Flash Deals

Create a time-limited discounted booking offer and share it instantly — fill cancellation gaps and quiet slots by sending customers a one-tap booking link at a reduced price.

Overview

Flash Deals let you:

• Offer a discount on a specific service or any service that fits an open gap in a team member's schedule
• Set a percentage or fixed-amount discount with a live price preview
• Share the deal link via SMS, DMs, or social media — the customer books directly from the link
• Track redemption — see which deals are active, claimed, expired, or cancelled

Flash Deals are available on all plans. No PRO subscription is required.

How Flash Deals Work

1. You create a deal for a specific time slot with a discount
2. OpenChair generates a shareable booking link
3. You send the link to a customer (or post it publicly)
4. The customer opens the link, enters their details, pays any deposit, and claims the deal
5. A booking is created automatically at the discounted price

Each Flash Deal can only be claimed once. Once claimed, the deal status changes to Claimed and the time slot is booked.

Creating a Flash Deal

Opening the Creation Sheet

Flash Deals can be created from several places:

Entry Point	How to Access
Waitlist page	Click Create Flash Deal (Bolt icon) in the More menu (web) or as a button on the waitlist screen (mobile)
Calendar	Open a gap or open slot in the booking detail sheet and click Create Flash Deal

Step 1: Choose the Deal Type

The creation sheet opens with two options:

Deal Type	Label	Description
Specific service	"Specific service"	Discount a named service at a set time — the customer books that exact service
Fill a team member gap	"Fill a team member gap"	Discount any service that fits a gap in a staff member's schedule — the customer chooses from eligible services

Step 2: Configure the Deal

For "Specific service" mode

1. Select a Service from the dropdown (placeholder: "Choose a service")
2. Optionally select a Team member (default: "Any available team member")
3. Choose a time slot:
   • Suggested matching slots appear automatically — up to 6 available times in the next 7 days
   • Or set a custom date and time using the Date picker and hour/minute/AM-PM selectors
4. Set the Discount:
   • Toggle between % (percentage) and $ (fixed amount)
   • Enter the discount value (default: 20)
   • A live price preview shows the Original price (struck through) and the Flash Deal price

For "Fill a team member gap" mode

1. Select a Team member from the dropdown (placeholder: "Choose a team member" — required)
2. Choose a gap:
   • Next open slots appear automatically — up to 6 gaps in the next 4 days (minimum 15 minutes)
   • Each suggestion shows the date/time and gap length (e.g., "60 minute opening")
   • Or set a custom date, time, and Gap length (options: 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, 150, or 180 minutes)
3. Optionally lock to a specific service, or leave it open so the customer can choose from all services that fit the gap duration
4. Set the Discount (same as above — percentage or fixed amount)

If no suggested slots are found: "No clean openings were found soon for [name]. Pick a manual time below."

Step 3: Create and Share

1. Click Create Flash Deal
2. A success screen appears: "Flash Deal is ready to send" with the message: "Copy the message first. It already includes the booking link."
3. Use the action buttons:
   • Copy message — copies a pre-written share message with the booking link included (toast: "Share message copied")
   • Copy link — copies just the booking URL (toast: "Flash Deal link copied")
   • Open link — opens the customer-facing deal page in a new tab
4. The Share message text area shows the full message ready to paste into SMS or DMs
5. Click Create another deal to make a new one, or Done to close

What the Customer Sees

When a customer opens the Flash Deal link, they see a dedicated booking page with:

• A Flash Deal badge showing the discount (e.g., "⚡ Flash Deal | 20% off")
• The service name, staff member, date, and time
• A price breakdown showing the original price (struck through) and the discounted price
• For gap-mode deals with multiple eligible services: a dropdown to choose which service to book

Claiming the Deal

1. Select a service (gap mode only, if multiple options are available)
2. Enter Full name and Phone (required), and optionally Email
3. If the discounted price is greater than zero and the venue has a deposit rule, a Stripe payment form appears
4. Click Claim Deal
5. On success: the customer sees a booking confirmation with the booking reference and a "Download calendar invite" button

Deal Already Taken

If another customer has already claimed the deal, the page shows: "This deal was just taken by someone else."

If the deal has expired (past the slot time): "This deal has expired."

If the deal was cancelled by the venue: "This deal is no longer available."

Managing Flash Deals

Viewing Deals

Flash Deals appear in the deal list on the waitlist page. Each deal shows its status, service, discount, and time.

Cancelling a Deal

To cancel an active deal that has not yet been claimed, use the cancel action on the deal. The status changes to Cancelled and the link stops working.

Deal Statuses

Status	Meaning
Active	Deal is live — the link works and the slot is available for claiming
Claimed	A customer claimed the deal — a booking was created at the discounted price
Expired	The deal's time slot has passed without being claimed
Cancelled	The venue owner cancelled the deal before it was claimed

Deals expire automatically when the slot start time passes. Unlike waitlist offers, there is no separate expiry countdown — the appointment time is the deadline. The deal remains active until someone claims it or the slot time arrives.

Discount Rules

Rule	Detail
Percentage discount	1–99% off the service price
Fixed amount discount	Up to the full service price (cannot exceed it)
Free deals	If the discount equals the full price, the customer books for free (no payment form shown)
Deposit integration	If the venue has deposit rules, the deposit is calculated on the discounted price

Validation: "Discount cannot exceed the service price."

Platform Differences

Feature	Web	Mobile
Create Flash Deal	Yes (sheet/drawer — service + gap modes)	Yes (sheet — service mode only)
Entry from waitlist	Yes (More menu → Create Flash Deal)	Yes (Create Flash Deal button on waitlist screen)
Entry from calendar	Yes (booking detail sheet)	No
Customer claim page	Yes (public URL)	Yes (public URL — opens in browser)

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
"Choose a future time" error when creating	The selected date and time must be in the future. Pick a time slot that has not yet passed.
"Discount cannot exceed the service price"	Reduce the discount value. For percentage discounts, the maximum is 99%. For fixed discounts, the amount cannot be higher than the service price.
No suggested slots appearing	The system looks 7 days ahead for service mode and 4 days ahead for gap mode. If no slots are found, the staff member may be fully booked. Pick a manual date and time instead.
Customer says the link does not work	Check that the deal is still Active — it may have been claimed by someone else, expired, or cancelled. Create a new deal if needed.
"No services fit this Flash Deal anymore"	In gap mode, no services in your menu have a duration that fits the gap length. Try a longer gap duration or add services with shorter durations.
Payment form not appearing for the customer	If the discounted price is zero (100% off effectively), no payment is required. If the venue does not have Stripe connected, paid deals cannot be created — connect Stripe first.

Related Articles

• Smart Waitlist & Gap Filling
• Using the Calendar
• Booking Rules & Policies

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Last updated: March 2026