This article is about automatic cancellation when underbooked: Zenamu cancels a class session or event by itself when too few people have booked it at a set time before the start. The hours you set for this feature are the time of that check, not a cancellation deadline for clients, and they don't change how late clients can cancel their own booking. To set that, see Cancellation deadline and cancellation fees for class and appointment bookings.

When fewer people book a class session or event than you need, the system cancels it automatically at a set time before the start, refunds everyone who booked, and sends them a notification. You get an info email. You don't have to cancel the class by hand at the last minute. This article explains what the feature does and how to turn it on for your whole studio.

At the time you choose (say, 24 hours before the start), Zenamu counts how many people are booked onto the class session and compares that with the minimum you set:

The check runs only once. If someone cancels their booking afterwards, that doesn't trigger a new check.

Automatic cancellation works for class sessions (classes) and for events (one-off events and workshops). You won't find it for courses or appointments.

Class sessions and events are set up separately, each with their own rules. So you can, for example, cancel underbooked classes but always let events go ahead.

You'll find the studio-wide settings under Settings → Bookings and rules → Booking cancellation tab. At the top, choose which type of bookings you're setting rules for — the Sessions card or the Events / Workshops card. Below it, the Automatic cancellation when underbooked card appears, where you:

Fill in the settings for class sessions and for events separately, on their own cards. Then click Save at the bottom of the page.

How many hours before the start to run the check only decides when Zenamu counts the bookings. The Cancellation deadline on the same Sessions card is a separate setting that limits how late clients can cancel their own booking.

The minimum comes from the session's capacity and the percentage you set, and it's rounded up. At 50% and a capacity of 5 people, the minimum is 3 bookings. For a session with a capacity of 1, the minimum works out to 1, so only a completely empty session is cancelled.

That way the minimum adapts to capacity: if your classes have different numbers of spots, a single percentage covers them all.

We recommend setting the check with a longer lead time than the reminders you send before a class (Settings → Notifications). If the check runs before the reminder, a client won't get a reminder for a session that's since been cancelled.

On top of the studio-wide settings, you can give any class session or event its own rule, or take it out of automatic cancellation entirely. The article Automatic cancellation when underbooked: custom settings for one session or event walks you through it.