Seasonal Business Hours Help
Overview
Seasonal business hours let you change your opening hours by period — "stay open later through the summer", "run 24 hours during Obon". You attach the hours to a date class you already created in Special Dates & Seasons, and they apply automatically for that period.
You no longer have to rewrite the business hours by hand at every change of season, which also removes the forgot-to-change-it-back failure (guests still booking until 22:00 in mid-winter).
This is not daylight saving time (DST). What you configure here is an operational change to your opening hours — "open longer in summer". Statutory DST, where the clock itself shifts and the UTC offset changes, is handled by the Timezone field in Basic Settings. Per-class hours cannot shift the clock.
This feature is being enabled facility by facility. If "Special Date & Season Hours" does not appear in the Business Hours section, the
ui_settings_date_tabfeature flag (shared with the Special Dates tab) is off for your facility. Ask support to enable it.
Key Features
- Set opening and closing times per Special Dates & Seasons class
- Mark a class as 24-hour operation (all-day opening during Obon, for example)
- Takes priority over the individual day-of-week settings
- Flows through to bookable hours, check-in eligibility and auto check-out at the same time
How to Set It Up
There are two steps.
1. Create the class in Special Dates & Seasons
Go to Settings → the "Special Dates" tab → Special Dates & Seasons and create a class for the period (for example Summer Hours, Obon).
A class is defined in exactly one place. You do not create a separate period for business hours — you reuse the same class you use for rates. See Special Dates & Seasons for how to create classes and periods.
2. Enter the hours per class in the Business Hours section
In the same tab, "Special Date & Season Hours" inside the Business Hours section lists the classes you have already saved. For each class you can set:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Use different business hours for this class | Turn on to give the class its own hours. Left off, those days use your normal day-of-week settings |
| Set specific hours / Open 24 hours | Pick one. "Set specific hours" uses the Opens/Closes fields below; "Open 24 hours" makes days in this class all-day (no times needed) |
| Opens | Opening time on days that fall in this class |
| Closes | Closing time on days that fall in this class (a time past midnight is allowed, e.g. 02:00) |
Always enter both the opening and the closing time. With only one side filled, nothing is saved: a warning appears inline and your previously saved window stays. And if a half-filled entry ever does reach the settings, the class is treated as not configured and those days fall back to the normal day-of-week settings — you will never end up with the new opening time and last season's closing time.
If no classes exist yet, the section says so. Create one in step 1 first.
Saving
⚠️ The save button is separate from the Special Dates & Seasons section.
Per-class hours are part of your business hours, so they are saved with the save button in the Business Hours section (the page's Save), together with your day-of-week hours. This section has no save button of its own.
| What you want to save | Which button |
|---|---|
| Class definitions and periods | "Save Class" / "Save Period" inside the Special Dates & Seasons section (its own buttons) |
| Per-class business hours | The save button in the Business Hours section (the same one as the day-of-week hours) |
Because the two adjacent sections save in different units: right after creating a class, save the class first, then enter its business hours, then press the page's Save.
Priority Order
When more than one setting applies to the same date, the one higher in this list wins.
| Priority | Setting |
|---|---|
| 1 (highest) | Per-class business hours (Special Dates & Seasons) |
| 2 | Individual day-of-week settings (the ones you enabled under "Individual Day Settings") |
| 3 | Default weekday / weekend business hours |
| 4 | 24-hour operation (the fallback when none of the above is configured) |
⚠️ Once a class has business hours, it beats the individual day-of-week setting for that date. Example: a facility with "Tuesdays 08:00-20:00" as an individual day setting that also gives its summer class 07:00-22:00 will open 07:00-22:00 on summer Tuesdays — the 08:00-20:00 setting is not used.
- Overlapping periods can no longer be saved, so each date belongs to exactly one class and its hours are unambiguous. Only for overlaps that already exist (saved before this rule) does the class with the higher priority number win (the same rule as rates). See Special Dates & Seasons
- Holiday business hours behave exactly as before, but on a date that belongs to a class, the class hours are used even if the date is also a public holiday
- Any date without per-class hours behaves exactly as it does today
What Business Hours Affect
Business hours drive four things at once, and per-class hours reach all four.
| Where | What changes |
|---|---|
| Bookable hours (booking grid) | The times a guest can pick become that date's class hours |
| Check-in outside business hours | On facilities with the outside-hours policy set to Deny, check-in now succeeds during the extended hours |
| Auto check-out time | Plans that auto check-out at closing time use the class closing time |
| Overnight fee boundary | Fee calculation for stays crossing the closing time follows the class hours |
Effect on Existing Reservations
The auto check-out time of a reservation that has already checked in does not move.
The auto check-out time is resolved and stored at check-in time. Changing your business hours afterwards will never check a current guest out earlier (or later) than they were told.
| Reservation state | When you change business hours |
|---|---|
| Already checked in | The auto check-out time does not change (it was fixed at check-in) |
| Not yet checked in | It is fixed with the new business hours when that reservation checks in |
| Bookable-hours display | Shows the new hours from the moment you save |
In other words: change the hours just before a season starts and arriving guests get the new hours, while only guests currently in-house are shielded.
Limitations
1. Not available on facilities set to 24-hour operation
If the facility as a whole has "24-Hour Operation" turned on, per-class business hours cannot be configured. The section is still shown, but every field is disabled and a message explains why.
To open 24 hours for one period only, leave the facility-level 24-hour operation off and pick Open 24 hours on that class instead.
2. No statutory daylight saving time (DST)
Per-class hours only change the times you are open. Statutory DST, where the UTC offset changes, is handled by the Timezone field in Basic Settings (see the note in the Overview).
3. The outside-hours policy cannot vary by class
Whether check-in is allowed outside business hours is a single facility-level setting. It cannot be allowed for one class and denied for another.
4. Business hours cannot differ by plan
Per-class business hours are a facility setting. Individual plans cannot carry their own seasonal hours.
FAQ
Q: I don't see per-class fields in the Business Hours section
A: Check three things. First, that at least one class exists and is saved in Special Dates & Seasons — with none, the section says so. Second, that facility-wide "24-Hour Operation" is off (with it on, the fields are disabled). Third, that the ui_settings_date_tab feature flag (shared with the Special Dates tab) is on for your facility; if not, ask support to switch it on.
Q: Can I create a new class from this screen?
A: No. The Business Hours section only assigns hours to classes that already exist. Classes themselves are created in Special Dates & Seasons, so a class is never defined in two places.
Q: I created a class but it does not appear in the business hours list
A: Make sure the class itself was saved. Classes are saved with "Save Class", and the Business Hours section reads the saved classes. Reopen the page after saving.
Q: How do I stop using the hours I set for a class?
A: Turn off "Use different business hours for this class" and save. The entry is removed and those days go back to your normal day-of-week settings.
Q: I entered the hours but nothing changed
A: The save buttons are separate. Per-class business hours are saved with the save button in the Business Hours section, not with "Save Class" / "Save Period" in the Special Dates & Seasons section.
Q: Can I keep my individual Tuesday hours during the summer season?
A: No. On a date that belongs to a class, the class hours win. If you need that split, add the day as an exclude date on the period, or split the period so it does not cover those days.
Q: Can I close at 02:00 the next day?
A: Yes. Entering a closing time earlier than the opening time (such as 02:00) is treated as 02:00 on the following day.
Q: Will guests currently staying be locked out if I change the hours?
A: No. A checked-in reservation's auto check-out time was fixed at check-in and is unaffected by the change.
Q: Do I have to undo the setting when the season ends?
A: No. Dates outside the period automatically return to your normal day-of-week settings. Register the period as a yearly recurrence and it applies again next year on its own.
Q: What happens to the hours if I delete the class?
A: The class stops matching any date and the normal day-of-week settings apply. The hours you entered remain stored but are ignored. If the class is not used by any price plan and only carries seasonal hours, the delete confirmation calls that out explicitly. See "Deleting a class or period" in Special Dates & Seasons for details.
Related Pages
- Special Dates & Seasons - How to create classes and periods (the single place a class is defined)
- Basic Settings - Business hours, timezone and the outside-hours policy
- Check-in Configuration - Where the outside-hours policy applies
- Price Plan Settings - Per-class rates
Last updated: 2026-08-14 - New page. Business hours can now be configured per Special Dates & Seasons class (#2472)