You want to offer different types of meetings—maybe a quick intro chat, a deep-dive consult, and a coffee catch-up—but your calendar's a mess. You need to set custom hours for each, but Calendly’s options can feel like a maze (or worse, an upsell trap). This guide is for folks who want real control over their Calendly scheduling, without the fluff. If you’ve ever been double-booked or forced to nudge a client to reschedule, you know how annoying it is to get this wrong.
Let’s cut through it. Here’s how to set custom availability for multiple meeting types, what’s actually possible (and what’s not), and some workarounds for the stuff Calendly makes harder than it should be.
Before You Start: Know Your Calendly Plan Limitations
First, a reality check: Calendly’s free plan only lets you create one event type. If you want multiple meeting types with different availabilities, you need at least a paid “Essentials” plan. This isn’t a sales pitch—just the facts.
If you’re on the free plan: - You can make one event type with custom availability. - Want more? Upgrade, or try to hack around it (spoiler: not worth it).
If you have a paid plan: - You can create multiple event types. - Each event type can have its own availability settings. - Still, some things (like overlapping availabilities or true “exceptions”) require jumping through hoops.
Step 1: Map Out What You Actually Need
Before touching your settings, figure out: - How many meeting types do you need? (e.g., “30-min call,” “90-min consult,” “Coffee chat”) - Do they all need to be bookable on the same days/times? - Are there some times you never want booked for certain meetings?
Pro Tip: Write it out on paper or in a doc. Calendly’s interface won’t help you visualize conflicts.
Step 2: Create Event Types
Once you’re clear on your needs, set up your event types.
- Go to your Calendly dashboard.
- Click “+ New Event Type”.
- Choose One-on-One (most common) or Group (if you do group meetings).
- Name your event and add a short description.
Repeat for each meeting type you want to offer.
Step 3: Set Custom Availability for Each Event Type
Here’s where things get interesting. Calendly lets you set custom hours for every event type, but the settings aren’t always obvious.
3.1. Open Event Type Settings
- Click into one of your event types.
- Go to the “When can people book this event?” section.
3.2. Edit Your Hours
You’ll see something like “Use an existing schedule” or “Set custom hours.”
- If you want different hours for this event only, select “Set custom hours”.
- Adjust the days and times. For example, maybe you only want consults on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1–4pm.
What actually works: - You can set totally different time slots per event type. - You can block out weekends, early mornings, lunch breaks—get as granular as you want, per event.
What to ignore: - “Default Hours” — Only useful if all your meetings share the same schedule (rarely true if you’re reading this).
Pro Tip: If you want a meeting to only be bookable on, say, the first Friday of each month, use the “Date overrides” feature (paid plans only).
3.3. Save Your Changes
Click Save & Close. (Don’t assume it autosaves.)
Repeat for each event type.
Step 4: Deal with Overlapping Availabilities
Here’s where Calendly’s logic can trip you up: If two event types are both available at the same time, and someone books one slot, that slot’s blocked for all event types that overlap. That’s good (prevents double booking), but can also be limiting.
Example:
- “Morning Coffee Chat” (Mon/Wed, 9–11am)
- “Deep Dive Consult” (Mon-Fri, 9am–5pm)
If someone books a consult at 9:00am Monday, nobody can book a coffee chat at 9:00am Monday. Calendly assumes your time is your time—no overlapping meetings.
Workarounds: - If you want to offer different types of meetings at the same time (say, “coffee chat” or “consult”), but limit how many get booked, you’re stuck—Calendly doesn’t do true “resource pools.” - You’ll need to create separate user accounts (not practical for most) or use another tool.
Step 5: Use Date Overrides and One-Off Slots (Advanced)
Sometimes you want to offer a unique slot—maybe just for a VIP or a one-time event.
- In the event type’s availability settings, look for “Date overrides”.
- Add a specific date and time.
This is handy for ad-hoc meetings or temporary changes. Just don’t expect guests to know about these unless you send them the link directly.
Pro Tip: For true “by-invitation-only” events, use Calendly’s “Secret Event Type” feature (hide from your main booking page, send the link manually).
Step 6: Sync With Your Calendar (or Don’t)
Calendly’s magic comes from syncing with your actual calendar (Google, Outlook, etc.). It won’t show you as available if you’re already busy elsewhere.
To sync: - Go to Account Settings > Calendar Connections. - Connect your work/personal calendars.
Honest take:
Syncing is worth it. If you skip this, you’re on your own for avoiding double bookings—and you will forget.
Step 7: Test Like a Guest
Don’t trust that your settings are right—test them.
- Open your event types in a private browser window or incognito mode.
- Try booking a slot for each event type.
- Check what happens if you book the same time on two different event types.
Look for: - Missing times - Overlapping events - Times that shouldn’t be available
Step 8: Share Your Event Links (Strategically)
Calendly wants you to send people your full “booking page” with all event types, but that’s not always best. If you only want someone to book a specific type, send them that event’s direct link.
- Click on an event type > Share > copy the direct link.
Pro Tip:
Keep your “public” booking page clean. Hide event types you don’t want just anyone to grab (like internal meetings or VIP sessions).
What Works Well (and What to Watch Out For)
Works well: - Setting unique hours for different meeting types. - Blocking off specific days, times, or even single dates. - Syncing with your real calendar to avoid double-booking.
Doesn’t work (or is awkward): - Overlapping events with “resource pooling” (e.g., if you want to offer either a consult or a coffee at the same time, but never both at once). - Making recurring “exceptions” (like “no meetings first Friday of every month”)—possible, but tedious. - Granular team rules (for that, you’ll want a different tool or a higher-tier Calendly plan).
Ignore: - Fancy integrations until your basics work. More features won’t fix poor availability logic.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go
Setting up custom availability in Calendly isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to overcomplicate. Start with your real needs, set up a few clear event types, and test everything as if you were a guest. Don’t try to hack around Calendly’s logic—it’ll just waste your time. If you hit a wall, keep things simple or look for another tool. Iterate as your needs change. You’ll spend less time wrestling your calendar and more time actually meeting people—on your terms.