How do I set a special date's hours, limits and who can book online?

A date's own opening hours, online times or set sittings, when it opens for booking, its limits and length, who can book online, and blocking a room.

Part of What's different about Christmas Day? (Special dates). This part covers a date's opening hours, online times and set sittings, how many and how long, who can book online and what they see, and blocking a room on a date.

Opening hours, online times and set sittings on a special date

"Online booking times can only narrow your opening hours — never widen them."

• Opening hours — its own hours (Open at these times, with breaks if you like — up to four, each closed or We stay open — just pause online bookings), Open 24 hours or Closed all day. An opening time before 5am isn't accepted — your day runs from 5am to 5am (see How do I set my opening hours?). Special opening times and closing a day both work on every plan, including Free, and a closed date stays closed even if your plan changes. A special date's own hours also decide its online booking times, unless you set Online booking times below. Because they replace that day's hours completely, a date with no break is how you open straight through for a one-off.
• Online bookings closed — All day, or Between times (a booking that would still be at the table during those times isn't offered online). Your team can still book, with a warning.
• Online booking times — Between times (a first and a last start, and how often times are offered) or Set sittings: only the start times you add with Add sitting are offered online (up to 12), nothing in between. Either one replaces your everyday Online booking times for that date, so a date's lunch sittings are offered even when your online bookings are usually evenings only. Online times and sittings are for online bookings only — your team can book any time you're open. With no Opening hours of its own, your normal hours still cut them (22:00–23:30 where you close at 22:00) — the page warns you; set the date's own hours.
• Booking types — Both, Food & drinks only, or drinks-only bookings only (your own drinks name). Guests booking that date online only see the types you choose. Both or drinks only switches food and drinks-only bookings on for that date even if they're off every other day (*Plus and above*; Food & drinks only works on every plan). Your team can add either type. On a date that switches them on, your dashboard shows each booking's Food or Drinks chip (and its type on the day sheet, the TV board and Analytics), and the filters on Bookings, the Timeline and the floor plan offer the two types — even when they're off every other day.
• Drinks-only online booking times — the first and last start for drinks-only bookings on that date (*Available on Plus plan and above*). They replace the date's online booking times and your usual drinks-only times for drinks-only bookings; Food & drinks bookings keep the date's online booking times.
• When it opens for booking — Open to book now, or From a day and time — the day you choose and, if you set one, the time ("1 November at 10:00"): guests can't book the date online before then — even though it's already inside your normal booking window — so a Christmas launch opens on the dot. From then on they can book it even when it's further ahead than your normal window. Leave the time empty to open at the start of the day. Your plan's own limit on how far ahead still applies, and your team can add a booking for the date any time. The date's summary says it plainly: "Guests can book Christmas Day online from 1 Nov at 10:00".

How many and how long on a special date

"Every limit applies at once — a time is only offered online if it fits all of them."

• Booking length — any length in 5-minute steps, for online bookings and your team's. On that date it replaces your standard, drinks-only and party-size lengths, and guests don't pick their own. On Plus and above, A different length for bigger parties adds lengths by party size.
• How many at once — that date's own limits (*Available on Pro plan and above*). Each one replaces your everyday limit of the same kind on that day — a date's "no more than 60 guests seated at once" beats your everyday 40 (and the same goes for your food or drinks-only guests at once, and an everyday pacing rule counting the same thing the same way); an everyday limit of a different kind still applies too. A date's limit with its own hours replaces the everyday one only during those hours: Christmas Day's "60 guests seated at once, 18:00–22:00" uses the 60 from 6pm to 10pm, and at lunch (12:00–18:00) your everyday 40 still applies; the date reads back "(outside these hours, your everyday limits apply)". A date's limit with no hours replaces it all day. Your team's warnings follow the date's own limits as well: on that date New booking, changing a booking and dragging on the Timeline compare against the date's 60, not your everyday 40, and an everyday limit that stops your team steps aside for the date's own limit of the same kind. A date's limit can be no more than a number of guests or bookings seated at once, arriving in any 15, 30 or 60 minutes, or in the whole day — for every party or only parties of a size you choose. Each limit either warns your team (warned, can still book) or stops them (stopped too). Click Add a limit for another (up to 6 on a date).
• Party sizes online — the smallest and biggest party that can book online that day; the biggest also applies to guests joining your waitlist from their phone that day. A bigger party picking that date on your booking page sees no times and, straight away, the reason (for example "On Christmas Day, online bookings are for parties of up to 10. For a bigger party, please contact the venue directly.") — the party sizes on offer aren't cut; your team can still book any size, and the Bigger than your online limit and Smaller than your online limit warnings use the date's own party sizes.

Who can book online on the date, and what they see

• Minimum notice — "Guests must book at least … ahead for this date", in hours or days, in place of your everyday minimum notice (*Plus and above*; 0 = no minimum, on every plan). Your team can still book it.
• Cancel or change online until — your Cancellation deadline (When people can book), for that date only (*Available on Plus plan and above*): inside it, guests can't cancel or change their own booking online — they contact you — and, if you charge for late cancellations, a cancellation inside it counts as late. Set it to 0 to let them cancel or change online any time before. Your team can always change a booking. It isn't about money: on a date with money back until 14 days before but no deposit taken, guests could still cancel online any time — set this to stop them. A booking keeps the terms it was made under, so this applies to bookings made after you save it (bookings made before 8 September 2026 follow your current setting).
• Rooms that take online bookings — once you have more than one floor plan (room): only tables in the rooms you tick are offered online that day — including a room switched off for online bookings on other days. A table's own online switch and rules still apply. With one room it says so, and Add a room opens your floor plan editor right there to add one.
• Approving online bookings — Approve every one (every online booking that day waits for your approval) or Confirm straight away (none does). Available on Plus plan and above. A date's own choice wins over your everyday approval rule on its day.
• A note for guests — a short line (up to 200 characters) guests see on your booking page when they pick the date, for example "Christmas lunch: four courses, £65 a head." It's also in the booking confirmation email, under the booking details — so a guest your team books by phone reads it too.

Blocking a room on a date

Block a room (on this page) closes one or more rooms to online bookings, walk-ins and the waitlist for a day and times, or until it's unblocked, with an optional reason. It can repeat — Every week on the days you pick, or Every month (say the first Friday), with No end or a last date. Your team can still seat someone there on purpose, and an event in the room still uses it. It's the same block as Block this room… on the Floor plan. Each block still to come is listed under Rooms blocked, with Remove the block; a repeating one lists its next dates, each with the bookings already there and a button to open the room on that date only — Open it today only for today, or the date itself ("Open it on Fri 6 Nov only") — or Block it again. If you sell experiences, Keep it for lets their bookings still use the room. See "Blocking a whole room" in How do I run service from the floor plan?.

Related: What's different about Christmas Day? (Special dates) · How do I add a special date? · How do I set what guests pay and pre-order on a special date? · When can guests book? · How many guests can book at once?