How to set up amenity reservations with HoldATime.com

Shared courts, parking, rooms, and equipment shouldn’t require a clipboard, a group chat, or someone’s personal Google Calendar. Boards and managers need a simple way to publish availability, set fair-use rules, and let the right people book — without becoming the reservation referee every evening.

That’s what HoldATime.com is for. You get a published booking webpage for your organization, amenities with clear rules, optional spreadsheet member import, and a choice: keep booking secured to the people you add, or open it to the public. Members scan a QR poster, hold a time that fits the rules, and show a printable pass on-site.

This walkthrough is the Saturday-morning version: signup to first reservation in about the time it takes to brew coffee. Start on the Free plan — no credit card — with a free landing page, 50 future reservations, a 14-day booking window, and unlimited amenities and users.

Before you start

Have a rough idea of:

• The first amenity you want live (one court, guest parking, a clubhouse room)
• Whether booking should be open to anyone or limited to an imported member list
• Optional: a spreadsheet of existing members (names and emails are enough to get started)

How to set up HoldATime and take reservations

1. Create your account and organization. Sign up free, name your organization, and complete the short create flow. You’re not staring at a blank theme — you’re guided into amenities.
2. Add your first amenity. Name it (for example, Pickleball Court A or Guest Parking). Add units if you have multiple spaces. Set availability windows so open times match how your place actually runs.
3. Set fair-use rules. Duration caps, one hold per day, cleanup buffers, approvals when you need them — applied automatically so conflicts don’t get reserved in the first place. Optionally turn on recurring reservations for that amenity so authorized bookers can create Daily, Weekly, or Monthly series (off by default).
4. Publish your booking webpage. Members and guests open a clear page for your organization instead of hunting for a link in last year’s email.
5. Decide who can book. Open booking to anyone, or keep it secure to only members you add. If you already have a list, import users from a spreadsheet in minutes — no retyping every contact. Optionally create Groups (for example Owners vs Renters, or Coaches vs Teachers) and restrict each amenity so only listed groups can reserve it.
6. Print a QR poster and take a test reservation. Hang the poster where people already look. Scan it, hold an open slot, and print or show the QR pass. That’s the same flow your members get on phone or tablet — including installing HoldATime from the browser as a PWA.

List-only vs open to the public

You’re in control. Some clubs and communities want a closed roster: only imported members can sign up and book. Others want a public amenity page where anyone can register and hold a time. HoldATime supports both. Change the setting when your policy changes — you don’t need a second product.

Within that roster, you can go further with Groups: limit a clubhouse to Owners, a practice field to Coaches, or guest parking to Renters — so different people can reserve different amenities without a volunteer checking every request by hand. Admins also choose which amenities allow recurring bookings; everywhere else, members create single reservations only.

What “done for today” looks like

• Organization created on HoldATime.com
• At least one amenity live with fair-use rules
• Booking webpage published
• Access set (imported list or open) and a QR poster ready
• One successful test reservation with a printable pass

Amenities stay free until you add an optional booking fee. Connect Stripe from Settings → Billing on Core or Pro (not Free). Bookers pay the listed fee at Stripe Checkout; money goes to your organization’s Stripe account and HoldATime keeps $0. Details: how to set up payments for amenity reservations.

From there you can add more amenities, refine rules, and grow capacity when you need it. See pricing for Free, Core, and Pro limits — or get started free and take your first reservation today.

If you manage an HOA, you may also be interested in HOAResidents.com. It includes the same amenity booking capability as HoldATime, plus HOA-specific features such as a free public website, resident portal, documents, announcements, messaging, and board tools — at a very similar price point.