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Open-Window (Time Period) Experiences

Most experiences have fixed start times — a sunset kayak tour at 5:30 PM, a yoga class at 7:00 AM. Customers pick the exact time they want.

But some experiences don't work that way. A day pass is valid all day. A self-guided mountain bike trail can be done any time during opening hours. An equipment rental has a pickup window. For these, an open-window schedule is a better fit — the customer picks a date only, and your experience is available any time within an opening window you set for that day.

When to use this​

Use Open window for experiences like:

  • All-day passes (museum, theme park, ski lift, beach access)
  • Self-guided activities with a check-in window (mountain bike trails, hiking permits)
  • Equipment rental pickup windows ("collect any time between 8 AM and 10 AM")
  • Drop-in sessions or unstaffed attractions
  • Open-entry experiences where the customer arrives whenever they want

Use Fixed start times (the default) for experiences with a specific start:

  • Guided tours that depart at a set time
  • Group classes (yoga, cooking, fitness)
  • Show times, scheduled performances
  • Anything with a defined start the customer must arrive for

Setting it up​

When creating an experience, Step 3 of the wizard asks about your Schedule type:

  1. Click + Add Experience and complete Steps 1 and 2 as normal.
  2. In Step 3, find the Schedule type question.
  3. Select Open window — customer picks date only.
  4. Continue with the rest of Step 3 (availability management, duration, capacity).
  5. Click Save.

After saving, add availability (see below) and the experience is ready to book.

Editing existing experiences​

You can change schedule type on the Edit Experience modal — but only if the experience has no bookings yet. Once any non-cancelled booking exists, the schedule type is locked. To switch, archive the existing experience and create a new one.

Adding availability​

For open-window experiences, you set an opening window per day instead of multiple time slots.

Manual (one-off days)​

  1. Open your experience and go to the Availability tab.
  2. Click Add Availability.
  3. Pick the Date.
  4. Set the Opening window — the time the experience opens and closes for that day.
  5. Set the Capacity (how many bookings you'll accept for that day).
  6. Optionally pick Guides.
  7. Click Save.

The result is one availability row per date, with the window stored against it.

Recurring schedule​

  1. Open your experience and go to the Availability tab.
  2. Click Manage Availability.
  3. Set the Date range (or pick seasons).
  4. Set the Opening window — applies to every applicable day.
  5. Tick the Applicable days of the week.
  6. Set Capacity per day.
  7. Click Save Availability.

EquipDash will create one row per applicable day in the range, each with the same opening window.

How it looks to customers​

On your booking widget:

  • The customer picks a date from the calendar.
  • Instead of a grid of time buttons, they see a single "Available · 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM" pill showing the window.
  • A short note tells them: "Show up anytime during the opening window."
  • They pick how many participants and check out.

There's no time-of-arrival question — the booking covers the entire window for that date.

Capacity model​

Capacity for open-window experiences is per day, not per time slot. If you set capacity to 20:

  • 20 customers total can book that date
  • Doesn't matter when they each arrive within the window
  • Once 20 spots are filled, the day shows as sold out

How bookings appear in your portal​

Open-window bookings show up the same as fixed-time bookings — in the Bookings table, manifest, and calendar — except the Time column shows the window (e.g. "9:00 AM – 5:00 PM") instead of a single start time.

OTA integrations (GetYourGuide, Viator)​

If you use GYG or other OTA integrations, an open-window experience should be mapped as a time_period product on the OTA side. EquipDash automatically sends the opening window in the OTA availability response. See the GetYourGuide integration guide for mapping details.

Limitations​

  • One window per day. You can't set "9 AM–12 PM and 2 PM–6 PM, closed for lunch" on a single day. Use a single continuous window or split into two experiences.
  • No per-customer time selection. If your experience requires the customer to commit to a specific arrival time, use Fixed start times instead.
  • Schedule type can't be changed once bookings exist. Archive and recreate to switch.