# Manage booking requests

> Review requests in the Booking Queue, accept or decline them, understand payment holds and automatic refunds, and know what clients receive and can change.

- Product: Workspace369
- Documentation version: 2026.3
- Section: Scheduling
- Last updated: 2026-09-07
- Canonical source: https://docs.workspace369.com/v/2026.3/scheduling/manage-booking-requests/

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Not every booking goes straight to the calendar. A page that uses **Request approval**, a service with **Manual confirmation**, or a service that takes payment first all create a request that waits for something: your decision, or the client's payment. The **Booking Queue** is where you see those requests and act on them.

## Where requests appear

Open **Settings** → **Scheduling & Tasks** → **Calendar Settings** → **Booking Pages** and scroll to the Booking Queue at the bottom of the screen.

Each request shows the service, the booking page it came through, the client's name and contact details, the assigned host, the requested time, and, for paid services, what is due now. Because the queue lives on the Booking Pages screen, it is visible to the workspace owner and admins.

Every booking, whether it waits here or goes straight to the calendar, also creates a client record in **Clients**, or links to the existing record that matches the client's email address, with the lead source Online booking. See [Clients and CRM](/v/2026.3/core-workflows/clients-and-crm/).

## Request statuses

| Status | Meaning | What happens next |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Needs acceptance | The page uses Request approval and nobody has decided yet. When the page's **Hold pending slots** option is on, the slot stays reserved while you decide | Accept or decline |
| Needs confirmation | The service uses Manual confirmation; the calendar event exists but is tentative | Confirm or decline |
| Waiting for payment | The client is paying a deposit or the full price; the slot is held | Wait; the request moves on when the payment completes, or is marked expired when the hold lapses |

Once a request is confirmed, declined, or its hold expires, it leaves the queue. Confirmed bookings live on the calendar; the queue keeps no history.

## Accept or decline a request

For a request that needs acceptance, choose **Accept and add**. The booking is added to the calendar, assigned to the host, and the client receives a "Booking accepted" email that includes a calendar invite and, when the service uses Google Meet, the meeting link. For a request that needs confirmation, the calendar event already exists, so the button reads **Confirm** and the tentative event becomes confirmed.

Choose **Decline** to turn a request down. You can add a reason, and the client receives a "Booking declined" email that includes it. If the client had already paid, the payment is refunded automatically; see Refunds below.

A request that is waiting for payment cannot be accepted; the button reads Waiting for payment until the client pays or the hold expires. You can still decline it.

## Understand payment holds

When a service requires a deposit or full payment, the client's slot is held for 30 minutes while they pay. The request shows Waiting for payment together with the time the hold ends, and no other client can take the slot in the meantime.

Once the payment completes, the request takes one of three paths: it is confirmed, it waits for your acceptance on a page with Request approval, or it lands in Needs confirmation when the service uses Manual confirmation. If the hold expires first, the request is marked expired, the time is released to other clients, and the request leaves the queue; the client can start a new booking. A payment that arrives after the hold has already expired is refunded automatically.

## Refunds

When a paid booking is canceled by the client within the service's cancellation policy, declined by your team, or paid after its hold had already expired, the full payment is refunded automatically to the original payment method. The refund takes 5–10 business days to appear on the client's statement.

Refunds are all or nothing; there are no partial refunds. A booking your team cancels from the calendar is not refunded automatically.

## What clients receive

- A confirmation email with a manage link once the booking is made. The manage page shows the appointment in the client's timezone, with the zone name.
- A "Booking accepted" or "Booking declined" email when your team decides on a request.
- A calendar invite (.ics attachment) and an "Add to Google Calendar" link in the confirmation, acceptance, payment received, and reschedule emails.
- Reminders at the times set on the service, 24 hours and 1 hour before by default, by email and, when the service has **Text message reminders** on, by text message.
- The ability to cancel or reschedule through the manage link, within the notice window set in the service's client policy. A change made through the link updates the calendar event and sends the client a confirmation of the change, such as the "Booking cancelled" email after a cancellation. The assigned host is notified in the app and, when **Email assigned teammate** is on, by email.

Client emails and reminder times are configured on the service; see [Configure a service for online booking](/v/2026.3/scheduling/configure-a-service-for-online-booking/).

## Change a booking from the calendar

An accepted booking is an ordinary calendar event. Open it on the calendar to move it, change the host, add notes, or cancel it, exactly as you would any other event.

Edits made from the calendar do not email the client and do not refund a payment automatically, so tell the client yourself if you move or cancel their booking there.

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Check |
| --- | --- |
| No times are offered | Eligible hosts have working hours on those days and no approved time off, the days are not workspace holidays or blackout dates, the page does not mark the hosts **Unavailable here**, and the minimum notice and booking window leave a bookable window |
| Times are offset by hours | Availability is calculated in the workspace timezone set in Business Details; confirm it, then check the timezone shown on the page, which is detected from the client's browser and can be changed with the timezone selector |
| A request never appears | The page may use **Instant booking**, which sends bookings straight to the calendar; only approval, confirmation, and payment steps create queue entries |
| The client did not get an email | **Email clients** may be turned off on the service, or the address was mistyped on the booking form |
| The client did not get a text reminder | **Text message reminders** is on for the service, and the phone number was entered with a country code (for example +1 …) |
| A refund has not arrived | Automatic refunds take 5–10 business days to appear on the original payment method, and a booking canceled from the calendar is not refunded automatically |

Return to [Online booking overview](/v/2026.3/scheduling/online-booking-overview/).

> Bookings you move or cancel from the calendar do not notify the client and are not refunded automatically. Changes made through the client's manage link, and decisions made in the Booking Queue, send an email.