Setting Up Classes and Reservations in Plus2
Problem
Administrators need to create scheduled sessions at set times (classes, and booked gym or swim sessions) as Plus2 reservations, so they can be booked in 360 and on Go Book.
Resolution
Open reservations
- Go to
Configuration > Bookings > Reservations.
- Go to
Enter the ID
- Use a structured code, as characters are limited, e.g. site code (2 characters) + weekday number (1 = Monday) + start time (
0630) +R(for reservation, as it only reserves space rather than being a class) + 3-letter activity (GYM) + month/year created (0925). See Naming Conventions for Plus2 IDs and Descriptions.
- Use a structured code, as characters are limited, e.g. site code (2 characters) + weekday number (1 = Monday) + start time (
Enter the name, description and activity group
- Name and optional Description (the Go Book category).
- Activity group: drag it in; it controls where the reservation sits on the booking sheet and in 360. For a new site, create a new group and tick it in the GMC so it can be sold in 360.
Set duration, capacity and swipe period
- Duration (e.g. 60 minutes), capacity (e.g. 30 per hour) and minimum. The site defaults to the current site.
- Swipe period: e.g. 2–3 hours, for members who do a gym session then a swim.
Set party bookings and the waiting list
- Party bookings: lets one booker add several people at their own price levels in one booking (e.g. 2 adults and 2 children at a fun swim). Leave off where each person must be inducted (e.g. gym). The Party bookings card in 360 can't be hidden even if unused.
- Waiting list: tick to allow a Class Alert List on Go. Usually off for hourly gym sessions.
- The calendar is greyed out, because the reservation creates its own calendar from its dates.
Set the dates
- Start date, then an end date (e.g. yearly or six-month blocks) or indefinite. Indefinite adds a session every day when the booking sheet is created (each morning when Plus2 starts).
- Choose weekly, the time of day, and tick every weekday that shares this start time (e.g. Monday to Friday at 06:30). One reservation then covers all of them; include Saturday and Sunday in the later sessions if weekends open later.
- Exclude known closure dates (e.g. Christmas, bank holidays) now, or delete occurrences later.
Add products
- Add the resource product (the area, e.g. gym) and a price product (Standard calendar, correct department and site group). The price product can also be sold as a pay-and-go item at the till. In prices, just type the number (the £ is added).
- Remove price levels that can't buy it (e.g. infants, juniors) and add price level overrides (e.g. £0) for memberships that include it; see Price Level Override (PLO). Overrides take longest; copy them from an existing product afterwards.
Complete the remaining tabs
- Payment: book paid. More details: the colour shown in 360 and Plus2.
- Subscriptions: optional usage-based subscription (e.g. 10 gym visits) that uses one usage per booking.
- Restrictions: advance booking (e.g. 8 for seven days); see Setting Advance Booking Windows in Plus2. Web: tick to sell online, plus optional web comments.
Save
- Click Save. Plus2 checks the booking sheet first (a clock spins bottom left; this can take 2–3 minutes). If dates clash with another booking or a closure exception, it lists them and asks whether to book around them.
Create other start times (if applicable)
- Open the saved reservation, select Save As (Ctrl+A), change the ID (Plus2 refuses a duplicate ID) and the time, and save. Repeat for every start time.
Notes
- Some details can't be edited once in use, such as a class's start time. Remove the class from the change date and create a new one at the new time.
- Restricting who can book (e.g. gym induction required): put the induction subscription in the Restrictions of the price product behind the reservation. The restriction applies to buying the product, not to the activity, so customers without the subscription can't book or buy it.
- Reservations vs gym density: a reservation caps each fixed session (e.g. 30 per hour); density controls a rolling capacity instead (e.g. 15 people per 30-minute slot, or a few spaces released every 15 minutes). Density bookings work in Plus2 and 360 but not on Go, which limits what can be sold online.
- Impact on Go Book: a reservation with only a resource product (no price product, because it was free) won't apply price level overrides or restrictions on Go. Add a price product, even at £0, by removing and re-adding the products. Reservations drop off Go Book once their future sessions are deleted.
- Impact on Go alert lists and party bookings: the Waiting list tick is required before the Class Alert List works; the alert rules are set in Operator. Party bookings must also be switched on in Operator. See GladstoneGo: Alert List Notification Setup and Booking Restrictions in Go Book.
- Impact on Go Book: the class description is the search category, while the web comments appear with the class (e.g. what to bring).
- Impact on 360: 360 shows the reservation in the class views for its activity group. In 360 a booking can only be cancelled (with or without refund), not moved; to "move" someone, cancel without refund and rebook them.
- Impact on access control: members who have booked get through a door because the resource product is in that door's entry point profile, and pay-at-desk session buyers can use their barcode. See Access Control – Entry Points and Entry Point Profiles.
- Hosted reservations (block bookings) are covered in Configuring Block Bookings in Plus2.
- Related: Configuring Activities in Plus2; Grouping Sessions on Go Book with Plus2 Descriptions; Closures, Exceptions and One-Off Sessions in Plus2.