Hold a date, and second holds

"I'll hold the date until Friday" is how most bookings close. A hold keeps a date for one lead, for a set number of days. If someone already holds it, the next lead goes second (or third) and moves up the moment the date frees.

Hold the date

1. Open the lead. In the right-hand column, find Date hold and click Hold the date.
2. Check the Date (it starts on their event date) and choose how long: 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21 or 30 days.
3. Add a note if it helps, such as "waiting on the tasting".
4. Before you confirm, the panel tells you where they'll be: "Nobody holds this date. They'll be first, and the clock starts now." or "Priya Nair & Sam Okafor holds it first. This will be the second hold, with no clock until it moves up."
5. Click Hold it.

The panel then shows the date, First hold and the day it runs until, your note, and the buttons to extend or release it.

First, second and third holds

• Up to three leads can hold the same date. A fourth can't.
• Only the first hold has a clock. Second and third holds wait without one.
• When the first hold ends (released, run out, or the lead archived), the next lead moves up and its own clock starts, using the length it was placed with. You get a notification, and a couple on The Veil is told in their app.
• A booked date can't be held. When you book the first hold, the hold turns into the booking, and any leads behind it are flagged to you so you can decide whether to let them go.
• For a venue with more than one room, each room keeps its own line. A lead with no room holds the whole venue.

Extend or release

On a first hold: +3 days or +1 week adds time (up to 90 days from today). Release ends a hold, and if leads are waiting behind it, you're asked to confirm, because the next one moves up and is told. A lead can hold more than one date; Hold another date adds another.

See every hold

Availability lists Dates on hold: each date with its line of leads (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and when the first one runs out. Place, extend and release holds from the lead.

In the phone app

On the lead, Date hold offers one button: hold the event date for 7 days. If the date is already held, the lead goes into line and you're told its place. Release ends it. On Today, Holds running out lists first holds that end within three days.

What the couple sees

A client with no account sees their hold on their client page: the date held for them until a day, or that they're next in line. A couple on The Veil is told in the app when their hold moves up.

Troubleshooting

• "That date is already booked": someone has booked it. Holds only work on open dates.
• "Three leads already hold that date": the line is full.
• "Only the first hold has a clock to extend": second and third holds can't be extended until they move up.
• "Pick a date within the next 90 days": an extension can't reach further than that.