A time only appears on your booking page when it passes every check below, for that date and that number of guests. If a time you expected is missing, work down the list: the first check that says no is your answer. If nothing at all is showing, start with My venue isn’t showing availability online.
1. Is it switched on for online booking?
All four switches must be on:
- the area’s Online switch, under Areas
- the meal’s Bookable online, under Meals
- the time’s WEB switch, under Times
- Online booking on the tables, under Tables
In NomNom Web: Configuration → Areas, Meals, Times or Tables. In the phone app: Configuration, then the same tabs; a time’s switch there is Online Booking.
2. Does the meal run on that date?
- The time’s DAYS include that day of the week. If an area has its own times, check its list, not All rooms (default).
- The date falls between the meal’s Active from and Active until.
- If you use seasons, the date is in the season you expect. Dates outside every season use Default.
3. Is there a schedule change?
Open the date under Schedule changes. Close / open meals can close the meal. Disable online booking stops online bookings all day, from a time or between two times, for the whole venue or one area. Modify times replaces the meal’s usual times for that date, and each custom time’s own online switch decides, even if the meal is off online. See Closing dates and one-off changes.
4. Is it far enough ahead?
- No bookings within stops bookings for times starting within that window of now, across the venue (up to 24 hours).
- A meal’s Minimum notice can ask for more. Where both apply, the longer wins.
- A meal’s Online booking cut-off closes it online for the rest of today once that time passes.
See Requiring more notice for certain meals and Closing online bookings for the day: the online booking cut-off.
5. Is there room for this many guests?
These count every booking already taken, yours included. A time only disappears for a party that would take it over, so a couple may still see 7pm when a party of six can’t.
- MAX on the time: guests booked for that exact minute. On All rooms (default) it counts every area; on an area’s own list, just that area. 0 means no limit.
- The meal’s Online maximum guests: the whole meal that day, in that area. A schedule change can set an Online guest limit for this date.
- Venue limits: everyone booked for that time, across every area and meal.
- Maximum guests (or Maximum adults and Maximum children) under Settings → Online Booking & Discover: bigger parties can’t be chosen at all. Your Large party message can ask them to ring.
More in Limiting how many guests can book online and Capping guests at one time across your whole venue.
6. Is a table free?
At least one table or table group in that area has to be switched on for online booking, available that day under Available days and Online booking days, big enough, not kept for bigger parties by Smallest party online, and free for the whole turn length. A meal set to Don’t assign tables online skips this check and relies on the guest limits in step 5. For which table is chosen, see How NomNom picks a table for an online booking.
7. Dogs and high chairs
- A guest bringing a dog is only offered Dog friendly tables, as long as you’ve marked at least one.
- A guest bringing a dog isn’t offered a time once the dogs already booked at overlapping times, across your whole venue, reach your Maximum dogs per sitting.
- If you’ve set High chairs available, a meal isn’t offered when too few are left. They’re counted across the whole meal that day, in every area.
8. Is another guest booking it right now?
When a guest picks a time, their table is held for about 15 minutes while they finish (a little longer at the payment step), and nobody else is offered it. If they give up, it comes back.
Good to know
- Your team isn’t held back by these. Bookings you take yourself aren’t stopped by the online switches, MAX, Online maximum guests, the notice and cut-off, Smallest party online or venue limits. A table’s Available days applies to everyone.
- The calendar shows the days you’re open, not the days with room left. A date can be clickable and still offer no times once it’s full.
- Party size changes the answer. Test with the number of guests the guest tried.