How do I block time for drive days and holidays?
Short answer
Add drive days, holidays, and other unavailable periods directly to the calendar as blocked time before customers can book against them. Set recurring holidays once so they carry forward every year, and block one-off travel days as soon as they are known so the booking calendar never offers a slot you cannot actually fill.
Before you start
- A booking calendar already connected to your schedule.
- A list of recurring annual holidays you observe.
- Known upcoming travel or drive days.
- Access to edit calendar availability settings.
Step by step
- 1
List your recurring holidays
Write down every holiday your business closes for each year.
A complete list up front means you only configure this once.
- 2
Set holidays as recurring blocks
Mark each one to repeat annually rather than entering it fresh every year.
Recurring blocks remove a manual task you would otherwise forget.
- 3
Add known drive days as soon as scheduled
Block travel time on the calendar the moment a distant job is confirmed.
Early blocking prevents a local customer from booking into travel time by accident.
- 4
Block partial days when needed
Use half-day blocks for mornings lost to travel rather than blocking the whole day.
Partial blocks keep more of your available capacity bookable.
- 5
Apply blocks per crew or technician
Block only the calendar for the person or crew actually traveling or off.
A blanket block wastes capacity for anyone who is still available.
- 6
Confirm the booking calendar reflects the block
Check the public booking view to make sure blocked times no longer show as open.
A block that does not reflect on the customer-facing calendar defeats its purpose.
- 7
Review the holiday list annually
Revisit the recurring list once a year in case observed holidays change.
Businesses adjust closures over time, and stale blocks either overreserve or underreserve.
What good looks like
- Customers can never book a slot during a holiday or drive day.
- Recurring holidays no longer require manual re-entry.
- Travel time is protected without blocking a technician's entire week.
- The public calendar always matches real availability.
Common mistakes
The ways this goes wrong in setup, and what to do instead.
Entering holidays manually every year›
Someone forgets to add a holiday and a customer books straight into it.
Do this instead: Set holidays as recurring annual blocks instead of one-time entries.
Blocking the whole team for one traveler›
A single technician's drive day removes availability for the entire crew list.
Do this instead: Apply calendar blocks to the specific person or crew that is unavailable.
Blocking too late›
A drive day gets added to the calendar after a local customer already booked into it.
Do this instead: Block travel time the moment the trip is confirmed, not the week before.
Never checking the public calendar›
A block is saved internally but still shows as open on the customer booking page.
Do this instead: Verify the customer-facing calendar after every new block you add.
Frequently asked
6 questions about block time for drive days and holidaysRelated guides
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