Vehicle Availability & Scheduling
Availability windows let you control exactly when each vehicle — or an entire vehicle model — is available for rent. Block specific dates for maintenance, set recurring schedules for limited-hours fleets, or mark vehicles as unavailable for any reason.
How Availability Works
Each vehicle can have multiple availability windows that define when it's available or blocked. When a customer tries to book a vehicle, the system checks all windows to determine whether the vehicle can be rented at the requested time.
Availability windows can be set for:
- A specific vehicle — Block one car for a specific maintenance appointment
- A vehicle model — Block all vehicles of a certain type (e.g., all SUVs during winter tire installation week)
Window Types
| Type | Purpose | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Vehicle is undergoing scheduled maintenance | Vehicle blocked from rentals |
| Blocked | Vehicle is unavailable for any reason | Vehicle blocked from rentals |
| Available | Vehicle is explicitly available during this window | Overrides default unavailability |
Creating Availability Windows
Navigate to the Vehicle
Open the vehicle's detail page in the dashboard, or go to the fleet-wide calendar view.
Open Availability Settings
Click Manage Availability or find the availability section in the vehicle detail panel.
Add a Window
Click Add Window and configure:
- Type — Maintenance, Blocked, or Available
- Start Date/Time — When the window begins
- End Date/Time — When the window ends
- Reason (optional) — Description of why (e.g., "Oil change", "Insurance inspection", "Owner personal use")
Set Recurrence (Optional)
For recurring windows, enable recurrence and configure the schedule.
Save
The window takes effect immediately. Existing confirmed reservations during this window are not automatically cancelled — you'll need to manage those separately.
Recurring Windows
For fleets that operate on a schedule (e.g., vehicles available only on weekdays, or blocked every first Monday for maintenance), availability windows support recurring schedules using the iCal RRULE format.
Common Recurrence Patterns
| Pattern | RRULE | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Every weekday | FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=MO,TU,WE,TH,FR | Vehicle available Mon–Fri only |
| Every weekend | FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=SA,SU | Block vehicle on weekends (or make available only on weekends) |
| Monthly on the 1st | FREQ=MONTHLY;BYMONTHDAY=1 | Monthly maintenance day |
| Every other week | FREQ=WEEKLY;INTERVAL=2 | Bi-weekly schedule |
| Daily until end of year | FREQ=DAILY;UNTIL=20261231T235959Z | Temporary recurring block |
Weekday Fleets
If your fleet only operates during business hours on weekdays, create a recurring Available window for Monday–Friday 8am–6pm. The vehicle will be unavailable outside those hours without needing to manually block every evening and weekend.
Per-Vehicle vs. Per-Model
| Scope | When to Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Per vehicle | One specific vehicle needs to be blocked | "Vehicle #42 has a flat tire — block until Wednesday" |
| Per vehicle model | All vehicles of a type need the same schedule | "All Priuses are unavailable next week for recall service" |
Per-model windows apply to every vehicle assigned to that model. If you add a new vehicle to the model later, it automatically inherits the model's availability windows.
Availability Calendar View
The dashboard provides a calendar view of each vehicle's availability:
- Green blocks — Vehicle is available for rent
- Red/gray blocks — Vehicle is blocked (maintenance, manual block, or external calendar sync)
- Blue blocks — Active reservations
- Orange blocks — External calendar events (from calendar sync)
This view makes it easy to spot scheduling gaps, overlapping blocks, and opportunities to improve utilization.
Interaction with Calendar Sync
Availability windows work alongside calendar sync. Both systems can block a vehicle:
| Source | Managed By | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Availability windows | You (the operator) | Blocks rentals during configured windows |
| Calendar sync events | External platforms (Turo, etc.) | Blocks rentals during imported events |
| Active reservations | Customers | Vehicle already booked |
All three sources are checked when a customer attempts to book. If any source indicates the vehicle is unavailable, the booking is rejected.
Common Scenarios
Scheduled Maintenance
Block a vehicle for a specific maintenance appointment:
- Type: Maintenance
- Start: Monday 9:00 AM
- End: Monday 5:00 PM
- Reason: "Oil change and tire rotation at AutoCare"
Owner Personal Use
If a vehicle owner wants to use their car on certain days:
- Type: Blocked
- Start: Saturday 8:00 AM
- End: Sunday 8:00 PM
- Reason: "Owner personal use"
- Recurrence:
FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=SA(every Saturday)
Seasonal Fleet
A fleet that only operates April through October:
- Type: Blocked
- Start: November 1
- End: March 31
- Reason: "Off-season — fleet winterized"
Business Hours Only
A corporate fleet available only during work hours:
- Type: Available
- Start: 7:00 AM
- End: 7:00 PM
- Recurrence:
FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=MO,TU,WE,TH,FR
Existing Reservations
Creating an availability window does not automatically cancel existing reservations that overlap with the blocked period. Check for conflicts before saving and manually reschedule or cancel affected bookings.
Need Help?
For questions about vehicle scheduling or availability configuration, contact us at support@levyelectric.com.