Booking reminders and balance payments

Beyond the basic booking flow, Public Booking pages include automatic reminders, balance-payment handling, and unpaid-booking expiration so you don't have to chase customers manually.

Reminder cadence (per booking):
• 24 hours before — email reminder with the booking details, host info, and a one-click reschedule link
• 1 hour before — second email + SMS if you've enabled SMS reminders
• Both fully customizable per booking page (Settings → Reminders)
• Reminder content uses the booking template — variables like {{customerFirstName}}, {{bookingTime}}, {{location}}, {{rescheduleLink}}

Balance payment flow:
• If your booking page is set to "Deposit + Balance" mode:
◦ Customer pays the deposit at booking time (e.g. $50 of $200 service)
◦ Balance is charged automatically 24 hours before the appointment
◦ If the saved card fails, customer gets an email with a "Pay balance" link to update their card
• If not paid 1 hour before, the booking auto-cancels and the slot reopens

Unpaid booking expiration:
• Customer starts a booking but doesn't complete checkout (e.g. closed the tab on the payment page)
• Slot is held for 15 minutes pending payment
• If still unpaid at 15 minutes, slot reopens for new bookings; the abandoned booking is marked expired
• Customer doesn't get a confirmation email until payment completes

No-show handling:
• Manually mark a booking "No-show" from the Calendar tab
• Triggers a configurable follow-up email ("Sorry we missed you — reschedule here")
• No-shows count against the customer in case you set a "max 2 no-shows then require deposit on all future bookings" policy

Why these matter:
• Reminders cut no-show rate roughly in half (industry standard data)
• Balance payments avoid awkward "swipe your card" moments at the appointment
• Auto-expiration prevents abandoned booking slots from blocking real customers