Blocking Online Booking
Sometimes a client - repeated no-shows, last-minute cancellations - shouldn’t be able to book on their own anymore, but you still want to take their bookings by phone. Blocking online booking does exactly that, on every plan.
What a Block Does
When a client is blocked:
- They cannot book online - the booking page shows a neutral message: “Online booking is currently unavailable. Please call the business to book: (your phone)”. It never says they were blocked.
- They cannot reschedule online - the reschedule link in their confirmation emails shows the same “contact the business” screen. Rescheduling is effectively booking a new slot, so it’s blocked too.
- If you use the WhatsApp booking assistant, “Book” and “Reschedule” reply with the same neutral message.
- They CAN still cancel online - a client who can’t cancel tends to simply not show up, so cancellation stays open.
- You can still book for them - from the calendar, the client profile, or by asking the AI assistant. Their existing appointments, reminders and emails are untouched.
The message the client sees is deliberately neutral - it reads like a business-wide setting, not a personal block. Your phone number is included when you have one set in your booking page contact details.
Blocking a Client
- Open Clients and select the client
- Click Block booking in the profile header
- Optionally write an internal reason (e.g. “3 no-shows in May”) - it’s kept for your records and never shown to the client
- Confirm
A red Blocked badge appears next to their name in the client list and profile. To lift the block, open the profile again and click Unblock booking.
Block History
Every block and unblock is recorded - date, reason, and whether it was done manually or through the AI assistant. The history is shown on the client profile, so you always know why and when a client was blocked, even months later.
Using the AI Assistant
On Max plans you can simply tell the assistant: “Block online booking for María, she missed three appointments” - it will ask you to confirm and record the reason in the history. The assistant also mentions an active block when you ask about a client, and the AI client summary includes it.
Good to Know
- The block matches the client’s email on the booking page and their phone number on WhatsApp. A client booking with a different email address won’t be recognized - the block is a barrier for normal use, not fraud protection.
- Blocking is not an unsubscribe: reminders for existing appointments and your campaigns keep working normally. To stop marketing emails, use the unsubscribe/opt-out tools instead.
- Deleting a client also deletes their block history.