How to create a round-robin booking type
A round-robin booking type automatically distributes meetings among a group of team members. It's perfect for sales teams, support staff, or any situation where you want to assign a new meeting to the next available person.
Benefits of Round Robin Scheduling
- Priority-based distribution — Bookings are assigned to the highest-priority available team member. Members with equal priority are rotated randomly
- Balanced workload — Prevents any single team member from being overwhelmed
- Team efficiency — Maximizes team availability and utilization
- Automatic assignment — No manual intervention required for booking distribution
- Client simplicity — Clients do not need to choose between team members
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Round Robin Booking
- Click Teams in the sidebar
- Click Booking types
- Click + Create Team Booking Type
- Choose Round Robin
- Select the team members to rotate through - Only team members who have accepted their invitations will appear here.
- Set the duration, buffers, and any other advanced settings as needed
- Click Create Booking Type.
How Availability and Distribution Works
It's important to understand the logic TidyCal uses:
- Pooled Availability: The booking page will show clients all available slots from everyone in the pool. If Person A is free at 10 AM and Person B is free at 11 AM, the client will see both 10 AM and 11 AM as options.
- Even Distribution: When a client books a time, TidyCal intelligently assigns the meeting to the team member who has been assigned the fewest meetings from this specific booking link. This ensures a fair and even distribution of work over time.
Round Robin vs Other Team Features
Understanding how Round Robin differs from other TidyCal features helps you choose the right scheduling method.
Round Robin vs Collective Meetings
| Aspect | Round Robin | Collective |
|---|---|---|
| Who attends | ONE host (rotates automatically) | ALL hosts must attend together |
| Availability | Based on individual calendars | Must find common free time |
| Best for | Distributing workload evenly | Team meetings, panel interviews |
| Booking slots | More available (easier to book) | Fewer available (harder to book) |
Round Robin vs Group Bookings
These are completely different features:
- Round Robin: Distributes meetings among different HOSTS (your team members)
- Group Bookings: Allows multiple ATTENDEES (your clients) to book the same time slot
Example: A sales team using Round Robin can also enable Group Bookings on each host's calendar to allow demo webinars with multiple attendees per session.
When to Use Round Robin
Perfect for:
- Sales teams rotating demo calls
- Support teams distributing consultations
- Customer success managers sharing client onboarding
- Any scenario where workload should be balanced
Not ideal for:
- Meetings where everyone must attend (use Collective instead)
- Single-person booking types (no need for Round Robin)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which plan do I need for Teams?
Teams require the Agency Plan ($79, one-time lifetime payment).
How many team members can I add?
There is no limit on team members with the Agency Plan.
Need help with Teams?
Contact support@tidycal.com for assistance.