The Resource Availability add-on allows you to manage your resources (human or material). It ensures that the resources required to carry out an event are available, or prevents it from being booked. If you offer multiple activities at the same time, but cannot split yourself – or your equipment – in two, this add-on is made for you. It is also designed to respond to a wide variety of complex cases.
Set up your resources
The first thing you can do is register your resources and define how many of them you have.
A resource can be assigned to each booking or once to the whole event. It is also possible to assign a resource to some bookings, for example, if your resource (a vehicle, a room, an equipment, etc.) can accomodate between x and y people.
You can define if the resource should be hidden, that is to say if the customer should never know that this resource is associated with his / her booking.
You can set unavailability periods, such as days off for your staff. Every event requiring this resource will be unavailable during these times. Similarly, you can totally disable the resource to make all these events unavailable immediately.
Allocate resources to your activities
Now that you have inventoried your resources, you want to allocate them to your activities.
In your activity settings, choose the resources and the quantity that should be assigned when a booking is made.
Tip: You can select a category of resources instead. Categorizing your resources allows you to easily add or remove resources in the future, without having to change the allocations’ settings.
Here you also define whether a resource should be assigned to each booking or once to the whole event. For example, if you offer a guided quad tour, you should allocate one quad per booking, and one guide per event.
Allocate resources to groups of events
Just like for your activities, you can allocate resources to be assigned only if the group is booked. For example, if you are grouping a morning event and an afternoon event, you can allocate one meal per booking for the group only.
Automatic and smart resource assignment
When a booking is made, the allocated resources are checked and assigned if available. If no resources are available, the booking is blocked.
This event cannot be booked because there is no “Guide” available.If you select multiple resources (or a resource category) in the same allocation, only one of them will be assigned. That resource is automatically and intelligently chosen according to the resources’ availability and settings when the booking is made.
However, if it is assigned per booking, you can allow resource combination. Example: a customer books 9 places, one “resource A” OR one “resource B” must be assign to each person, but only 7 “resource A” and 6 “resource B” are available at that time. In that case, 7 “resource A” and 2 “resource B” will be assigned.
Allow customers to choose their resources
By default, the resource are automatically chosen, but you can also let the customer choose the resource(s) manually. In that case, you can place the “Resource selection” field anywhere in your booking form.
Then, the customers will be able to select the desired resource for each activity, or for each event, at your convenience.
Similarly, there is an option to allow the user to choose the resource quantity. It doesn’t mean that the customer can overbook or lack resources, it means that the customer can choose the resource distribution. In the previous example, the customer can select 4 “resource A” and 5 “resource B” (instead of 7 “resource A” and 2 “resource B” by default).
The customer can also distribute the places among the resources instead of directly choosing their number. For example, the customer can choose to book “resource A” for 3 people and “resource B” for 6 people. This makes sense only if a resource can accomodate multiple people.
Filter, view and edit bookings’ resources
Once the booking is made, the resources are assigned to it. You can see them from the backend booking list. There is a filter to show only the bookings and the events to which the selected resources are assigned.
Each booking offers a preview of its resources on mouseover, a full view, and a button to edit the resources.
Indeed, you can assign any resource to any booking / event from the backend, and you can change the assigned resources without any restrictions.
Resources shortcode and export
The assigned resources can also be displayed in the frontend booking lists, in a global column or in a separate column per resource. The same goes for the booking exports (CSV and iCal).
You can display the assigned resources in the booking notifications thanks to specific tags, and they are automatically displayed in WooComerce cart items and order items.
Finally, the configurable [bookingactivities_resources] shortcode allows you to display a list of assigned resources (or on the contrary available resources) for the desired period, or for the desired event.
Required
Resource Availability is an add-on for Booking Activities, so you need to install and activate Booking Activities first. Woocommerce-related features are automatically activated when WooCommerce is installed and active as well.
1.0.2 - 2023/05/23
- Dev - Compatibility with Booking Activities 1.15.13
1.0.1 - 2023/04/18
- Tweak - Change the overall quantity as the user changes the resource quantity in booking forms
- Fix - Grouped activities resource selection were displayed twice in groups resource selection
1.0.0 - 2023/04/14
- Feature - Create a resource and set its availability
- Feature - Categorize your resources for easier administration
- Feature - Allocate resources (or resource categories) to an activity / a group category
- Feature - Assign resources to the whole event or per booking
- Feature - Availability options for resources: Days off, Min / Max bookings per resource (if assigned per-booking)
- Feature - Option to show or hide the booked resources on the frontend
- Feature - Allow the customer to choose the resource, if multiple are available, for each activity or each event (you need to add the "Resource selection" form field)
- Feature - Allow the customer to choose the number of resources, or the booking distribution per resource
- Feature - Filter the backend booking list and calendar per resource
- Feature - View and edit booking resource assignments from the backend
- Feature - Add user booking list columns: resources, booking_resources, event_resources, and resource_{id} where {id} is the resource id
- Feature - Add booking exports columns: Resources, Resources of the booking, event_Resources of the event, and one column per resource
- Feature - Add notification tags: {resources}, {booking_resources}, {event_resources}
- Feature - Add shortcode [bookingactivities_resources] to display resource list, with the number of assigned or available resources