Assign resource categories to a package

Assigning resources to a package tells Rex which physical things to reserve when a guest books it: the lanes, bays, courts, rooms or simulators behind the package. You set it on the package itself, in the Assign Resource Category card, by linking one or more resource categories and choosing how many get reserved.

A few examples of what a package might reserve:

• A bowling package reserves a variable number of lanes based on the group's guest count.
• A birthday party reserves multiple resources at once, like a lane and a party room together.
• A group event reserves a fixed number of resources for every booking.

Assign a resource category

Most packages need one kind of resource: a bowling package needs a lane, a sim package needs a bay. That is the Primary Resource, the first row in the card and the one every booking always gets.

Setting up the Primary Resource takes two places, and this is the part people miss: the Assign Resource Category card only picks which category it comes from. The rule for how many are assigned lives in the Resource Allocation dropdown under Package Settings.

1

Open the Assign Resource Category card

Click the package, scroll to the Assign Resource Category card and click Edit to open the dialog.

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2

Pick the Primary resource category

On the Primary Resource row, pick the Resource category from the dropdown (for example "Lanes") and click Save changes. That's all the card sets for the Primary Resource: which category it pulls from. It has no Assigning Method or Count of its own.

3

Set the assigning rule in Package Settings

On the same package, click Edit on the Package Settings card and choose a Resource Allocation option (described below). Fill in the field it uses and click Save changes.

Resource Allocation has four options:

• Fixed Number: every booking reserves the same count, which you set under Number of Resources.
• Flexible Based on Guest Count: Rex scales the count to the group, using the Max Guests on Resource you set (for example 6 guests per lane).
• Guest Chooses: the guest picks how many resources at checkout.
• Flexible Based on Resource Capacity: Rex picks the resource that fits the party, using each resource's own Min Guests and Max Guests (set on the resource's Info tab). Use it when your resources seat different numbers of guests, such as tables for 2, 4 and 6.

Book multiple resources at once

Some packages tie up more than one kind of resource per booking: a birthday party might need a bowling lane and a party room at the same time. Beyond the Primary Resource, add an Additional Resource row for each extra category the package needs, and every reservation books them together for the whole booking.

4

Add an additional resource category

Reopen the Assign Resource Category dialog from its card and click Add Item to add an Additional Resource row. Pick its Resource category, then choose an Assigning Method (below) and, for most methods, a Count. You can't assign the same category to two rows: Rex blocks the save and asks you to remove the duplicate. Click Save changes when done.

Each Additional Resource row has an Assigning Method that controls how many resources each booking pulls from that category. The Primary row doesn't have one; its count comes from Package Settings.

Restrict a package to specific resources

By default a package can use any resource in its assigned category. To limit it to a hand-picked set, such as only your two premium lanes, restrict the row to specific resources. This works on any row, including the Primary.

1

Turn on Assign to Specific Resources

In the Assign Resource Category dialog, on the resource row, switch on Assign to Specific Resources ("Turn on to manually assign resources"), then click Edit to open the Select Custom Resources picker.

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2

Pick the resources and save

Check only the resources this package should use, and click Save changes. The package now books against just those resources and ignores the rest of the category.

Let guests choose a specific resource

By default Rex picks which resource a booking gets, and the guest never sees resource names. You can hand that choice over, so a guest books Lane 3 rather than whichever lane is free. This is a different setting from the Guest Chooses option under Resource Allocation: that one only lets the guest pick how many resources, not which ones.

Open the Assign Resource Category dialog on the package. Each resource-category row has its own Allow guests to choose resource switch ("Let guests pick which resource in this category they book"). It is off by default, which is what makes Rex assign a resource automatically. Switch it on and that category's resources become selectable by name. The setting is stored per category per package, so turning it on for one package leaves every other package alone.

Choose how the picker appears

A second control in the same dialog, How guests choose their resource, decides which form the picker takes. It applies to every category on the package that guests are allowed to choose, and on the current booking flow the two forms are mutually exclusive: you get one or the other, never both.

When a category needs more than one resource per booking, the dropdown label gains a count, such as "Lane (Choose 2)", and the guest picks that many.

How schedules affect the choices

A resource's own schedule still decides when it can be booked, so it also decides when a guest can choose it. A resource is only bookable on dates its schedule covers, and one with its Schedule switch on but no hours behind it is never bookable on any date. It is not hidden from the picker, though: once the guest picks a time, resources that cannot take that time are shown greyed out as unavailable rather than removed. A resource that is permanently greyed out usually means an incomplete schedule, not a busy one. See Set per-resource schedules and booking rules.

Stagger resources with Sequential Scheduling

By default, every resource on the package is held for the entire booking. Sequential Scheduling lets you say when each one is active inside that window instead, so a resource is only tied up for the part of the booking it's actually needed.

1

Turn on Sequential Scheduling

In the Assign Resource Category dialog, switch on Sequential Scheduling at the top. A Resource Allocation timeline appears showing the package's full duration.

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2

Set when each resource is active

For each resource, drag the slider to set when it Starts and Ends within the booking. Use Split to give a resource more than one window. If part of the package isn't covered, Rex shows how much time is still unallocated.

After saving, run a test booking on your reservation page to confirm the right resources are reserved and, if you set up Sequential Scheduling, that each one is held only for its window.