How to Prevent Double Bookings at Your Court
Updated
Two groups arrive at 7pm, both holding a confirmation for Court 2. Someone has to leave, and whichever group it is will remember. Double bookings are the most visible way a court business loses customers — and almost every one comes from the same few causes.
Why double bookings happen
A double booking is almost never one person's mistake. It's a process where more than one person can promise the same slot without checking the same record.
- Two staff members answer Messenger at the same time and both say yes
- The owner takes a booking by phone and forgets to update the sheet
- A slot is "held" for someone who hasn't paid, then given away — or not
- Open Play or a private event isn't written on the same calendar as bookings
Rule 1: one source of truth
Every booking — online, phone, walk-in, Open Play, a court closed for resurfacing — has to be written in one place, and everyone has to check that place before saying yes. A shared spreadsheet is the minimum. A booking system is better, because it refuses the second booking rather than relying on someone to look.
Rule 2: make holds expire
A big source of confusion is the half-booked slot: a player asked for it, but hasn't paid. Decide how long an unpaid hold lasts, tell the player, and release it automatically when the time is up. That way a slot is either clearly taken or clearly free.
Rule 3: block, don't remember
Maintenance, tournaments, private events and Open Play sessions should block the court on the calendar exactly like a booking does. If staff have to remember that Court 3 is closed on Saturday, someone eventually won't.
Rule 4: check the booking at the door
Checking players in against their booking — by name or, better, by scanning a QR pass — catches mistakes before play starts instead of mid-game, and gives you a record of who actually showed up.
How HomeCourt handles it
HomeCourt's booking grid re-checks availability at the moment a booking is saved, so two players clicking the same slot at the same second can't both get it. Unpaid holds expire on their own, Open Play sessions and maintenance blocks take the court off the grid, and each confirmed booking gets a QR entry pass for check-in.