Bookings
Let buyers book a time with you from your service page, pay by card, and manage every appointment from Space.
A booking is an appointment on an appointment-type service — a haircut, a lesson, a repair visit, a consultation. You publish the hours you are open, the buyer picks a slot and pays, and the time is theirs.
Bookings are one of the two ways a service sells. The other is orders for delivered work. Which one a listing uses is decided when you create the service.
Where to find it
| Who | Where |
|---|---|
| Buyer | The service page (/services/{seller}/{service}) → Book appointment |
| Seller and buyer | Space → Services → Bookings (/user/space?category=services&tab=bookings) |
| Old link | /user/bookings — still works and redirects to the Bookings tab. Notification emails use it. |
| Seller's hours | Your own service page → Your availability |
How a buyer books
When the seller has published hours
- Open the service and click Book appointment (or Book now).
- Choose a package if the service has more than one.
- Pick a day, then a time. Times are shown in the seller's time zone, and the panel says which zone that is.
- Optionally add Anything the seller should know and a Phone number.
- Click Confirm & pay. Stripe's secure checkout opens.
- Pay by card. You come back to the service page with Booking confirmed.
The payment is the confirmation. The seller does not have to approve a slot they published and were paid for.
When the seller has no hours yet
The listing offers Ask for a time instead.
- Pick the Day, Time and How long (30, 45, 60, 90 or 120 minutes).
- Add a note or phone number if you like.
- Click Request this time.
For a paid package you are taken to card checkout, the same as a published slot. The seller can still see the request and confirm or decline it.
Free bookings
If the chosen package has no price, or card payments are not available on the platform, no payment is taken. The booking is sent as a request, and the seller confirms or declines it.
Booking rules
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| How far ahead | Slots are offered for the next 14 days. |
| Minimum notice | Nothing earlier than 2 hours from now can be booked. |
| One diary per seller | A booked hour is blocked across all the seller's services, not just the one it was booked on. |
| Payment hold | While a buyer is on the checkout page, the slot is held for them. If they do not pay within 30 minutes, the slot is released. |
| Time zone | Slots are generated and shown in the seller's zone. A time the buyer proposes with Ask for a time is read in the buyer's zone. |
| Your own listing | You cannot book yourself. You see your availability editor instead. |
| Sign-in | Anyone can see open times. Booking needs an account — Log in to book. |
If two people pick the same slot at the same moment, only one gets it. The other sees that the slot is no longer available and can pick another.
Set your availability
Sellers set their hours when they create an appointment service in chat. To change them later:
- Open your own service page while signed in.
- In Your availability, tick the days you take appointments and set the hours for each.
- Choose your Time zone and the Slot length (15, 30, 45, 60, 90 or 120 minutes).
- Turn on Use these hours for all my services if the same hours apply to every listing. Leave it off to set hours for this service only.
- Click Save availability.
Buyers can only pick from the times your hours leave open. Times already booked, and times inside the 2-hour notice window, are hidden automatically.
Below the editor, Booked with you lists your upcoming bookings with Confirm and Decline buttons for any waiting requests.
Managing bookings in Space
Open Space, pick the Services filter, then the Bookings tab. The tab shows a count when requests are waiting for you.
| Section | Who sees it | What is in it |
|---|---|---|
| Booked with you | Sellers | Appointments buyers booked with you, waiting requests first. Shows date, time, service, buyer name and phone, note, price and status. |
| You booked | Everyone | Appointments you booked with other sellers. |
| You ordered | Everyone who has ordered | Delivered-work orders you placed, with a link to each order. |
You do not need to be a seller to use this tab. If you only buy, you still see You booked and You ordered here.
Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Waiting for you (seller) / Requested (buyer) | An unpaid request. The seller has to confirm or decline. |
| Awaiting payment | The buyer is at checkout. The slot is held for 30 minutes. |
| Confirmed | Paid, or confirmed by the seller. The time is booked. |
| Completed | The appointment is done. |
| Declined | The seller turned the request down. The time is free again. |
| Cancelled | Called off by either side, or the payment was abandoned. The time is free again. |
Who can do what
| Action | Seller | Buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm a request | ✅ | — |
| Decline a request | ✅ | — |
| Cancel a request or confirmed booking | ✅ | ✅ |
A declined or cancelled booking is closed and cannot be reopened. Book a new time instead.
Notifications
When a booking is made, or a paid booking goes through:
- The seller gets a notification in Volnyn ("New booking: …") and an email. A request says Confirm or decline; a paid booking says View booking. Both link to the Bookings tab.
- Both sides get the booking in their Messages thread — the service, date, time and zone, plus any note and phone number.
Confirming, declining, cancelling or completing a booking posts an update into the same thread, so there is always one record of what was agreed.
Cancelling and refunds
- A buyer who backs out of Stripe's checkout is not charged, and the slot is released straight away.
- A buyer who closes the checkout tab without paying has the slot released automatically after 30 minutes.
- If a buyer pays after their hold ran out and someone else has booked that time, they see That time was taken. The payment is real, so support refunds it — the buyer should contact support.
- Cancelling or declining a booking in Volnyn does not move money back by itself. For a paid booking, contact support to arrange the refund.
Tips
- Publish hours, don't just take requests. Buyers who can see open times book and pay immediately.
- Keep one diary. Because a booked hour blocks all your services, you can offer several appointment services without being double-booked.
- Use the note. Ask buyers in your description to say what they need ("home visit, two haircuts") so you arrive prepared.
- Reply in Messages if a requested time does not suit you — decline it and suggest one that does.
FAQ
Does the seller have to confirm a paid booking? No. A paid booking on a published slot is confirmed as soon as the payment goes through.
Why can't I see any times on a service? Either the seller has not published hours (use Ask for a time), or every slot in the next 14 days is booked or too soon.
Which time zone are the slots in? The seller's. The booking panel says Times shown in followed by the zone.
Can I change a booking time? Not directly. Cancel it and book a new time, or agree a new time with the seller in Messages.
Where does a buyer see what they booked? On the service page under Your bookings for this service, in Messages, and in Space → Services → Bookings → You booked.
Are bookings charged in my local currency? Booking prices are charged in USD. The checkout shows the amount before you pay.
Next steps
- Selling services — create an appointment service.
- Orders — the delivered-work side of the marketplace.
- Wallet — balances, deposits and refunds.