Meeting Timeslot Blocking

Overview

Meeting Timeslot Blocking lets exhibitor team members and participants put a hold on specific times in the Meeting Program so they cannot be booked by others. It is the front-end equivalent of an "out of office" marker on the event diary.

When to use it

  • Lunch breaks, team briefings, or stand handovers.

  • Pre-scheduled VIP visits handled outside the platform.

  • Personal commitments such as conference sessions or travel time.

  • Buffer time between back-to-back meetings.

Where to block a timeslot

Timeslots can be blocked from any of the schedule views:

  • The exhibitor Schedule block in the Meeting Program.

  • The participant's personal schedule view.

  • The Schedule tab in the mobile app.

How to block a timeslot

  1. Open the Schedule view for the day you want to edit.

  2. Click (or tap, on mobile) the empty timeslot you want to reserve.

  3. Choose Block this time from the action menu.

  4. Optionally add a private label such as "Lunch" or "Team briefing" — this label is only visible to the user and their exhibitor admin, not to other participants.

  5. Save.

Blocking multiple slots at once

  • On desktop, drag across a range of consecutive timeslots to select them, then choose Block selected.

  • In the app, tap and hold a slot, then tap the adjacent slots to extend the selection.

  • Recurring blocks (for example, lunch every day) can be created from the block dialog by ticking Repeat on all event days.

How a blocked slot appears

View

Appearance

Owner's schedule

Grey cell with the private label and a small lock icon.

Exhibitor team admin's view

Same grey cell, with the owner's name.

Other participants trying to book

Slot is simply not offered — it is treated as unavailable, with no label exposed.

Unblocking a timeslot

  1. Click or tap the blocked slot in the Schedule view.

  2. Choose Remove block.

  3. The slot returns to availability and can be booked by others.

If the user has a pending meeting request that was held back because of the block, the platform does not automatically replay it — the requester will need to attempt the booking again, or the user can offer the slot proactively.

Rules and limits

  • A timeslot that is already booked for a confirmed meeting cannot be blocked — the user must cancel or reschedule the meeting first.

  • The organiser can set a maximum percentage of the event day that any one user may block, to keep diaries open for matchmaking.

  • Blocks created in the app sync to the web view (and vice versa) within seconds.

  • Exhibitor admins can block timeslots on behalf of any team member from the shared Schedule view.

Interaction with the matchmaking algorithm

Blocked timeslots are treated the same as confirmed meetings when the algorithm proposes meeting times. They reduce the user's availability score for that day, which can affect ranking on outgoing match suggestions.