Configure the Booking Calendar to automatically cancel pending bookings that have not been successfully paid within a specific period. This frees up availability and keeps your calendar accurate.
1. Check Your Time Zone Settings
- Go to WordPress > Settings > General.
- Verify the Time Zone matches your local time.
Important: An incorrect time zone can shift the auto‑cancellation window, causing cancellations to happen earlier or later than expected.
2. Set the Auto‑Cancellation Interval
- Go to Booking > Settings General.
- Scroll to the Auto cancellation / approving section.
- Configure Auto‑Cancel Pending Bookings After — choose minutes, hours, or days after booking creation.
- Click Save.
Tip: Avoid very short windows (e.g., 5 minutes). Give customers adequate time to complete payment—30–60 minutes is a common choice.
3. When Auto‑Cancellation Runs
- Visitor‑Triggered (Default WordPress Cron): When a visitor loads any page, WordPress checks if scheduled events are due. If the cancellation time has passed, pending bookings are cancelled automatically.
- Server CRON Job (Recommended for Reliability): Set up a real server‑side CRON to trigger WordPress tasks at fixed intervals, even with low site traffic.
Note: If there are no visits within the configured period (e.g., one hour), WordPress won’t run scheduled checks unless a server CRON job is configured.
4. How WordPress Cron Works
WordPress Cron is a “pseudo‑cron” and behaves differently from a standard UNIX cron:
| UNIX Cron | WordPress Cron |
|---|---|
| Runs at the exact scheduled time, independent of traffic. | Checks schedules when a visitor loads any page. |
| Executes the action at the scheduled minute. | Executes overdue actions once a visit occurs (or when a server CRON triggers it). |
For consistent auto‑cancellations on low‑traffic sites, configure a server‑side CRON to call WordPress regularly.
Quick Summary
- Set the correct Time Zone in WordPress > Settings > General.
- Choose a reasonable Auto‑Cancel interval in Booking > Settings > Auto cancellation / approving.
- Understand that WordPress Cron depends on site visits unless you set up a server CRON.
- Use longer intervals so customers can finish payment before cancellation.