Lapsed Bookings - Definition & Prevention

Introduction

Depending on your organization's Booking Policy, Bookings from the Members portal may require Admin approval. Such Bookings are scheduled as Tentative. When left unattended, they turn to Lapsed Bookings. Here's more about that and how to prevent them.

What Are Lapsed Bookings

Sometimes Tentative Bookings do not receive Admin approval. However, they still occupy a time slot in the Booking Schedule for the particular Resource. After the allotted time expires, Tentative Bookings become Past Bookings. Members cannot Cancel or Update them, and Booking Fees are not accounted for.

An example of a Past Booking:

In the Admin portal, Past Bookings are marked as Lapsed in the profile page (Community/Members) of the Member who created the Booking:

Prevention

Technically, Admins can Delete, Cancel, and Update Lapsed Bookings. But preventing these from occurring is a more sensible approach. To that, simply navigate to Settings/Platform Modules/Bookings & Calendar and look for the field labeled Automatic tentative booking cancellation.

Automatic tentative booking cancellation makes it possible to automatically cancel Tentative (unapproved) bookings an hour (or more) before their scheduled start. Simply adjust the desired number of hours in the field. This will effectively prevent Lapsed Bookings.