Experience setup

When to create a separate CoverCount Experience

Decide when a service, room, tasting, or reservation type should be its own CoverCount Experience instead of a schedule or table rule.

Updated 2026-06-22

Create a separate Experience when guests are booking something meaningfully different, or when staff need CoverCount to apply different operational rules.

Do not create a separate Experience for every small variation. Too many Experiences can make the booking page harder to understand and harder for staff to maintain.

Good Reasons To Split Experiences

Create a separate Experience when one of these is different:

  • Guest promise
  • Duration
  • Eligible tables or areas
  • Public party-size limit
  • Deposit or card-hold rules
  • Cancellation policy
  • Pre-visit questions
  • Visibility
  • Direct booking link
  • Staff workflow

For example, Dinner and Chef's Counter should usually be separate because guests are choosing a different experience, inventory is different, and duration or payment rules may differ.

When A Schedule Is Enough

If the guest is booking the same thing at different times, you may only need schedule rules.

Examples:

  • Dinner is available Tuesday through Saturday, but the guest promise is always the same.
  • A tasting is available at different intervals on weekdays and weekends.
  • Lunch starts at 11:30 on weekdays and 12:00 on weekends.

If the name, description, table inventory, duration, and booking rules are the same, keep one Experience and adjust the schedule.

Lunch And Dinner

Restaurants often use separate Lunch and Dinner Experiences because service can differ:

  • Different duration
  • Different table mix
  • Different staff coverage
  • Different menus
  • Different public party-size limits
  • Different guest expectations

If lunch and dinner are operationally identical except for the time of day, one Dining Experience with a split schedule can be simpler.

Dining Room, Patio, Bar, And Counter

Separate seating areas are not always separate Experiences.

Use a separate Experience when guests intentionally choose the area and the venue wants different rules. Examples:

  • Bar Reservations
  • Patio Dining
  • Chef's Counter
  • Private Dining Room

Keep one Experience when staff should assign the best available table across areas and the guest does not need to pick.

Standard And Premium Tastings

Wineries and tasting rooms usually benefit from separate Experiences when the tasting format changes.

Common examples:

  • Standard Tasting
  • Reserve Tasting
  • Library Tasting
  • Vineyard Tour
  • Barrel Tasting
  • Wine Club Tasting

These often have different duration, price, location, capacity, and guest questions.

Large Parties

Create a separate large-party Experience when the workflow is different from ordinary reservations.

Good signs:

  • Staff need more lead time.
  • A deposit or card hold is required.
  • Only specific tables or areas can host the party.
  • The visit uses a longer duration.
  • Guests need to answer planning questions.

If large parties should not self-book, keep the ordinary Experience limit lower and direct guests to contact the venue.

Limited-Run Reservation Offerings

An Experience can be limited to a date range while still using reservation availability, tables, pacing, duration, deposits, and staff workflows.

Examples:

  • Mother's Day brunch
  • Valentine's tasting menu
  • Holiday lunch service
  • Seasonal patio tasting

Use an Experience for these when guests are still booking reservation times. Use an Event when guests are buying tickets for a fixed occurrence with event capacity and an attendee list.

For the full comparison, see Experiences vs Events.

Simple Rule

Ask this question:

Would a guest, host, or manager be confused or operationally blocked if this shared the same settings as another booking option?

If yes, create a separate Experience. If no, keep the setup simpler.