How Waitwhile decides which hours apply
When there are multiple rules for a Resource’s availability, Waitwhile follows this order of precedence (from highest to lowest):
Booking hours set for a specific date
General hours set for a specific date
Booking hours set for that weekday
General hours set for that weekday
Note: if you’ve set hours for a specific date, those will always override general weekly hours.
Common causes of overbooking
1. Specific date hours overriding Weekly Hours
If you’ve set special hours on a certain date, those will take precedence, even if your weekday hours say something else.
Double-check that no duplicate or overlapping hours exist for the same Resource.
2. Allowing more than one customer per time slot
Go to Settings > Booking > Availability and confirm whether multiple customers are allowed per slot.
If you only want one booking at a time, make sure this setting is set to 1.
Staff members can manually override availability if needed by going to Settings > Bookings > Availability.
If the Max bookings per customer setting is more than one, the same customer may be able to create multiple overlapping reservations, which can contribute to overbooking. You can adjust this under Settings > Bookings > Max bookings per customer.
3. Capacity settings
Each Resource has a capacity setting. If it’s greater than 1, Waitwhile will let multiple customers book the same time.
Adjust the capacity under Settings > Resources > [Select Resource] > Max simultaneous served visits.
4. Specific hours conflicts
Specific hours for a Resource (set on a date or for certain days) can unintentionally create overlap with your general hours.
Review both date-based and weekly hours to make sure they don’t conflict.
Next Steps
Review your Resource’s hours (specific dates first, then weekly hours).
Check booking availability and multiple-customer settings.
Check if “Allow staff to override availability” is enabled. When this option is on, staff can intentionally bypass availability limits. This may explain instances of overbooking created by staff members.
Test by making a booking yourself to confirm the setup is working correctly.
Have additional questions or need assistance? Reach out to us via chat or at support@waitwhile.com.