Two different tools cover time off, and they don't overlap: a blackout closes the whole studio for a date, and a time block takes one instructor off the floor for a range of hours.
Closing the studio for a date
A blackout takes either a single date or an inclusive start-and-end range, plus an optional reason label like "Thanksgiving" that shows on your schedule.
The critical thing to understand: a blackout only blocks new bookings. It does not cancel appointments that already exist on those days, and it does not notify anyone. So before you close a date, look at what's already booked inside it — those clients still think they have a class, and it's on you to move or cancel them.
Past dates are refused. And a blackout only creates a closure — it can't add a one-off extra class or mark a single instructor out.
Reopening a closed date
Removing a blackout reopens the date. Same caveat in reverse: reopening only allows new bookings again. It doesn't restore anything that was cancelled while the studio was closed, and it doesn't notify anyone.
Blackout removal only removes blackouts. If a date is blocked by an instructor-out or an extra-class override rather than a closure, this won't touch it — you'll get a "not found" rather than an accidental deletion.
Blocking an instructor's time
A time block reserves a range of an instructor's day so no client can be booked into it. It's for breaks, admin time, travel, or anything else that isn't a class.
You give it:
- The instructor
- A date
- A start and end time (the end has to be after the start)
- Optionally, a short reason that shows in the schedule view
- Optionally, repeat weekly — the same weekday, from that date forward
Common questions
I blacked out a week and clients still have classes on those days. That's expected. Blackouts stop new bookings only; existing appointments survive untouched. Cancel or reschedule them yourself, and tell those clients.
An instructor is out sick for a week — is that a blackout? No. A blackout closes the studio for everyone. For one instructor, use time blocks, or handle it through coverage — see substitutes and instructor coverage.
Still stuck? Contact support — we answer real emails from real people.