Create your first package
Packages are what guests book — they define the experience, its price, its duration, and which resources it uses. Once your resource categories are in place, you're ready to build your first package.
Open the venue you're configuring and click the Packages tab, then click Create Package. The initial form captures the package name, prefix, pricing method, priority, and descriptions. Save it and you'll land on the package detail page where you'll configure everything else.
Package Info
Click Edit on the Package Info card to update the package name, prefix, and descriptions you entered on creation. This is also where pricing method and priority live.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Package name | What guests see on the reservation page. Be specific — "Bowling Reservation" beats "Reservation." |
| Package prefix | A short identifier (2–4 letters) that prepends every reservation number for this package. Use something recognizable — BWL for Bowling, PRT for Party. Helps your staff sort reservations at a glance. |
| Pricing method | How the package is priced — per lane per hour, per person, flat rate. The method changes which fields appear on the schedule and the booking page. |
| Priority | Controls where this package appears relative to others on the reservation page. Higher numbers show first. |
| Short description | One sentence shown on the package card. Aim for what's included plus a hook. |
| Long description | Full details guests see after clicking into the package. Include what's included, fine print, restrictions. |
Package Settings
Click Edit on the Package Settings card to configure resource allocation, guest limits, and the deposit.
Resource allocation
Resource allocation controls how many resources Rex assigns to each booking and whether that number scales with the number of guests.
Flexible based on guest count
Rex automatically assigns more resources as guest count goes up. You set the max guests per resource plus a min/max for the whole booking. Best for activities where each resource has a real capacity limit.
Best for: Bowling lanes, golf bays, anything where one resource holds a small group and large parties need to split.
Fixed
Every booking uses the same number of resources, regardless of guest count.
Best for: Private rooms, single-resource experiences where the price doesn't change with party size.
Guest chooses
Guests pick the number of resources at checkout. You set the min and max range.
Best for: When guests need explicit control — "how many lanes do you want?"
Guest limits and deposit
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Max guests per resource | (Flexible mode) The cap on a single resource before Rex auto-assigns a second one. For bowling, this might be 6 — a party of 7 triggers a 2-lane booking. |
| Minimum guests | The smallest party size a guest can book — usually 1. |
| Maximum guests | The largest party size you'll accept. With 6 per lane and a max of 24, that's up to 4 lanes per booking. |
| Deposit | A percentage of the package total or a fixed dollar amount, collected at checkout. 100% is common for low-priced bookings; 20–50% with the balance due at the venue is normal for higher-priced parties and events. |
| Confirmation email (override) | Optional per-package confirmation email that overrides the venue-level Reservations email. Useful when a specific package should route to a different inbox (e.g. parties go to the events manager). |
Duration Settings
Click Edit on the Duration Settings card to set how long bookings last and how far in advance guests can book.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Set duration | Every booking is the same length (e.g. always 2 hours). Use this when there's no reason for guests to choose. |
| Guest chooses duration | Guests pick from a list of options you provide — 1 hr, 1.5 hr, 2 hr, etc. The available options appear as a dropdown at checkout. |
| Buffer time before | Padding added before each reservation — for setup, cleaning, or staff transition between groups. |
| Buffer time after | Padding added after each reservation, same purpose. |
| Advance booking window | How far ahead guests can book. Anything outside the window is unbookable. |
Schedule
The Schedule card at the top of the page sets the package's hours of operation and the price for each time block. Click Add Schedule to create one — most packages only need a single schedule covering all operating hours.
Schedule setup has its own builder with date ranges, per-day time slots, rates, peak pricing, and age-restricted windows. See Set a package schedule for the full walkthrough.
Assign Resource Category
Click Edit on the Assign Resource Category card, then Add Item. Pick the resource category this package draws from — for a Bowling Reservation, that's your Bowling Lanes category. Most packages link to one category; you can add more if a package spans types.
If a package should only book specific resources within a category (e.g. lanes 1–8 for a kids' birthday package, not all 20), toggle on "Assign to specific resources" and pick the ones to include. Without this, the package can book any resource in the category.
Activate the package
On the right side of the package page, toggle Package Status to On. Until you do, the package is inactive and invisible to guests. Set the package image and visibility while you're there.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Package Status | On/Off toggle. Off hides the package from guests and the Host App, regardless of visibility. |
| Visibility | Default (everyone), Admin only (staff in the Host App), or Front-end only (guests, not the Host App). Default is the right choice for most packages. |
| Package image | The image guests see on the package card and detail page. Use a recognizable photo of the activity at your venue. |
Clone an existing package
Once you have one package set up, you don't have to build the next from scratch. From the Packages list, find a similar package, click its actions menu, and choose Clone. The clone copies pricing, durations, and allocation rules — just rename and tweak what's specific to the new package.
Assigned resources don't transfer when you clone a package. The cloned package starts with no resource categories attached. Open the Assign Resource Category card on the new package and add them again before activating.
Updated May 13, 2026
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