INTRODUCTION
Feature Summary: Prime Times and Fixed Durations are features that have always existed in CourtReserve and are now part of Public Booking. Prime Time settings, configured on the Reservation Type, enforce minimum and maximum durations, or block bookings entirely, during a club's defined high-demand hours. Fixed Duration rules, configured on a Custom Scheduler, override the normal reservation length for specific courts, days, and times, independent of Prime Time. In both cases, players are notified when their selected criteria do not match the applicable rule and are prompted to update their booking before proceeding.
Use Cases:
Limit public bookings to specific durations during high-demand hours
Prevent specific reservation types from being booked publicly during Prime Time
Require a fixed reservation length for specific courts, days, or times, regardless of Prime Time
Surface a rules-apply notice to players so they understand why their criteria changed
Apply consistent duration rules across all booking types from a single location
Note: Prime Time rules and Fixed Duration rules are configured independently and can both apply to the same reservation type. Prime Time rules are based on your club's defined high-demand hours. Fixed Duration rules apply to a Custom Scheduler regardless of whether Prime Time is active.
Note: For Public Booking, prime time intervals apply only to duration limits and reservation type enforcement. Membership-based restriction logic does not apply to Public Booking reservations.
Overview
Prime Times are high-demand time periods your club defines by day and time range, such as weekday evenings or weekend mornings. Prime Time settings let you apply different rules to reservations booked during those hours, including requiring a different minimum or maximum duration, or preventing certain reservation types from being booked at all. Prime Times are configured once in Booking Settings and can apply across your entire club's booking system, not just Public Booking.
Fixed Durations are set reservation lengths that override your club's normal booking duration for specific courts, days, and times. Rather than letting a player choose any duration within a range, a Fixed Duration rule locks bookings during that window to one set length, such as always booking in 90-minute blocks regardless of what a player originally requested. Fixed Durations are configured inside a Custom Scheduler and apply wherever that scheduler is used, including Public Booking.
The rest of this article explains how each of these behaves specifically within the Public Booking flow.
Prime Times in Public Booking
Prime time intervals are configured in Booking Settings > Prime Times and define your club's high-demand periods by day and time range.
For Public Booking, prime time intervals drive the following:
Prime Time detection - When a public booking player selects a time that falls within a prime time interval, a "Prime Time" message is displayed and the booking criteria are evaluated against prime time rules.
Duration enforcement - Minimum and maximum reservation lengths defined for prime time on each reservation type apply to public bookings during those intervals. Players must update their selected duration to meet prime time requirements before proceeding.
Prevention enforcement - Reservation types configured to prevent bookings during prime time are unavailable to public bookers during those intervals. Players must select an eligible reservation type to continue.
Each reservation type's prime time behavior is configured from the Edit Reservation Type screen.
Prime Time Settings Review
Prime time behavior is controlled in two places: the Prime Times tab in Booking Settings, where intervals are defined by day and time range, and the Edit Reservation Type screen, where you configure how each reservation type responds to those intervals.
To View or Edit Prime Time Intervals:
Log in to the admin panel.
Navigate to Settings > Booking Settings row > select the Prime Times icon.
To Configure Prime Time Settings for a Reservation Type:
Navigate to Settings > Reservation Settings row > select the Reservation Types icon.
Click Edit next to the relevant reservation type.
The following fields on the Edit Reservation Type screen control prime time behavior for Public Booking:
Prevent Reservations During Prime Time - When checked, this reservation type is unavailable for booking during any defined prime time interval. The min/max prime time duration fields below do not apply when this option is enabled.
Min Prime Time Reservation in Minutes - The minimum booking duration allowed during prime time. This can differ from the standard minimum duration.
Max Prime Time Reservation in Minutes - The maximum booking duration allowed during prime time. This can differ from the standard maximum duration.
Pricing During Prime Time
Prime time settings control access and duration but are not connected to pricing directly. To optionally charge different rates during prime time hours, configure a custom court cost with a time window that matches your prime time intervals. Navigate to Settings > Booking Settings, select the Costs icon, and open the Custom Court Costs tab.
Public Booking - Prime Time Examples
The following examples show how two different reservation types can be configured to behave differently during prime time and how it appears during a public booking reservation flow.
Example 1 — Doubles Reservation Type
The Doubles reservation type has a standard duration range of 60 to 120 minutes. During prime time, however, both Min Prime Time Reservation in Minutes and Max Prime Time Reservation in Minutes are set to 90 minutes, locking these bookings to a fixed 90-minute duration. Prevent Reservations During Prime Time is not checked, so Doubles bookings remain available to bookers during prime time.
Example from Public Booking when booking Doubles:
Example 2 — Singles Reservation Type
The Singles reservation type has Prevent Reservations During Prime Time checked. This blocks all Singles bookings during any defined prime time interval, including for public bookers.
Example from Public Booking when booking Singles:
Prime Time Rules Apply Message
When a player selects a time that falls within a prime time interval, a Prime Time Rules Apply message displays at the bottom of the screen. If their selected reservation type is unavailable during prime time, or their duration falls outside the prime time min/max, they are prompted to make a new selection. Clicking Yes, Update resets their current selections so they can restart the booking process with a valid combination.
Fixed Durations in Public Booking
Fixed Duration rules are configured inside a Custom Scheduler, not directly in Public Booking settings. A Custom Scheduler is linked to a Reservation Type, so the reservation type's own settings still govern whether the scheduler can appear in Public Booking.
For Public Booking, Fixed Duration rules drive the following:
Duration override - When a public booking player selects a court, day, and time that fall within a Fixed Duration rule, the reservation length is overridden to match the fixed block, regardless of the player's originally selected duration.
Automatic adjustment - Public Booking automatically shortens or lengthens the reservation to match the fixed block and updates the start and end time accordingly.
Note: To make a Custom Scheduler available in Public Booking, confirm that its associated Reservation Type does not require a resource.
Fixed Duration Settings Review
Fixed Durations are configured inside a Custom Scheduler and apply to specific courts, days, and times.
To set up a Fixed Duration rule:
Navigate to Settings > Custom Schedulers.
Create or edit a scheduler.
Check Build Fixed Duration(s).
Click Save to save the scheduler.
Return to the scheduler and click the + button next to a day to add a Fixed Duration rule.
Define the following for each rule:
Start and end time
Booking duration, in minutes
Which courts the rule applies to
Fixed Duration rules override the scheduler's normal reservation duration during the defined time window.
Public Booking - Fixed Duration Example
A player selects Book Tennis with a Tennis Singles reservation type, 2 players, and a 2 hr duration for Friday, September 18. When they choose the 8:30 PM evening slot, a Fixed Duration rule applies to that court and time window, overriding the requested 2-hour length. Public Booking automatically adjusts the duration to 1 hr 30 min (fixed block) and updates the reservation to 5:30 PM–7:00 PM
Fixed Block Rules Apply message
When a player selects a time that falls within a Fixed Duration rule, a Fixed Block Rules Apply message displays at the bottom of the screen, stating the fixed block and the reservation's updated start and end time. Players click Choose a Different Time if they want to select a different slot instead.
