An Experience is not bookable just because its name and description are finished. CoverCount also needs to know where the Experience can happen and when guests are allowed to start reservations.
Public availability comes from the overlap of several settings:
- The Experience is visible enough to be booked or tested.
- Active tables are assigned to the Experience.
- The assigned tables can fit the requested party size.
- Schedule hours exist for the requested day.
- The reservation duration fits inside the service window.
- Minimum notice, date bounds, pacing, holds, and existing reservations still allow the time.
If guests see no times, table assignments and hours are usually the first two places to check.
Before You Start
Confirm these items first:
- The Experience has a clear name and guest-facing description.
- Reservation duration and party-size rules are close enough to test.
- Public party-size limit is set.
- The floor has active tables with realistic minimum and maximum capacities.
- The Experience is Unlisted or Public while you save assignments.
Use Unlisted when you want to test the real guest booking path without showing the Experience on the main public booking page.
If the Experience is still Hidden, change visibility on the Details tab before saving table assignments. Hidden Experiences can be configured, but they are not ready for guest availability testing.
Assign Tables To The Experience
Open the Experience and choose Assigned tables.
Select every table that can realistically host this Experience:
- Dining tables for
Dinner - Patio tables for
Patio Dining - Bar seats or high-tops for
Bar Reservations - Tasting-room tables for
Standard Tasting - Private room tables for
Private Tasting - Tour staging tables or tasting tables for
Vineyard Tour
You can select a whole room or toggle individual tables. Highlighted tables are part of the Experience. When the selection is correct, save assignments.
Use Multiple Experiences Per Table When It Fits
A table can support more than one Experience.
For example:
- A winery table might host both
Standard TastingandReserve Tasting. - A dining-room table might host
LunchandDinner. - A patio table might host
Patio Diningand a seasonal brunch Experience.
Only share a table across Experiences when the team can operate those services without confusion and the schedule, duration, and staffing model make sense.
Be Deliberate With Rooms And Areas
Do not create separate Experiences just because a venue has multiple rooms.
Use one Experience across several areas when guests are booking the same thing and staff should choose the
best available table. For example, Dinner might include dining-room and patio tables when both areas
offer the same service.
Use a separate Experience when the area changes the guest promise or operational rules. Examples:
Chef's CounterBar ReservationsPatio DiningPrivate Dining RoomReserve Tasting
For more guidance, see When to create a separate Experience.
Check Capacity And Table Combinations
Table capacity matters. If a table's maximum capacity is too low, CoverCount will not offer that table for larger parties. If the minimum capacity is too high, small parties may not fit the table rules you expect.
For large parties that use table combinations, each table in the combination should be able to host the Experience. Otherwise a party may look like it fits the room but still fail Experience eligibility.
Use realistic capacities:
| Table type | Common capacity setup |
|---|---|
| Two-top | 1-2 guests |
| Four-top | 2-4 guests |
| Six-top | 4-6 guests |
| Bar pair | 1-2 guests |
| Large tasting table | 6-10 guests |
Do not inflate capacities just to expose more times. That creates reservations the floor team cannot actually seat.
Add Hours For The Experience
Open the Hours tab and add a schedule.
Each schedule entry needs:
- Days of week
- First reservation time
- Last reservation time
- Slot interval
The first and last reservation times are start times, not the opening and closing hours for the venue. CoverCount adds the Experience duration to the last reservation time to determine when service ends.
For example, if Dinner has a 90-minute duration and the last reservation is 9:00 PM, the final seating
can run until about 10:30 PM.
Choose A Practical Slot Interval
The slot interval controls how often guests see possible start times.
Common choices:
15 minutesfor flexible dining rooms, tasting rooms, or high-volume service30 minutesfor tighter staffing or simpler pacing60 minutesfor tours, chef's counters, classes, or guided tastings with fixed starts
Short intervals create more choices, but they can also create arrivals that are harder to stage. Choose the interval the team can actually host.
If pacing is enabled, remember that pacing applies to each exact offered start time. A 15-minute interval can create more exact start times than a 30-minute interval.
Use Separate Schedule Entries When Needed
Add multiple schedule entries when the same Experience runs at different times on different days.
Examples:
| Scenario | Schedule setup |
|---|---|
| Weekday lunch | Monday-Friday, first 11:30 AM, last 1:30 PM |
| Weekend brunch | Saturday-Sunday, first 10:00 AM, last 1:00 PM |
| Dinner | Tuesday-Saturday, first 5:00 PM, last 9:00 PM |
| Standard tasting | Thursday-Monday, first 11:00 AM, last 4:00 PM |
| Guided tour | Saturday-Sunday, fixed starts every 60 minutes |
If the guest promise is the same, schedule entries are often cleaner than creating extra Experiences. If duration, eligible tables, guest questions, payment rules, or visibility are different, a separate Experience may be easier to operate.
Save And Test Availability
After saving assignments and hours, test the Experience from the guest path.
Check:
- A normal party size on an ordinary open day
- The largest party size guests can book online
- A day that should be closed
- First and last reservation times
- The actual service end time created by the last reservation plus duration
- Mobile booking
- Staff visibility after a test reservation is created
For the broader launch checklist, see Test an Experience before publishing.
If No Times Appear
Check these settings first:
- Visibility is Unlisted or Public for guest testing.
- At least one active table is assigned to the Experience.
- Assigned tables can fit the requested party size.
- Schedule hours exist for the requested day.
- The requested time is not blocked by minimum notice.
- Date bounds include the requested date.
- Existing reservations or holds have not consumed the table inventory.
- Pacing is not blocking the exact offered start time.
- The booking link is pointing to the correct Experience.
If all of those look right, test a smaller party size and a later date. That usually separates a capacity problem from a schedule or visibility problem.