Facility Rental & Reservation Software

A facility reservation system is a web-based program that lets people book or request a space online, while staff handle approvals and payment in the same place. The calendar is only part of it. Pricing, approvals, booking forms and invoices are where most of the staff time goes, so a good system covers those too.

Facility scheduling software keeps the calendar for your bookable spaces and stops two bookings from landing on the same time. Communal checks every booking, including staff bookings, recurring series and program blocks, against what is already on that facility's calendar. Staff can also block off time for closures or maintenance.

Very little in practice; most vendors use the terms interchangeably. Scheduling usually means the internal calendar: what is happening in your spaces and how conflicts are avoided. Reservation usually means the renter's side: finding a time, booking and paying. Communal covers both, so judge any system on whether it fits your workflow rather than on the word it uses. If you are setting one up, our guide to setting up a facility scheduling system covers approval rules and booking windows.

Both, set per facility. A facility either takes instant bookings or requires a request that staff approve. The renter gets an email when the request arrives, requests move through stages you name, and staff can email the renter when they move a request on. The approval email includes the booking details and any booking instructions. Sub-facilities, such as the courts inside a gym, follow their parent's setting.

Yes, for any facility you set to instant booking. Renters check the calendar, pick a time, fill in your booking form and pay at checkout. Spaces that need a look first take requests instead, and each facility can also be opened to people who don't have an account.

Every new booking is checked against the existing bookings, pending requests, recurring series and program blocks on that facility. If the time is taken, it can't be booked. Managers can override the check when they need to, for example to squeeze in a board meeting.

Most community centres now take facility bookings online. Renters check the calendar, fill in a booking form and either book on the spot or send a request. Staff approve requests, send the invoice and see every booking for every room on one calendar. Centres that also run memberships and programs can see how our community centre booking software keeps all three together.

Instant bookings are paid online through Stripe at checkout. For requests, staff build an invoice from the booking and can mark a line as the deposit, which the payment schedule collects first, then give the balance a later due date. After the rental, staff refund the deposit in full or in part. It isn't returned automatically.

Communal takes online payments through Stripe, so renters pay by card at checkout or from their invoice. It doesn't connect to other card processors. If a renter pays by cheque, cash or bank transfer, staff record the payment on the invoice.

In Communal, the sales taxes you set up are added to facility bookings, and you can mark any facility as tax-exempt. Every payment appears in your transactions, which you can filter and export, and the booking export lists each booking with its invoiced total and whether it's paid.

Renters can cancel their own booking from their account any time before it starts. When a renter cancels a request, facility managers who get booking notifications receive an email. Staff refund the payment in full or in part, so your cancellation policy decides what goes back.

Not with an e-signature. Communal includes a Rental Agreement booking form you can adapt. It asks about the event, headcount, alcohol, setup and equipment, and the renter must tick that they accept your terms and conditions before submitting. Staff can file the insurance certificate on the booking and track the rest on the booking's checklist.

Yes. Add booking instructions to a facility, such as a door code or where to collect the key. They go in the confirmation email for instant bookings, in the approval email when staff send one for a request, and in the reminder email if reminders are on for that facility. The renter can also see them on their booking until a week after it ends.

Yes, one way. Each facility has an iCal feed you can subscribe to in Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar. Bookings are made and changed in Communal, and each calendar app decides how often it checks the feed for updates.

Yes. Each facility's rates can be set per membership type, and Communal charges the renter the lowest rate their memberships qualify for. Anyone without a qualifying membership pays the standard rate. For resident or nonprofit rates, create a membership type for that group.

Create a weekly or monthly series, for example every Tuesday at 7pm for 22 weeks, and Communal reserves each date. If some dates clash, you see which ones before the series is saved and can book only the free dates. When you edit, choose this date only, this and future dates, or the whole series. Invoices, forms and notes stay attached to the series.

Communal starts at $75 per month for up to 250 members. Facility booking is an add-on priced by bookable spaces: $65 per month for up to 2 spaces, $100 per month for up to 5 spaces, $200 per month for up to 10 spaces, $300 per month for up to 15 spaces, $400 per month for up to 20 spaces, with larger setups quoted. A hall with two rooms and up to 250 members pays $140 per month in total. No contracts, prorated billing, cancel any module any time.