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Closing Online Bookings for Specific Days

Date exceptions allow you to block off areas and shifts on specific dates so that guests cannot them book online.

To quickly close off online bookings on a specific date(s), log into your Dineplan account and follow the below steps:

  • Click on the Exceptions tab from the menu bar on the left of the screen.

  • Click on the Add date exception button in the top right corner.

  • On the new screen that loads, complete the following fields:

  • Exception Name: Give the exception a relevant name, such as Closed, Fully Booked, Private Event, etc. This name will reflect internally on your Reservations Dashboard.

  • Online Exception Name: This will be what reflects on your booking calendar to guests. The system will automatically copy the Exception Name here but you can customise this if you would like a different description to display for guests. 
  • Exception Type: The system will default to Single Date. If you only need to close off one day, you can leave it as is. Select the relevant date you want to close from the calendar.

    If you need to close off more than one day, open the dropdown under Exception Type and select Date Range instead. You can now choose the start and end dates from the calendars.

    When you select date range, an optional field called “Apply to Weekdays” will also appear. This can be used if you only want to close specific days within that range. For example, for the months of June and July,  you would like all Tuesdays to be closed. Simply check the boxes next to the days you want included.

  • Disabled Shifts and Disabled Seating Areas: Under these two sections, all of your existing shifts and seating areas will be pre-selected for you. This makes it quick and easy to close off everything when needed.

If you’d like to keep a shift or seating area open, simply remove it from the “Disabled” section so it is not included when you create the Exception.

For example, if you want to close your online bookings for Breakfast only remove the Lunch and Dinner shifts from the "Disabled Shifts" section.

If you only want to close off a certain area and keep the rest open, remove the areas you want to keep open from the "Disabled Seating Areas" section. 

  • Exception Notes: This field is optional. You can add any details here that may be relevant for yourself or other staff regarding your exception.

  • Lastly, fill in your name at the bottom and click on the green Save Exception button to create it and close off your online bookings.

To get a quick overview of what is closed and what is still open across your Exceptions, you can check the colour of the blocks in the Exceptions list.

  • Any blocks that are RED indicate that the shift/seating area are CLOSED.

  • Any blocks that are GREEN mean that the shift/seating area are OPEN.

  • Any blocks that appear greyed out mean that the seating area is not normally open in a shift at all.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Closing your online bookings using an Exception will not cancel any existing bookings. It will only stop new online bookings from being made.

If your restaurant is going to be closed, guests with existing bookings on the date will not be notified of this, so you will need to reach out to let them know and manually cancel their bookings.

Keep in mind that if you create any new shifts or seating areas AFTER an Exception has been made, they will not be included in the Exception and will remain open. You will need to manually update the Exception and add the new Shift/Seating Area to be included. 


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