Charge for a space and hold it when the order is confirmed

A room is something extra you can sell, not just a place the food goes. Give each space a fee, a capacity and a booking mode, and the calculator offers it as part of the order, then keeps the space free of clashes on its own.

Bookable spaces are a Pro feature.

How to set a space up

• Log in to Caterway.
• Open Spaces from the menu on the left.
• Press Add a space, or click a space already in the list to edit it right there (it opens inline, no separate page).
• Give it a Name, and a Room or suite number if you use those. Add a Description and Images so the customer knows what they are choosing.
• Set Seats if it holds a fixed number of guests, and a Price (leave it at zero if the space is included in the catering).
• Under When someone books this space, pick one: Not exclusive, Follows the event, The whole day, or One of your time windows.
• Set Free when catering reaches an amount if it should come free with a large enough order, and turn on Show to customers.

Capacity: a limit or a recommendation

The number of guests a space takes is a recommendation by default. The customer sees it on the card and can still pick the space for a bigger party. Turn on Show only spaces the party fits in the calculator, and the number becomes a limit: spaces that are too small are hidden, and the guest count cannot go past the space the customer picked.

The space is held only on confirm

Choosing a space in the calculator does not lock it. Caterway holds it only when the order is actually confirmed, so an abandoned request never sits on a room nobody bought. Once a space is held for a time that clashes with another confirmed booking, the second one cannot take it.

What the customer sees when a space is taken

A space set to Follows the event or The whole day shows as Booked once a confirmed order holds it for that date. One of your time windows crosses out the windows already taken. The customer only sees that the space is taken. They never see who booked it or what they ordered.

What happens next depends on the calculator's When an order cannot be confirmed setting:

• Refuse the order: the booked space cannot be picked.
• Take it as a quote request: the space still shows as booked, but the customer can pick it and send a request. You decide.

A calculator that asks for quotes instead of taking orders always receives these as requests.

The space fee on the quote

The fee shows on the quote as its own line and is added into the same total, so the customer and you always see the same number. Set Free when catering reaches an amount if the space should come free with a large enough order.

Good to know

• The free-over threshold compares the food total, not a total that already includes the space fee.
• Choosing a space marks that order as served on site, so it never asks delivery questions.
• A space set to Not exclusive can still carry a price and a description. It is never held, so several customers can pick it for the same date.