Booking statuses
How a place books and where to read the status of a booking.
How a place books
booking_source on each search result says how a booking goes through. Pass it to book unchanged. You do not need to interpret it: read status.
| Way | What happens | First status | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instant | The booking system confirms directly. | confirmed | Seconds |
| Through the venue’s page | WhatsDo fills in the venue’s own booking page. | pending | Minutes |
| Reservation partner | WhatsDo books on the venue’s page with its reservation partner. | pending | Minutes |
By a person (source: "manual") | A WhatsDo team member finishes the booking. | pending | Varies |
Most bookable places book through the venue’s page. Salons, spas, massage and yoga book through the venue’s page only.
Before booking
There is no availability check before book. Each call is a real request. Confirm the place, date, time and party size with the person first, and always send date_time with an offset.
Statuses from book
status | Meaning | What to tell the person |
|---|---|---|
confirmed | The booking went through. | Booked. Give confirmation_number when there is one. Instant bookings do not issue one: say so and give the venue’s phone. |
pending | Sent, not confirmed yet. | Requested, not confirmed yet. Then poll my_bookings. |
requires_payment | The booking system asked a follow-up question. | Answer the non-payment part with continue_booking. For anything the venue charges, send the person to its own page. |
failed | Not booked. | Read message. It often names another time. |
slot_unavailable, unavailable | That time is not available. | Offer the times in message or alternatives word for word. |
conflict | The time clashes with the person’s calendar. | Show busy_intervals and ask for another time. |
Reading the status
Nothing is pushed. Call my_bookings to read the current status of each booking: pending, confirmed, failed or cancelled. A time that was gone shows as failed, with the offered time in message.
- Poll about every 30 seconds for up to about five minutes. If it is still
pending, tell the person it is still being processed. - Never report
pendingas booked. sourcecan change after booking.manualmeans a WhatsDo team member is finishing the booking by hand. Keep polling.
When status and message disagree
A row can read confirmed while its message says no booking was submitted. Treat it as not booked, show both to the person and ask them to check with the venue.
Cancelling
cancelled: cancelled on WhatsDo.cancellation_requested: a WhatsDo team member cancels by hand. The booking staysconfirmeduntil then. Instant bookings cancel this way.- A
pendingbooking through the venue’s page is cancelled on WhatsDo only. Nothing reaches the venue. If the venue already sent a confirmation, use its cancellation link or phone. - There is no reschedule. Cancel, then book again.