This guide walks you through configuring your resources specifically for visitor bookings. It covers the External Bookings-specific settings that appear once the feature is activated, including visitor pricing, availability, booking extras, and approval settings.

Before you begin, make sure External Bookings is activated under Calendar » External Bookings. If you haven't done this yet, see Getting Started with External Bookings.

What Is a Resource?

Resources are the bookable items in your space, such as meeting rooms, desks, event spaces, equipment, or anything else you want visitors to reserve on an hourly basis.

Before you can make a resource available to visitors, it needs to exist in Cobot.

If you haven't set up your resources yet, go to Products » Resources » Add Resource to create them. For a full walkthrough of the basic resource settings, see Setting Up Resources.

Once your resources exist and External Bookings is active, you can configure each one specifically for visitors.

Customizing a Resource for Visitors

Go to Products » Resources » Edit for the resource you want to make publicly bookable.

You will now see a 'Customize for Public Resource' dropdown below each editable field. These fields let you set visitor-specific values that are completely independent of what your members see. If you leave any field blank, visitors see the same setting as your members.

This image is of a description editing box for a shared workspace resource. The text highlights features of the space, including easels, sewing machines, and drafting tables. Below the description, there is a button labeled “Customize for Public Resource,” which is outlined in red, indicating an option to adjust the public-facing version of this resource listing.

The fields you can customize for visitors are:

Description: Write a visitor-facing description of the resource. This is your chance to highlight amenities, access instructions, or anything a first-time visitor needs to know.
Pricing: Set a different hourly rate for visitors. Useful if your member rate includes plan discounts you don't want to extend to the public.
Availability: Restrict the days and times visitors can book, independently of your member availability windows.
Minimum and maximum booking duration: Set different duration limits for visitor bookings.
Booking cutoff: Define how far in advance visitors must book, separately from your member cutoff.
Cancellation: Set a visitor-specific cancellation window.
Available Extras: Choose which booking extras are available to visitors at checkout. See the Booking Extras section below.

Publishing a Resource

Once you have configured your visitor settings, toggle 'Make this resource public' at the top of the resource edit page. This publishes the resource on your Homepage and generates a public booking URL.

This image is of a toggle switch labeled “Make this resource public.” It is currently turned off. The text below the label explains that enabling this setting will allow non-members to book the resource, potentially increasing occupancy and revenue. There is also a calendar icon with a star, suggesting the feature relates to public visibility or highlighted availability.

Each public resource has its own unique URL, which you can share directly or embed on your website to send visitors straight to that resource. To find it, go to Products » Resources » Edit Resource and copy the URL at the top of the page.

To publish your full Homepage — which displays all active public resources alongside your membership plans and Drop-in Passes — go to Calendar » External Bookings » Homepage and copy the main URL.

The External Bookings page in Cobot coworking software showing the Upcoming tab with a pending booking for a free tour on June 8 from 12 to 3 PM and a highlighted Homepage button in the top right corner for accessing the public booking page

To remove a resource from public listing at any time, return to the resource edit page and toggle 'Make this resource public' off.

Booking Extras

Booking extras are optional add-ons visitors can select during checkout, such as catering, AV equipment, or a cleaning fee. They are automatically added to the visitor's invoice when selected.

Before enabling extras on a resource, you need to create them under Products » Products & Services. For more details on what these are and how to set them up, see Setting Up Products & Services.

Once your extras exist, go to Products » Resources » Edit Resource and scroll down to 'Available Extras' under the 'Customize for Public Resource' section. Select the extras you want visitors to see at checkout.

If 'N/A' appears next to an extra, it has not been enabled for external bookings within the Product & Service settings. Click 'Manage Products & Services' to update it.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Extras intended for internal or admin use only should not be enabled as booking extras.

How Visitors See and Select Extras

Once extras are enabled on a resource, visitors see them listed as 'Optional Services' on the resource page before they select a date and time.

This is an image of an External Booking resource page in Cobot, showing the Optional Services section, where available booking extras are listed before the visitor selects a date and time.

After choosing their date and time, visitors select the extras they want in a simple form during the checkout flow. Selected extras are automatically added to their invoice and charged when the booking is completed.

This is an image of the External Bookings flow in Cobot, showing the Visitors and extras step, where visitors enter the number of attendees and select optional booking extras before continuing to contact and payment.

Approval & Visitor Payment Settings

At the bottom of each resource edit page, you will find two optional visitor settings that give you more control over how bookings are confirmed and paid for.

This image is of the visitor settings section for resource bookings. It includes two toggles: one to require admin approval for visitor bookings made through the external portal, and another to allow visitors to enter credit card details and pay after the booking is complete. Both options are currently turned off.

Approval Required for Visitors

When this toggle is on, visitor bookings are not confirmed automatically. Instead, the visitor sees a pending confirmation screen and receives an email letting them know their request is under review. They are not charged until you approve the booking.

$This image is of a booking confirmation screen showing that a booking request has been sent for the Roof Terrace Lounge in Los Angeles, California. It displays the check-in and check-out times, the selected extras (catering and cleaning fee), and the authorized total of \$245.00. It also confirms that the charge will be made to a Visa card ending in 4242, but no payment will be processed until the booking is approved.$

To approve or decline pending bookings, go to the External Booking dashboard under Calendar » External Bookings.

IMPORTANT NOTE

If you use Stripe, payment holds expire after a few days. Approve pending bookings promptly to avoid the authorization expiring before you confirm.

Allow Visitors to Pay Later

When this toggle is on, visitors enter a payment method at checkout but are not charged immediately. You process payment manually against their invoice, either before their visit or after it takes place.

Both settings are configured per resource, so you can apply different rules to different spaces in your coworking space.

Visitor Bookings Flow

Visitors can easily make a booking via the multi-screen checkout.

This image is of a booking interface for an "Outdoor Meeting Room." It displays the room's image, hourly rate, capacity (18 people), and a brief description. The right-hand panel includes a calendar and time selector to choose a date and time for the reservation. Additional booking details such as opening hours, booking duration limits, available discounts, and cancellation policy are shown. A "Make Reservation" button is available to complete the booking.

Here is the booking flow:

Overview Page – Displays resource details, capacity, and availability. Visitors select their preferred date and time based on your set availability. They can search by date or resource.
Visitors & Extras – Visitors specify guest count and add optional products/services. Guest numbers can be adjusted later in the External Booking dashboard. Set up products under Products » Products & Services.
Contact Form – Visitors enter their name, email, and billing address and must accept your Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy (if provided).
Payment – Visitors select a payment method from those enabled under Setup » Payment Methods. The booking is confirmed only after clicking 'Book and Pay Now'.
Confirmation – Displays booking details with instructions to check their email.

External bookings sync with your member booking calendar and appear in both the External Booking dashboard and Booking Calendar, clearly distinguished from member bookings.