How to Enable and Use Booking Approval Workflow
Booking approval lets you review each request before it is confirmed. Turn on Manually approve bookings in Booking types → your booking type → Restrictions.
Overview
With approval turned on, a new booking waits as Awaiting approval until you approve or reject it. The time slot is held while the request is pending, so no one else can book it.
Plan required: Individual Plan ($29), Pro ($12/month or $99/year) or Agency Plan ($79).
Not the same as creating a booking for a guest. Booking approval is for requests that bookers submit themselves. If you want to start a booking yourself and email a guest a link to confirm, see Create a Booking on Behalf of a Guest.
How to Enable Booking Approval
- Go to Booking types in the sidebar.
- Click the booking type you want to require approval for (or create a new one).
- In the drawer sidebar, click Restrictions.
- Turn on Manually approve bookings.
- Click Save.
Approval applies to new bookings made after you turn it on. Existing confirmed bookings are not affected. Approval is set per booking type, so other booking types can keep confirming automatically. Tip: mention in the booking type's description that bookings need your approval.
How the Approval Workflow Works
Step 1: The booker sends a request
- Your booking page shows an Approval Required badge on the booking type, and the form says This booking requires approval from the host.
- The booker picks a time, fills in the form and clicks Request booking. They see The booking request was sent successfully.
- They receive an email: Your booking is awaiting approval.
- The time slot is held and is no longer available to other bookers.
Step 2: You review the request
- You receive an email: A booking is awaiting approval, with the booking details and a View Booking button. On a team booking type, each host assigned to the booking receives it.
- The request also appears on the Bookings page and as a New booking requested, awaiting approval card under Notifications in the sidebar.
- Review the booker's details and their answers to your booking questions.
Step 3: Approve or reject
If you approve:
- The booking is confirmed and added to your calendar, with its video link (Zoom, Google Meet and so on).
- The booker receives their confirmation: a calendar invitation from your connected calendar, or TidyCal's confirmation email, depending on the booking type's confirmation setting.
- Email and SMS reminders are scheduled (if configured).
If you reject:
- The booking is canceled and the time slot opens up again.
- The booker receives a Your booking was not approved. email. You can add an optional reason, which is included.
- No calendar event is created.
How to Approve or Reject Bookings
From the email
- Open the A booking is awaiting approval email from TidyCal.
- Click View Booking. You are taken to the booking in TidyCal.
- Click Approve booking or Reject booking.
From the Bookings page
- Go to Bookings in the sidebar.
- Find the booking with the Awaiting approval status. Pending requests appear in the same list as your other upcoming bookings.
- Click Approve or Reject on the booking, or open it and use Approve booking or Reject booking.
You can also open a request from its card under Notifications. After you reject a request, a Booking not approved card is added there; after you approve one, a New booking created card is added.
Pending Bookings and Payments
- Paid booking types: the booker pays when they send the request. Until the payment completes, the booking shows Payment pending (with no Approve or Reject buttons), then Awaiting approval.
- Declined payments: if the booker's card is declined, the slot is held for a few hours while they are emailed a link to finish paying. See What Happens When a Booking Payment Fails.
- Emails and reviews: a booking that is still awaiting approval does not trigger your automated post-booking emails, review requests or reminders. They start once you approve it.
- No expiry: a request stays pending until you approve or reject it. The exception is a paid request whose payment fails or never completes, which TidyCal releases automatically.
- Spam: approval screens real people; to stop bots, keep reCAPTCHA spam protection turned on as well.
Troubleshooting
I'm not receiving approval request emails
- Check your spam or junk folder, and any email rules that might filter TidyCal emails.
- Check your account email in Settings → Profile.
- Add service@tidycal.com to your contacts or safe senders.
- Make a test booking yourself to trigger the email. Pending requests also show on the Bookings page, so you can review them there.
Bookers aren't receiving the "awaiting approval" email
- Ask them to check their spam or junk folder and to add service@tidycal.com to their safe senders.
- Open the booking to check that the email address was typed correctly.
The time slot didn't reopen after I rejected a booking
- Check that the booking shows as Canceled in Bookings (use the Canceled filter).
- Check whether another booking or a calendar event now takes that time.
- Refresh your booking page to see the updated availability.
I approved the wrong booking
- Go to Bookings, open the booking and click Cancel booking. The time slot reopens.
- Consider emailing the booker to explain. If you still have trouble, email support@tidycal.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the booker charged when they request a paid booking?
Yes. The booker pays when they submit the request, before you approve it. Rejecting does not refund automatically: issue the refund from your Stripe or PayPal account (see Cancellation and No-Show Fees).
What happens if an approved booking is rescheduled?
On a booking type that requires approval, a rescheduled booking goes back to Awaiting approval. You and the booker get the approval emails again, and you approve or reject the new time the same way. See How do I reschedule a booking?
Can team members approve bookings for team booking types?
Yes, if they hold the right role. A booking on a team booking type can be approved by the booking type's owner, any host assigned to that booking, or a team member with the Owner or Admin role. A team member with the User role who is not a host on that booking cannot approve it.
Can I customize the approval emails?
No. The approval emails use TidyCal's built-in templates and cannot be edited. A booking type lets you customize only the confirmation and reminder emails (subject and body), on the Individual Lifetime, Pro and Agency Lifetime plans.