Easy Appointment Booking gives you two ways to handle multiple guests: group bookings, where several customers can book the same timeslot independently, and private bookings, where one party occupies a slot regardless of how many people are in their group. This guide explains how each works and how to configure them.
Private bookings vs. group bookings
| Private booking | Group booking |
Who can book a slot | One customer (one party) | Multiple customers at once |
Best for | 1:1 appointments, restaurant tables, photography sessions | Classes, tours, workshops, museum visits |
Capacity | Slot closes after one booking | Slot stays open until the attendee max is reached |
Guest count | Controlled via product variants | Controlled by the in-app guest counter |
Group bookings
Group bookings are enabled automatically when you set the max attendees per timeslot to more than 1.
Go to Dashboard > Show all events and click Edit on your event.
On the event settings page, find the Max attendees per timeslot field.
Set it to the maximum number of people you want to allow in a single slot.
Click Save.
Once the max is greater than 1, a guest counter appears in the booking flow. Customers can increase the number of guests, and the price adjusts automatically (for example, at $10 per person, a party of 4 pays $40). No product variant setup is required.
💡 Tip: The attendee maximum syncs directly with the product quantity in Shopify — you don't need to manage inventory separately.
Private bookings
For private bookings (one party per slot) use the Private Appointment Setting under Edit Event > Availability > Availability Options and Hide timeslots as soon as any booking is made. This way, regardless of count of guests that will block the timeslot.
Pre-select their group size before picking a time
For events with a max of more than 1 attendee, you can show a quantity selector above the calendar so customers pick their group size first. The calendar then only shows timeslots with enough remaining capacity for that group.
This is especially useful for tours, classes, and tastings where it's a poor experience to let a customer pick a time only to find out the slot can't fit their whole party.
Go to Settings > Storefront.
Enable Allow pre-selecting number of attendees.
Click Save.
The selector only appears on events that allow more than one attendee per booking — single-attendee events are unaffected. (This feature was previously in beta and is now generally available; no need to ask us to turn it on.)
How capacity affects timeslot availability
Each time a customer books, the number of attendees they select is subtracted from the remaining capacity for that slot. When the cumulative attendees reach the maximum, that timeslot is no longer shown to new customers.
Example: Your pottery class has a max of 8 attendees. Three customers have already booked (1 + 2 + 3 = 6 attendees). The slot still appears for groups of 1 or 2, but a group of 3 or more won't see it as available.
Setting a minimum number of attendees
You can require a minimum group size before a booking is accepted — useful for events that don't make sense with fewer than a certain number of people.
Go to Dashboard > Show all events and click Edit on the event.
Click the Advanced tab.
Scroll to the Booking Management section.
Set Minimum number of attendees per time slot per booking.
Click Update Advanced Settings.
Setting a maximum number of bookings per day
In addition to per-slot capacity, you can cap the total bookings accepted in a single day.
Go to Dashboard > Show all events and click Edit on the event.
Click the Advanced tab.
Check the Maximum bookings per day box and enter your limit.
Click Update Advanced Settings.
Charging per person vs. a flat rate
Scenario | Setup |
Charge per person, multiple independent bookings | Set max attendees > 1; the guest counter multiplies price automatically |
Charge per person, one party per slot | Use product variants with per-person pricing |
Flat rate regardless of group size, one party per slot | Set max attendees to 1; use Intake Questions to capture guest count |
Flat rate regardless of group size, multiple bookings per slot | Set max attendees > 1; set price once on the product |