00

Slots are generated in both windows and the 12:00 to 14:00 gap is skipped.

Removing a time block

Click the trash icon next to a block to remove it. Keep at least one block, because every session type needs one to be bookable.

Time format

Times are entered in 24-hour format (HH:MM):

• 09:00 for 9:00 AM
• 13:30 for 1:30 PM
• 18:00 for 6:00 PM

The To Time must be later than the From Time within the same block.

How slots are generated

TribeNest combines your availability days with the Duration and Time Between Meetings values on the session.

For a 1-hour session with no buffer, an open block of 09:00 to 12:00 produces three slots: 09:00, 10:00 and 11:00.

For the same window with a 30-minute buffer you get two slots: 09:00 and 10:30, because each 1-hour session is followed by a 30-minute gap before the next can start.

Slots only appear if the full session (and its buffer) fits inside your block. A 30-minute leftover at the end of a window will not show up as a half-length slot.

What is hidden from the calendar

A slot disappears from your public calendar when any of these is true:

• It is already booked, even if the buyer is still in checkout. Held slots reappear on their own if that checkout is abandoned.
• You are busy at that time on another session type. Your calendar is shared across everything you sell.
• It falls inside your minimum notice. Set Minimum notice on the session to keep the next few hours or days off the table. See creating a coaching product.
• The day is blocked. See below.
• It is beyond your booking window. See below.

You never have to block booked time by hand.

How far ahead can people book?

The Days in Future field on the session controls how many days ahead the booking calendar reaches. The default is 30 days, and you can set anything from 1 to 365.

Your audience can flip forward week by week up to that limit, but no further.

Blocking out specific dates

Your availability days set your regular weekly schedule. But some days you simply cannot work: a holiday, a trip, a recording session, a day off. Instead of tearing apart your weekly blocks and rebuilding them later, use Blocked Days to switch off individual dates.

A blocked day sits on top of your regular availability. No slots appear on it and nobody can book, even if that weekday is normally open.

How to block a date

1. Scroll to the Blocked Days section on the create or edit screen.
2. Click the day (or days) you want to block on the calendar. Blocked days highlight as you pick them.
3. Each date you pick appears as a chip under Selected blocked days, so you can see everything you have blocked at a glance.

You can only block dates from today forward. Past dates are not selectable.

Removing a blocked date

Click a highlighted day on the calendar again to unblock it, or click the small x on its chip. The day goes back to following your regular weekly schedule.

When a change clashes with sessions you have already sold

Removing a weekday, shortening a window or blocking a date can strand a session somebody already paid for. TribeNest will not let that happen quietly.

If your edit would leave booked sessions outside your new hours, nothing is saved. Instead you get a dialog listing every affected session by client name, session time, and why it clashes ("Outside your new working hours" or "On a date you are blocking out"). You then choose:

• Go back to change your edit and leave everything as it is.
• Save and keep these sessions. Your new hours apply from now on, and those already-booked sessions stand at their original times.
• Cancel these sessions. Your new hours apply and the affected sessions are called off. Each client is emailed a cancellation and the entry is withdrawn from their calendar. Leave Refund these sessions in full if I cancel them ticked to return their money at the same time.

There is no default button here on purpose. Keeping the sessions and calling them off are both reasonable, and only you know which is right.

Other ways to block out time

Blocked days are the quickest way to switch off specific dates. For longer or recurring changes you can also adjust your weekly schedule:

• Taking an extended break. Remove your availability blocks for those weekdays, then add them back when you return. Or shorten your booking window so the time off falls outside it.
• Recurring unavailability. If you can never do Mondays, just do not add any blocks for Monday in the first place.

Saving your changes

Click Create Scheduling Product (for a new session) or Update Scheduling Product (when editing) at the bottom of the form. Changes go live immediately.

Where to go next

• Finish setting up your session in creating a coaching product.
• Already taking bookings? See managing bookings.
• See how clients manage their own sessions.
• Want a homepage section that shows off your sessions? Style it from my website.