Booking logic breaks recurring programmes
Booking systems are built for one-off attendance. They treat each session as temporary. That is fine for drop-ins. It creates friction when places are scarce and continuity matters.
This page is not a feature comparison. It explains the operating difference. If you run a recurring programme, the question is not which booking tool is nicer. It is whether the underlying model matches reality.
The difference
Bookings vs places
This isn’t “better booking”. It’s a different model. One is built for events. The other is built for entitlement.
Attendance is temporary. Each session is a standalone event.
A place is held week to week until cancelled.
Capacity is often “managed” through behaviour (re-booking, reminders, nudges).
Capacity is enforced automatically. Full means full. Waiting lists stay accurate.
Fairness is handled manually. Exceptions, judgement calls, “just message me”.
Rules are built into the system and applied consistently.
Costs often become reactive: refunds, credits, adjustments after the fact.
Monthly in advance based on sessions scheduled to run - term breaks included.
Operators spend time policing uncertainty and explaining policy.
Operators spend time running the programme - not running a manual fairness system.
The symptoms
What you see when the model is wrong
These aren’t “admin problems”. They’re signs your tool is treating entitlement as temporary attendance.
Re-booking “just in case”
Participants behave defensively because the system doesn’t protect their place.
Sessions look full, then aren’t
Capacity data becomes unreliable - which makes planning harder and waiting lists meaningless.
Refunds and credits become routine
Billing becomes a clean-up job because the system can’t predict what will run.
You become the fairness system
Exceptions, judgement calls, disputes - all the awkward work lands on you.
Waiting lists stop meaning anything
When “full” doesn’t really mean full, nobody trusts the list.
“Just message me” becomes policy
Goodwill turns into workload. The programme feels fragile even when it’s popular.
The principles
What Spotable assumes, deliberately
Spotable is opinionated because uncertainty is expensive. These are the assumptions baked into the product.
- A place is a commitment: held week to week until cancelled.
- Scarcity needs enforcement: capacity is a rule, not a suggestion.
- Billing should be calm: predictable costs upfront, based on what will run.
- Term-time is a first-class concept: breaks and planned cancellations are built in.
- Not everyone is a fit: drop-in models need different assumptions, and that’s fine.
Want to see the difference in practice?
Watch the short videos that show held places, enforced capacity, and predictable billing in action. No signup required.