Don't want to teach a class for one person and then cancel it by hand at the last minute? Zenamu can do it for you. When fewer people book a term 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. This article explains what the feature does and how to turn it on for your whole studio.
What the feature does
At the time you choose (say, 24 hours before the start), Zenamu counts how many people are booked onto the term and compares that with the minimum you set:
If fewer than the minimum are booked, the term is cancelled automatically. Everyone who booked gets a refund and the same notification they'd get for any other cancelled term.
If at least the minimum are booked, nothing happens and the term runs as usual.
The check runs only once. If someone cancels their booking afterwards, that doesn't trigger a new check.
What the feature applies to
Automatic cancellation works for individual terms (classes) and for events (one-off events and workshops). You won't find it for courses.
Terms 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.
Which plan you need
Automatic cancellation for low occupancy is available on the Expert plan or higher (Expert, Ultimate) and during the trial. You won't find the feature on lower plans.
Where to turn it on
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:
turn on the Automatically cancel underbooked terms toggle (for events, Automatically cancel underbooked events),
set the lead time in How many hours before the start to run the check,
enter what percentage of capacity has to be filled in Minimum occupancy.
Fill in the settings for terms and for events separately, on their own cards.
How the minimum number of people is calculated
The minimum comes from the term'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 term with a capacity of 1, the minimum works out to 1, so only a completely empty term is cancelled.
That way the minimum adapts to capacity: if your classes have different numbers of spots, a single percentage covers them all.
Set a lead time longer than your client reminders
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 term that's since been cancelled.
Settings for a specific term
On top of the studio-wide settings, you can give any term or event its own rule, or take it out of automatic cancellation entirely. The article on custom settings for terms and events walks you through it.