Sometimes you need shorter operating hours than usual—for holidays, staff shortages, or slow periods. This article explains how to configure reduced hours for specific dates.

When to Use Reduced Hours

Reduced hours are useful for:

  • Holiday eves — Closing early on Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving eve
  • Slow periods — Reduced hours during off-season
  • Staff shortages — Temporary reduction due to limited staffing
  • Weather events — Shortened hours during storms or extreme conditions
  • Partial closures — Open for limited services only

Configuring Reduced Hours

  1. Navigate to Availabilities > Date-specific hours
  2. Click Add Hours
  3. Select the date(s) for reduced operation
  4. Add time slots with your shortened hours
  5. Click Apply, then Update Date Overrides

Example: Christmas Eve

Regular hours: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Reduced hours for December 24:

  • 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM (lunch service only)

Closing Early

To close earlier than usual:

  1. Keep your normal opening time
  2. Set an earlier closing time
  3. Remove any evening time slots Example:
  • Normal: 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
  • Reduced: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Opening Late

To open later than usual:

  1. Set a later start time
  2. Keep your normal closing time (or adjust as needed) Example:
  • Normal: 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
  • Reduced: 12:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Eliminating Time Periods

If you normally have multiple service periods, you can skip some:

Normal schedule:

  • Breakfast: 7:00 AM - 10:00 AM

  • Lunch: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

  • Dinner: 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM Reduced schedule (no dinner):

  • Breakfast: 7:00 AM - 10:00 AM

  • Lunch: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Simply don't include the dinner slot in your date-specific override.

Reduced Hours vs Closed

Choose the right option for your situation:

Scenario Use
Operating shorter hours Reduced hours
Not operating at all Closed
Limited services available Reduced hours with specific slots

If you're not open at all, mark the date as closed instead of configuring reduced hours.

Communicating Reduced Hours

When you set reduced hours:

  1. Your AI agent will only offer bookings during the reduced times
  2. Your online booking page shows the updated availability
  3. Consider adding a note to your knowledge base explaining the change

    💡 Tip: For significant changes (like holiday hours), update your knowledge base so your AI agent can explain the hours to callers.

Planning for Slow Periods

If you regularly have reduced hours during certain periods (like winter months):

  1. Plan your reduced schedule in advance
  2. Add date overrides for each affected date
  3. Select multiple dates at once if they share the same hours
  4. Review and update before the period begins

Reverting to Normal Hours

Reduced hours are date-specific. Your regular schedule automatically resumes once the specified dates pass. There's no need to manually restore normal hours—they return automatically.