Appointments and viewings
How buyers request viewings, how you accept, decline or reschedule, who takes part, who is notified, and what happens when someone cancels.
An appointment can start in four ways:
- A visitor requests a viewing from one of your listings, with Request tour.
- Someone asks from a conversation, with Request appointment.
- You create it in your calendar, with Create appointment.
- A visitor books a meeting from your Matchai Page.
How a buyer requests a viewing
The Request tour button appears on a listing once its agent has turned on Allow showings. See your availability.
On the listing, choose Request tour. The Schedule a viewing window opens.
If the agent asks for it, answer a few quick questions, or leave a name and a mobile number under How can they reach you?. For the name and number, Matchai asks only for what it does not already have.
Choose a Duration, if there is a choice, then a day under Preferred date and a time under Available times.
Add Notes if you like, such as what you want to see, then choose Send request.
A visitor who is not signed in can sign in first, or send the request without an account (see Without an account).
The window then says what happened:
- Viewing request sent! The agent will review the request and answer. This is the usual case.
- Your viewing is confirmed: the agent's own rules confirmed it straight away, and it is already in their calendar.
- This one is not a fit: based on the answers, the agent is not taking a showing right now. Nothing was booked.
The buyer finds their request under Calendar in their account, marked Requested, and receives a notification when the agent answers.
Without an account
A visitor can also request a viewing without creating an account. Once the request is sent, Matchai shows Your viewing is requested and offers to add their name and mobile number, confirmed with a code we text them, so they hear back when the agent answers. They can return to it later by signing in with that mobile number.
Request an appointment from a conversation
In a conversation, select the + button beside the message box (Add an attachment) and choose Request appointment.
Under With, choose the person you want to meet, if there is more than one. Under About a listing, you can attach one of the listings connected to the conversation. Then choose a Duration, a Preferred date and a Preferred time, add Notes if you like, and choose Send request.
The times offered are that person's own availability. You can request an appointment only with a professional who has turned on their availability. Otherwise the window says No one in this chat takes appointment requests yet.
Create an appointment
In your calendar, choose Create appointment. On a phone, use the + button in the header.
Choose the Date, the Time and the Duration. Custom lets you type a length in minutes.
Under Purpose, choose a kind of appointment, such as a viewing, a consultation or a contract signing, then the exact type.
Under Participants, choose who is coming. You can invite your leads, clients and peers. Under Properties, choose the listings it is about.
Under Where, choose In person, Virtual or Phone. In person meets at the listing you chose, unless you type another address. Once there is an address, you can add a suite, floor or entrance. Virtual needs a Meeting link and Phone needs a Number to call.
Add a Title if you want one, and any Notes. Without a title, the appointment is named after its type. Choose Create appointment.
If the time clashes with another appointment, or with a time you are busy in Google Calendar, Matchai says so before creating it. Choose Book anyway to keep the time.
An appointment with participants starts as Requested. Your participants receive the request, and can accept it, decline it or propose another time. It becomes Confirmed once it is accepted. An appointment with nobody else on it is Confirmed straight away.
Host and attendees
Every appointment has one host and one or more attendees.
- The host is the professional whose calendar the appointment belongs to. For a viewing, that is the listing's agent. When you create an appointment, it is you.
- The attendees are the people invited: the buyer who asked for the viewing, or the participants you chose.
The person who receives a request is the one who answers it. When a buyer requests a viewing, you answer. When you invite a client, your client answers. Each side then sees the actions that make sense for them.
Why it works this way
The host owns the time, so a host never has to accept their own appointment. Attendees are the people whose answer matters, so each of them is asked. Keeping the two apart is also what lets both sides message each other, cancel or propose a new time from their own calendar, while the details stay with the professionals.
Answer a request
You can answer from three places: the row of requests above your calendar, the day's details, or the notification itself. A request notification checks your calendar for you and says No conflicts, or which appointment it Conflicts with.
- Accept confirms the appointment. The other person is told it is confirmed.
- Reschedule opens Reschedule appointment. Choose a new Date and Time, add a Reason (optional), and choose Reschedule. The other person can accept your new time or decline it.
- Decline turns the request down. Open the request, then press and hold Decline. The other person is told it was declined, and the time is free again.
Message opens your conversation with the other person, if you want to talk it over first.
Change a confirmed appointment
Open the appointment in your calendar to see its actions.
Reschedule proposes a new time. Either side can do it. The appointment shows Reschedule pending and the agreed time stands until the other side chooses Accept or Decline. Until then, the person who proposed it can choose Reschedule again, or press and hold Cancel reschedule to withdraw the proposal. When nobody else needs to agree, for example on an appointment with no other attendee, the appointment moves straight away and Matchai says Appointment moved.
Edit opens Edit appointment, where you change the Title, the Where and the Notes, then choose Save changes. Editing is for professionals: a buyer or client with a regular account cannot change the details. To change the time, use Reschedule.
Cancel an appointment
- A request you sent: press and hold Cancel request. The person you asked is told you cancelled.
- A confirmed appointment: open it and press and hold Cancel. Anyone on the appointment can do this, and everyone else on it is told.
A cancelled appointment leaves the calendar of everyone on it, and its time can be booked again. If you add your appointments to Google Calendar, its event is removed from your Matchai calendar there too.
Why you press and hold
Declining and cancelling tell the other person straight away, and they cannot be undone. Pressing and holding for a moment means a stray tap never cancels someone's viewing. Let go early and nothing happens.
Who is told what
Matchai sends a notification at each step, to the people who need to act or to know.
| When | Who is notified | Notification |
|---|---|---|
| Someone requests a viewing or an appointment | The person asked | New appointment request, with Accept and Reschedule |
| The request is accepted | The person who asked | Appointment confirmed |
| The request is declined | The person who asked | Appointment declined |
| The person who asked cancels their request | The person asked | Request cancelled |
| Someone cancels a confirmed appointment | Everyone else on it | Appointment cancelled |
| Someone proposes a new time | The other side | Reschedule requested |
| The new time is accepted or declined | The person who proposed it | Reschedule confirmed or Reschedule declined |
For buyers and clients
With a regular account, your appointments are under Calendar in your account. From there you can see each request and its status, and on a confirmed appointment you can Message the professional, Reschedule it or Cancel it. The details of the appointment, such as its place and notes, are set by the professional.