Require booking check-in
Check-in requires the user to confirm their presence at the club before playing. No-show bookings are detected, the time slot can be released automatically, and the offending account can be suspended temporarily.
Understand the principle
Booking a court and not showing up is the most common problem in a club where booking is open to everyone: the time slot remains blocked, nobody plays, and the players who are present leave.
Check-in addresses this by requiring on-site presence confirmation. The user signs in to their account from a club computer where kiosk mode is active. The application then offers to check in their booking, and they can continue their visit or sign out immediately.
For a booking with several players, check-in by a single participant is enough, regardless of which one.
Enable check-in
- Go to Administration›Settings›Booking›Kiosk Mode & Check-in, then click Kiosk Check-in at the top of the screen.
- Enable Activate Kiosk Mode Check-in.
- Select the calendars concerned, or choose All Calendars.
- Click Save.
Choosing calendars allows for a gradual rollout: start with indoor courts or the most in-demand courts, where a lost booking is really noticeable, then expand if the measure proves effective.
Set the check-in window
Two time limits define when check-in is accepted:
- Time before the start of the time slot: how many minutes in advance the user can confirm their presence.
- Delay after the start of the time slot: how many minutes of delay are still tolerated.
Choose these two values with the actual route through your club in mind. The time before must leave enough time to reach the changing room and then the court. The time after must cover an ordinary delay, otherwise you may cancel the booking of a player who is already getting changed.
Choose the check-in method
There are three ways to check in, from the most controlled to the most flexible:
- By default, the user signs in with their credentials on the kiosk and confirms their presence.
- Easy Check-in (QR Code): they scan a QR code to sign in and check in from their own phone.
- Check-in Without Login: check-in is done without entering credentials.
The QR code is the right compromise for most clubs: there is nothing to type on a shared keyboard, and identity remains verified.
Apply penalties for bookings not checked in
Two consequences are possible, and they can be combined:
- Automatically Cancel Bookings: once the authorized time limit has passed, the time slot is released and becomes bookable again. Bookings cancelled this way remain visible in the booking log.
- Temporary account suspension if no check-in: the user can no longer sign in or book for the selected number of days.
Automatic cancellation serves the club: it puts the court back into circulation. Suspension serves collective discipline: it gives repeated absence a cost.
An account suspended by check-in displays a banner on its profile, showing until when and why. The Unlock Access button removes the penalty immediately, which is useful when the user had a good reason.
Measure the effects of check-in
Once the feature is in service, it feeds two screens:
- The Bookings tab in the activity summary displays a dedicated section: checked-in time slots, not checked-in time slots, automatic cancellations, and suspended accounts. This is where you will see whether the rule has reduced no-show bookings.
- The booking log offers the filters Presence Check-ins, Not Checked-in, and Automatic Cancel. to review cases one by one.
Compare the share of time slots not checked in before and after implementation: this is the only figure that lets you answer calmly at the general meeting when asked “does it really serve any purpose?”.
