Decide what one reservation means
Before you divide the day, finish this sentence: one reservation is for ___. It might be one student, one family, or one reader in a group discussion. That answer determines how many places each slot needs.
For this walkthrough, imagine family conferences from 3 to 4 PM. Each family needs twenty minutes, and you want ten minutes between appointments to make notes and prepare. One family reserves one appointment, even if two adults attend.
Write down the date, available window, session length, gap, and timezone. If you are still deciding which day works, settle that with a poll before asking people to reserve appointments.
Give each appointment enough room
Two twenty-minute appointments with a ten-minute gap fit inside this hour. The first starts at 3 PM, the second at 3:30 PM, and you finish at 3:50 PM. The final ten minutes are yours for follow-up. Compare that with a full hour of back-to-back conversations below.
How much room is between visits?
One available hour. Twenty minutes per appointment.
2 appointments · 20 minutes left for breaks and notes
3:00 PM to 3:20 PM
0 of 1 spot filled
10 minutes to prepare for the next family
3:30 PM to 3:50 PM
0 of 1 spot filled
10 minutes for notes and follow-up
Build the schedule in Signup Bubble
Start with the office-hours template and adjust its appointments to match your day. The example above uses one date; the starter also supports appointments spread over two days.
- 1
Choose the date and timezone
Under When is this event?, choose Fixed date & time for one day or Several dates & times for a program across days. Set the actual date and the timezone guests should follow.
- 2
Add the bookable appointments
Turn on Use signup slots. Give each appointment its date, start time, end time, and capacity. For our example, add 3:00 to 3:20 PM and 3:30 to 3:50 PM, with one place each.
- 3
Ask each family to choose one
Use Slot selection required and leave Allow multiple slot selections off. If you collect a family headcount with Allow group signups, keep Count whole party toward slot capacity off for these one-family appointments.
- 4
Add arrival instructions
Say where to meet, when to arrive, and how to join remotely if relevant. Explain that one reservation covers the family. Review every date and time after applying a starter schedule.
Match the limits to the appointment
Each appointment in this example has capacity one. Leave the separate event-wide Attendee limit empty unless you also need to cap the whole event. A total limit of one would stop the next family from booking even when the second appointment is available.
A reading discussion works differently: an eight-seat session needs capacity eight. If someone can reserve for friends, enable Allow group signups and Count whole party toward slot capacity so every reader uses a seat. The appointment length can be identical while the counting rules differ.
Hide public names if guests only need to see which times remain. Capacity controls places on this signup; it does not check personal calendars or prevent overlapping bookings on other events.