Every booking in Speako is tied to a specific location and brings together a customer, a time, and the resource needed to serve them. The resource depends on the location type: restaurant locations use tables, while service-business locations use staff and services.
Use this article to understand what a booking contains, where bookings can come from, and why the setup behind a booking matters.
What a booking includes
A booking can include:
- customer name and phone number
- customer email, when available
- booking date and time
- booking reference
- booking status
- location and timezone
- table and party size for restaurant reservations
- staff member and service for service appointments
- notes or special requests
The booking calendar uses this information to display the booking, search it, filter it, and open its details.
How bookings differ by location type
Restaurant bookings are built around table availability and party size. The system checks that the selected table exists for the location and that the party size fits within the table's minimum and maximum capacity.
Service-business bookings are built around a selected service and staff member. The booking flow uses service duration and staff availability to decide which staff members can be selected for a time.
💡 Note: If the booking flow cannot find a table, staff member, service, or time slot, review the location setup before assuming the calendar is broken.
Where bookings appear
Bookings appear in the Bookings area for the selected location. The standalone bookings page includes a location selector, so multi-location businesses can switch the view before reviewing or changing bookings.
Bookings also feed other dashboard views, such as booking trends and location-level activity summaries.
What happens after a booking is created
When a dashboard booking is created, Speako saves it with a confirmed status. If the customer is new, Speako adds them to your customer list. If a customer with that phone number already exists, Speako can update their name and email.
If notification options are enabled and email details are available, booking emails can be sent after the booking is saved.
What to check before relying on bookings
Before taking real customer bookings, confirm:
- the correct location is selected
- location timezone and availability are correct
- restaurant tables have correct capacity
- service-business staff and services are active and linked
- customer notification expectations are clear
- online booking and AI Agent booking tools are configured before customers use them
Bookings are only as reliable as the resources behind them.