How Table Reservation Hours and Booking Lead Time Work Together

Overview

Table reservation hours determine when your restaurant accepts reservations, while booking lead time determines how close to a reservation time customers can make a booking.

Understanding how these settings work together helps you configure realistic reservation availability on your storefront.

Where to Find It

• Reservation hours: Settings → Table Reservation → Book a table Hours

• Booking lead time: Settings → Table Reservation → General

1. Configure Reservation Hours

1. Open Book a table Hours.
2. Enable Set different operating hours for Book a table service if you want separate reservation hours.
3. Enable the Open toggle for each day when reservations are accepted.
4. Set the opening and closing times.
5. Use + Add slot if reservations are accepted during multiple periods on the same day.
6. Click Save Hours.

2. Configure Booking Lead Time

1. Open Settings → Table Reservation → General.
2. Find Booking Lead Time (mins).
3. Enter the minimum number of minutes required before a reservation can be made.
4. Click Save changes.

For example, a lead time of 60 minutes means customers must book at least one hour before their selected reservation time.

3. How the Settings Work Together

• Reservation hours define the operating periods available for bookings.
• Booking lead time limits how close to the selected time a reservation can be made.
• Time Interval (mins) controls the spacing between available reservation slots.
• Maximum Days Ahead controls how far into the future customers can reserve.

The storefront's available booking times depend on these settings working together.

Example

Suppose your restaurant accepts reservations from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM and from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

You configure:

• Booking lead time: 60 minutes
• Time interval: 30 minutes

A customer attempting to book at 11:30 AM may not be able to select a 12:00 PM reservation because it is less than 60 minutes away. The next available slot will depend on the configured interval and other booking rules.

Important Notes

• Booking lead time does not change your restaurant's opening or closing times.
• Reservation hours do not override the minimum booking lead time.
• Multiple reservation periods should be configured separately when your restaurant closes between services.
• Review the storefront after saving to verify that available reservation slots match your intended schedule.

Final Checklist

• Reservation hours are correct for each day.
• Multiple operating periods are configured where needed.
• Booking lead time reflects your reservation policy.
• Time intervals are configured appropriately.
• You clicked Save Hours and Save changes in the relevant sections.

Updated on: 21/10/2026