In 2025, Sharetribe has taken another major step forward in simplifying marketplace management by introducing a Calendar Booking System with Seats, designed to cater to service-based marketplaces where appointments, events, or classes are key offerings. The best part? No coding is required! Whether you’re running a freelance platform, an event booking site, or a booking system for in-person services, Sharetribe’s new feature offers an easy-to-use solution to manage time slots, seat availability, and more.
What’s New with Sharetribe’s Calendar Booking System?
Sharetribe’s new calendar booking functionality allows providers to list their availability for services with the option of offering one or more seats per time slot. This is ideal for businesses offering classes, group services, or events where a single time slot can accommodate multiple participants.
Key Features of the New Calendar Booking System:
- Default One Seat per Listing: For individual service providers, such as coaches or instructors offering personal lessons, each listing automatically defaults to one seat. This means when a customer books, it’s assumed that the session is one-on-one, without requiring providers to manually specify that they are only offering a single spot for a service.
- Multiple Seats per Time Slot: Providers can now offer multiple spots for a given time slot. This is useful for group activities such as yoga classes, workshops, or events. For example, a yoga instructor can set up a class with, say, 10 available spots for a specific session, allowing for easier management of group sessions.
- No Code Required: The update is designed to be user-friendly, requiring no coding skills. Marketplace owners or service providers can easily set these features up using Sharetribe’s interface, which eliminates the need for technical development or relying on external developers.
- Customizable Time Slots: Providers have more control over their scheduling. They can customize their availability based on their own preferences and demand. For example, they could offer flexible hours, block off certain days, or create recurring time slots to meet customer needs efficiently.
Why This Update Matters
This update is a game-changer for service marketplaces, particularly in the education, wellness, and events sectors, offering several key advantages. First, it simplifies service management by eliminating the need for spreadsheets or external booking systems. Providers can now easily manage their availability, offer varying seat capacities, and allow customers to book directly within the Sharetribe platform. Second, it enhances the user experience by enabling buyers to quickly view available time slots and book their preferred time and number of seats with just a few clicks, whether for an individual consultation or a group workshop.
Providers also gain more control, as they can add or remove seats based on demand and the type of service being offered, giving them greater flexibility over their schedule and revenue. Finally, the update improves efficiency by automating the booking management process and eliminating the need for coding, allowing marketplace owners to focus on growing their business. The visual improvements to the weekly schedule view make it even easier to manage availability in a clear and intuitive way.
Visual Changes to Availability Weekly Schedule
The visual changes to the availability weekly schedule in Sharetribe are designed to enhance the user experience and prepare the platform for future updates. These minor tweaks provide providers with a clearer and more intuitive view of their availability, making it easier to manage schedules. The improvements streamline the process of viewing and adjusting time slots, ensuring that providers have a more organized and visually appealing interface.
These updates also set the stage for more advanced booking features expected to be rolled out in 2025, ensuring that the platform continues to evolve with the needs of service providers and marketplace owners.
The Benefits of a No-Code Solution
The no-code nature of this feature offers significant advantages for those without technical expertise who still want to implement a robust booking system. With no need for a developer, you can launch your marketplace’s calendar booking system faster, customizing it quickly without technical delays. This not only helps you get started sooner but also reduces costs by eliminating the need for custom development or third-party integrations.
As your marketplace grows, you can easily scale and adjust your booking systems and availability to meet increasing demand, ensuring your platform remains flexible and efficient as your business expands.
Looking Ahead: What’s Coming in 2025?
This new calendar booking feature is just the beginning. Sharetribe has exciting plans for the year ahead, with a series of feature releases aimed at enhancing marketplace functionality and supporting growing businesses. The improvements to the weekly schedule view are part of a larger overhaul focused on refining the platform’s ease of use. Marketplace owners can look forward to several upcoming updates:
More Advanced Booking Features: Providers will soon be able to customize their availability even further, with options to block specific dates, adjust time intervals between bookings, and set up recurring appointments for repeat sessions.
Further Integration Options: Sharetribe is exploring the possibility of integrating third-party calendar systems and payment solutions, which will expand the functionality of the booking system and provide more seamless experiences for both providers and customers.
Conclusion
Sharetribe’s new calendar booking system with seats is a major leap forward in simplifying booking management for service-based marketplaces. Whether you’re running a marketplace for freelancers, event organizers, or educational services, this feature helps streamline the booking process and offers more control over scheduling and seat management—all without requiring any coding skills. As Sharetribe prepares for more updates in 2025, service marketplace owners can expect even greater flexibility and power to drive their businesses forward.
Ready to start using Sharetribe’s calendar booking system? Visit Sharetribe’s platform today and start customizing your marketplace without the need for any complex coding!
