Change session times seasonally

Lots of venues move their session times through the year - later starts as the evenings draw in, earlier ones as the light returns. The catch is doing that without breaking your rolling booking window, so customers can always book the same distance ahead across the changeover.

This article shows the two clean ways to shift times over time, and why reaching for an end date on its own is the thing that trips people up.

Why an end date stops sessions rolling out

Each repeat schedule has a booking window that works one of two ways, and they are mutually exclusive:

• No end date - a rolling window. Customers can always book a set number of days ahead, for example 60. This is the default.
• Schedule ends on a specific date - a fixed cutoff. Customers can book up to that date, then bookings stop.

So the moment you add an end date, it replaces the rolling window rather than bounding it. As that date approaches, the bookable range shrinks toward it - a week out, customers can only book a week ahead. That is almost always the "it overrides my 60-day plan" surprise.

Recommended: change the time from a date forward

The simplest way to move a time going forward, while keeping the rolling window, is to edit a single occurrence and apply the change from that date on. This ends the old time on the changeover date and continues a new rolling pattern with the new time - so the booking window never collapses.

1. 1
   Open Sessions and find the session on the first date the new time applies.
2. 2
   Open that session and select Edit.
3. 3
   Change the time (and duration, if it changes too).
4. 4
   When you save, choose This and following events as the scope.

Everything from that date forward switches to the new time, the earlier dates keep the old time, and because the continuing pattern has no end date it keeps rolling out the same distance ahead. Bookings already made are not affected.

Alternative: run schedules back to back

If you prefer to plan the whole year up front, you can add several repeat schedules to the same session with start dates that hand over from one to the next. This is covered in full under repeat schedules - the key point for keeping your window intact is below.

1. 1
   Give each earlier stretch its own schedule with a start date and an end date - for example "5pm from 1 October" ending "31 March".
2. 2
   Give the current stretch a start date and No end date, so it keeps rolling out to your full booking window.
3. 3
   When the season turns again, set an end date on the now-current schedule and add the next one starting the following day with No end date.

Which one to use

• Times drift with the seasons and you adjust as you go - use This and following events. One edit per change, nothing to plan ahead, and the rolling window looks after itself.
• You already know the whole year's pattern - use back-to-back schedules with start and end dates, keeping the current one on No end date. Reports get a clean cutover between stretches.

Both keep sessions that never change exactly as they are - leave those on a single rolling schedule and they roll out on your booking window automatically.

Common questions

1. I set an end date and now customers can only book up to that date. That is expected - an end date replaces the rolling window rather than bounding it, so the bookable range shrinks toward the date. To shift times without that, use This and following events, or keep your current schedule on No end date and put the end date only on the stretch that has already been replaced.

2. Does "This and following events" affect bookings people have already made? No. It only changes the time from the chosen date forward. Earlier dates and any existing bookings are untouched.

3. Will there be a gap in the calendar across the changeover? No, as long as the continuing pattern has no end date. Customers see the old time up to the changeover date and the new time beyond it, one continuous run.

4. My unchanging sessions - do I need to touch them? No. Leave them on a single rolling schedule with no end date and they keep rolling out to your booking window on their own.

5. Can I still use an end date at all? Yes - it is the right tool for a session that genuinely finishes on a set date, like a fixed-length course or a closure. Just don't use it on the schedule customers are currently booking if you want the rolling window.

6. I changed the org's default booking window but old schedules still use the old distance. Existing schedules keep the window they were created with. Open each schedule and update its window - see booking window.