Bookings are the appointments and reservations your customers make. This article explains how the booking system works in Speako.

What Is a Booking?

A booking is a scheduled appointment or reservation that includes:

  • Date and time — When the customer is coming
  • Customer information — Name, phone, email
  • Duration — How long the booking lasts
  • Resource — Table (restaurants) or staff member (services)
  • Status — Confirmed, cancelled, completed, etc.

Booking Sources

Bookings can come from multiple sources:

AI Agent

When customers call your business:

  1. Your AI agent handles the conversation
  2. Collects customer details and preferences
  3. Checks availability in real-time
  4. Creates the booking automatically

Online Booking Page

Customers can book directly online:

  1. Visit your booking page
  2. Select date, time, and service/party size
  3. Enter their contact information
  4. Confirm the reservation

Manual Entry

Your team can create bookings:

  1. Open the booking calendar
  2. Click to add a new booking
  3. Enter customer and booking details
  4. Save the reservation

Booking Lifecycle

A booking goes through stages:

  1. Created — Booking is made, status is "confirmed"
  2. Confirmed — Active reservation awaiting service
  3. Customer arrives — For restaurants, marked as "seated"
  4. Service delivered — Appointment or meal happens
  5. Completed — Booking finished successfully Alternative paths:
  • Modified — Customer changes date/time (old booking marked "modified")
  • Cancelled — Customer or business cancels

Key Booking Information

Every booking stores:

  • Booking reference number
  • Customer name and contact
  • Date and time
  • Duration
  • Party size (restaurants) or service type (services)
  • Assigned table or staff member
  • Special requests or notes
  • Status
  • Creation timestamp

How Availability Is Checked

When a booking is requested:

  1. System checks operating hours for that date
  2. Verifies resource availability (table/staff)
  3. Confirms no time conflicts exist
  4. If available, booking is created If unavailable, alternatives may be suggested.

Booking Notifications

When bookings are created or changed:

  • Customer receives confirmation email
  • Team receives notification (if configured)
  • Dashboard updates in real-time