Override a single session

Learn how to override a single session - so a one-off change like a smaller capacity, a different price, or a moved start time applies to that date only, and your repeat schedule keeps running unchanged.

A repeat schedule generates the same session week after week. Most of the time that's exactly what you want. But every so often one occurrence needs to be different - fewer spaces while a bench is repaired, a higher price for a busy bank holiday, a start time pushed back an hour, or the session pulled entirely. Instance overrides let you change that single occurrence without editing the schedule behind it.

You edit a single session from the admin calendar, not the session editor. Open Bookings, find the date on the calendar, and click the session.

Open one occurrence

1. 1
   Open Bookings to reach the admin calendar.
2. 2
   Find the date and click the session you want to change.
3. 3
   In the panel that opens, select Edit this session (or Edit session for a non-recurring date).
4. 4
   The Edit session form opens with the occurrence's date and time in the header.

Everything you change here is stored as an override on that one occurrence. The schedule, and every other session it generates, stays as it was.

What you can override

The Edit session form is split into sections, each overriding one part of the occurrence:

• Details - the session name, description, capacity (the number of spaces), and the maximum spaces one customer can book.
• Schedule - the start time and duration, in minutes, for this date.
• Prices - which price options, memberships, and add-ons show on this date, and the price for each.
• Messages - the visit instructions shown to customers who book this date.

Leave a section untouched and the occurrence inherits the schedule and template values, so you only ever set what's genuinely different.

Change capacity for one date

Capacity follows a clear order of precedence: an instance override wins over the schedule's capacity, which in turn wins over the template's capacity. Setting a capacity override here changes only this occurrence.

1. 1
   Open the occurrence and expand Details.
2. 2
   Set the capacity to the number of spaces you want for this date.
3. 3
   Select Save.

Use this when a single session has fewer spaces than usual - a bench out of action, a smaller room, or a partial private booking.

Change the price for one date

In the Prices section you can show, hide, or re-price a price option, membership, or add-on for this date alone. Each row inherits from the schedule by default, so you only override what changes - a higher rate for a peak date, or a hidden member price for a special one-off.

The override applies to this occurrence only. Every other date keeps its usual pricing. For pricing that should apply to the whole series, set it in the session editor.

Move or shorten one session

Use the Schedule section to set a different start time or duration for this date.

1. 1
   Open the occurrence and expand Schedule.
2. 2
   Set the new start time, the duration in minutes, or both.
3. 3
   Select Save.

Choose how far a change reaches

When the session comes from a repeat schedule, saving asks how widely to apply your change:

• This event only - the override applies to this single date. Everything else stays the same.
• This and following events - applies to this date and all future ones, splitting the schedule from here on. Time, capacity, and detail changes carry forward; price, membership, and add-on changes save to this date only.
• All events - opens the full session editor so you can change every session in the series.

For a true one-occurrence override, choose This event only.

Cancel a single occurrence

To pull one session - a closure, a clash with a one-off event, or a date you simply can't run - cancel that occurrence without removing the schedule.

1. 1
   Open the occurrence from the calendar.
2. 2
   Expand Cancel session at the top of the form.
3. 3
   Select Cancel session and confirm.

Cancelling one occurrence does all of this automatically:

• Removes the session from customer calendars.
• Refunds any paid bookings via Stripe.
• Returns voucher credits and member-included sessions to each customer's balance.
• Sends each booked customer a cancellation email.

Bookings are soft-cancelled - kept as records and hidden from customers - so an accidental cancel stays recoverable. Cancelling never deletes the occurrence from your history.

Reinstate a cancelled occurrence

A cancelled session can be brought back. Open it from the calendar and select Reinstate session. The date becomes bookable again straight away.

Common questions

1. Does an override change my repeat schedule? No. An instance override is stored on the single occurrence only. Your repeat schedule and every other session it generates are untouched.

2. How do I change every session in the series? Choose All events when saving, or open the schedule directly in the session editor. Both apply the change to the whole series.

3. What's the difference between cancelling one occurrence and deleting the schedule? Cancelling pulls one date and refunds its bookings, leaving the schedule to keep generating future sessions. Editing or removing the schedule in the session editor affects the whole series.

4. Will customers be told if I move a session's time? Not automatically. Session warns you when a time change affects existing bookings, but those customers aren't emailed - contact them yourself. Cancelling, by contrast, does send an automatic cancellation email.

5. My override lowered capacity below the number already booked - what happens? The session counts as full and takes no new bookings. Existing bookings are kept. To free up space you'd need a customer to cancel, or you can cancel the occurrence entirely.

6. Can I override an add-on or membership price for one date? Yes. The Prices section lets you show, hide, or re-price price options, memberships, and add-ons for that occurrence alone.