Session scheduling principles

Within GymOS, sessions are typically created on a scheduled basis, although they may also be created ad hoc.

Whilst the scheduling process is very straightforward, please take a few moments to review and digest the fundamental principles of scheduling, as summarised below.

• Scheduled sessions are added to the schedule on a nightly basis.
• Autobookings are processed immediately after a session has been scheduled.
• Important concept: Once a session has been scheduled (I.e., it appears in the schedule/calendar), it is orphaned from its originating schedule. This concept enables gym owners to edit individual sessions once they have been created, without impacting other sessions. For example, you could decrease the capacity of a specific session when you know there will be maintenance work in the same space and at the same time.
  
  For clarity, editing a session schedule does not alter the timings of sessions that have already been scheduled.
• The number of days in to the future that sessions are scheduled is configurable.
  As a general rule, we don’t recommend scheduling more than about six weeks into the future, as this can cause you additional headaches when you need to adjust your schedule and members have already booked sessions.
• The number of days into the future that sessions are visible to members is configurable, and can be equal to or less than the above.
  While most gyms choose to share their entire set of schedules with their members, you can show them a shorter period, giving you control over the time in advance at which they can book.
• We recommend that you add your annual closures to the GymOS system. The system will not schedule sessions during periods when you are closed.

Timings

GymOS schedules sessions overnight, just like most gym-management systems. We’re sometimes asked if these schedules can be generated during the daytime instead, on the basis that “members are asleep when they’re created.

The timing cannot be changed, as it forms part of a larger overnight process.

That said, it doesn’t disadvantage your members: a session created at 3 a.m. is still ready and visible when they check the app later in the morning. If the concern is that sessions fill up quickly, that’s a capacity issue rather than a scheduling-time issue, and it would occur regardless of when the schedule is generated.