Reservation Management [VIDEO]

The Reservation Management system is a tool for placeholding registrations (or reserving spots) for individuals who either already have a profile in CERVIS or who will be creating a new profile to register. This can be used as a supplement or as a replacement for the Group Registration tool. In contrast, the Group Registration tool will create a specified number of registrations for volunteers from a group without capturing any of the volunteers' information. The Reservation system, however, will create placeholder registrations which will be used by volunteers using the reservation code to register for an event. The benefit of this system is the ability to save spots for individuals who will be attending and also capture all of their information at a later date.

To create and manage Reservation Codes, select Reservation Management under the Opportunity Management heading on the Main Dashboard. You can create new reservations and manage existing reservations from this menu.

To CREATE a new reservation code:

1. From the Reservation Management menu, click Add New Reservation under “Standard Options”.
2. Enter the name of the code that you would like to create in the Reservation Code field. 
3. Add a description of the code in the Reservation Description field. 
   • This will not be displayed to volunteers - it is to help you identify the use of the code or as a reminder of why you created it. 
4. Select the main point of contact that uses the code using the Reservation Contact name lookup field.
   • Note that this point of contact is able to see the list of individuals who have used this code, but they cannot necessarily make any changes.
   • If the contact does not already have a profile, you can add one from this screen using the button () to the right.
5. Select the Group you would like associated with the reservation (if any) using the Reservation Group Association group lookup field.
   • This would automatically add anyone who uses this reservation code to the Group you assign.
6. Select if you would like to apply an expiration date in the Reservation Expiration field.
   • Choosing to apply an expiration will allow unused reservations to be opened back up to the public, prior to the opportunity. The process for expiring reservations runs at 4 am local time on your system. As an example, if the expiration is set for '1 Day Prior', any unused reservations would be removed at 4am the day before the event/slot, and any remaining slots assigned to that reservation would be released.
7. Click Create Reservation. 
   • A message will appear at the top of the page reading, “Reservation successfully created! CLICK HERE to manage this reservation or create a new reservation below.” 

To MANAGE an existing reservation code and reserve spots in an event:

1. Click on the calendar icon next to the Reservation Code that you want to manage.
   • This takes you to the “Reservation Assignment Dashboard” where you can assign this code to an event. 
2. Choose the upcoming opportunity from the Opportunity Date - Name selection box at the top of the page in which you want to reserve spots for this code.
3. Enter the desired number of spots to save into the Number of slots to Reserve field. 
   • That number of spots must be available in the event in order to reserve them, otherwise the system will give you a warning. 
   • If you are reserving spots in a Time Slot Event, you will then be prompted to choose a shift.
4. Click Assign Opportunity to Reservation and you will see it appear in the listing below.

Assigned Reservations can be found listed under the expanded Show Reservation Usage Information section of the relevant opportunity’s Registered Volunteers / Groups page. Unused reservations that have been assigned can be easily identified in the actual listing of registered Volunteers / Groups, displayed under each slot.

After a Reservation Code has been created and applied you can then distribute the code to the Group in a few different ways from the Reservation Management dashboard.

Option 1: Send the Reservation Code, link, and instructions.

CERVIS can generate an email for you that includes the reservation code, link, and instructions. Click on the email icon () next to the Reservation you just created and you will be taken to the email composition page where the email address(es) for the Group Contact(s) and registration instructions are already included. You can add in some details/personalized content to the email and send it.

Option 2: Send the Reservation Code link.

Each code has its own link that will take the volunteers to your Event Listing Page showing only the event(s) reserved for that Reservation Code. To access this link, click the link icon () next to the Reservation Code that you would like to send out. Copy the link and distribute to the Group/Group Contact for that code. This link is also included automatically in the email described above.

Option 3: Send the Reservation Code.

Communicate with the Group Contact what the Reservation Code is and guide them to your Event Listing Page to enter the code and register from there. For detailed instructions on how to use the code, see the Knowledge Base Article HERE. 

To learn more about creating or managing groups, CLICK HERE to reference our Knowledge Base Article on the topic.