Behind the scenes: how we prevent double-bookings

Every provider sets their working hours and any blackout dates (holidays, personal time off) in advance — the calendar only ever shows time inside those bounds.

When you view a service's availability, we check that window against every existing booking for that provider in real time, plus a buffer window before and after each appointment so nothing runs together.

The moment you confirm a booking, that slot is locked immediately — if two people try to book the same time at once, whoever confirms first gets it, and the other sees an updated, accurate calendar instantly rather than a stale one.

This is also why you'll occasionally see a slot disappear between page loads — it means someone else just booked it, not a bug.