Scheduling joint mediation sessions both parties can attend

Ask each party separately for the times they can attend, choose a time that works for both, then create one slot with two places and book each party into it yourself, with their own name and email. Both receive their own confirmation, neither had to negotiate with the other, and nobody else can take the slot. At the end of each joint session, while both are still in the room, agree on the next date and book it the same way.

An individual appointment needs one person's agreement. A joint session needs two people who are in conflict to be free at the same time, and to accept being in the same room. If you ask them to agree on a date between themselves, you hand them a new subject to argue about. If you relay messages back and forth, each exchange takes days, and one party may feel the other's constraints are always given priority.

Handling the date yourself, with a clear method that is the same for both, keeps it neutral and quick.

Once every place is taken, the slot is full and no longer shown on your public page. Each person gets their own confirmation email with a calendar file, and you get a new-booking email for each.

You can open joint session slots with two places on your public page, and each party can book a place. But your page is public: anyone who visits can see the slot, and there is no way to reserve a place for a specific person. One party might also book while the other never does, leaving you with half a session. Letting people book it themselves works best once both have agreed on a date and you've sent the link to both at the same time. For first joint sessions, booking them yourself is simpler.

Durations, places and prices are examples. Each booking is one place, so the price you show is per party; if you split your fee differently, explain it in the service description. Each slot sits within one day.

The easiest moment to fix the next joint session is at the end of the current one, with both parties present and their diaries open. Agree on the date together, then create the slot and book both of them into it straight away. They leave with a date, and nothing has to be negotiated by message.

Leave time between sessions for the parties to think, gather documents or talk to their advisers; the right gap depends on the case. Book's weekly repeat is useful for your own regular mediation hours, less so for a case, where each date is agreed on the spot.

Parties can't move bookings online: they contact you. Check the new date with the other party first, then reschedule both bookings from your bookings list, one after the other. Book doesn't email clients about changes, so tell both parties yourself, in the same message if possible, so neither feels the other was informed first. With calendar sync (Google, iPhone, Mac), your joint sessions and information meetings sit in one calendar. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.