Managing bookings and calendars can be challenging for tour and activity businesses, especially when working across multiple departments. FareHarbor, a widely-used booking software in the tourism industry, offers a wide range of tools to simplify operations. However, like any configurable software solution, technical glitches or configuration oversights can occur. One particularly disruptive problem that has affected multi-department setups is the duplication of calendar events across departments.
TLDR:
If you’re experiencing duplicated calendar events across departments in FareHarbor, you’re not alone. This issue was largely caused by improper or overlapping resource mapping, leading to inconsistent booking visibility and potential scheduling conflicts. The good news? A refined approach to resource mapping has fixed the issue, streamlining calendar displays and eliminating event duplication. Read on to understand the root cause, how it was solved, and what you can do to prevent it in the future.
The Problem: Duplicate Calendar Events
For operations that span across various departments—like kayaking vs. paddleboarding divisions within a water sports business—FareHarbor’s calendar system helps staff monitor bookings, availability, and guides or equipment use. However, over time, some business owners noticed that identical or similar events started appearing on multiple departmental calendars, even when they were only relevant to one.
This duplication made it harder to:
- Get an accurate view of resource availability.
- Assign staff or equipment without confusion.
- Avoid double bookings or internal scheduling errors.
Many teams initially attributed these issues to user error or miscommunication, but over time it became clear that something more systematic was going on.
Understanding FareHarbor’s Resource Mapping
To get to the root of the problem, we need to understand how FareHarbor handles resources and availability. In FareHarbor, every item—whether it’s a kayak, a tour guide, or a shuttle—is treated as a resource. These resources are then mapped to specific calendars and items (such as tours or rentals).
At a basic level, mapping works like this:
- An operator creates a list of available resources.
- Each department is given a calendar and certain resources.
- Each item (tour or rental) pulls from the mapped resources to determine availability.
Issues arise when:
- Resources are shared or linked incorrectly between departments.
- Items are duplicated for ease of management but are mapped to the same resource pool.
- Calendars are set to view overlapping resource data unintentionally.
How Duplicate Events Confused Teams
With duplicated events showing in multiple calendars, operators began to experience:
- Redundant notifications for the same booking.
- Difficulty assigning staff to the correct department schedule.
- Double bookings of scarce resources like equipment or crew.
Imagine a paddleboarding guide accidentally appearing on the kayaking department’s calendar and getting double-booked. Or worse, a rental kayak being shown as available in the paddleboarding department simply because of incorrect resource mapping.
The Solution: Resource Mapping Reevaluation
Fixing this problem involved taking a deep dive into the way resources were mapped and how calendars were structured. Here’s how the issue was resolved:
1. Auditing the Existing Setup
The first step was conducting a full audit of:
- Active items across departments.
- All existing resource mappings.
- Which calendars were pulling from which resource pools.
This audit revealed numerous instances where items in different departments were tapping into the same shared resource, causing cross-department visibility in the calendar views.
2. Creating Department-Specific Resources
Rather than relying on a shared pool, operators created department-specific copies of the same resources. For example:
- A kayak resource for the kayaking department: KAYAK-01-K
- A kayak resource for the paddleboarding department: KAYAK-01-P
Even if they represented the same physical item, keeping them distinct in the system avoided overlapping calendar entries. Additionally, having item-specific prefixes helped with labeling and identification.
3. Correcting Item Mapping
Each item (tour, rental, class) was then remapped carefully to only pull from the intended department-specific resources. This drastically reduced the chance of duplicate or unintended bookings showing up in multiple departments.
4. Implementing Calendar Permissions
On top of fixing the resources and item mappings, calendar permissions were tightened. Teams were provided access to only the calendars relevant to their department, reducing noise and confusion across the platform.
Result: Cleaner Calendars and Efficient Operations
The impact of these changes was immediately noticeable:
- Single-source view of availability, specific to each department.
- Fewer errors when assigning staff or equipment.
- Greater confidence in the accuracy of the calendar.
Perhaps most importantly, team morale improved. When team members trust the tools they use, they can focus on delivering amazing customer experiences instead of second-guessing scheduling logistics.
Tips to Avoid Future Uploads and Duplication
If you’re using FareHarbor in a multi-department organization, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:
- Reevaluate resource mapping quarterly to catch any overlap early.
- Use clear labeling conventions to identify which resources belong to which departments.
- Limit calendar access by roles or departments wherever possible.
- Avoid duplicating items unless absolutely necessary—and if you do, ensure separate resources are mapped.
- Train staff regularly on how the calendar and mapping system works, especially during onboarding.
A Forward-Thinking Approach
While FareHarbor continues to evolve, it’s essential for businesses to periodically evaluate how their systems are set up. In this case, the duplication of calendar events was not a software “bug” but a result of shared configurations that weren’t suited for departmental segmentation. By taking a more intentional approach to resource mapping, teams not only resolved the duplication issue but also improved their day-to-day operations.
As tourism businesses scale and diversify their offerings, tools like FareHarbor must be set up in a way that reflects operational complexity without overwhelming the users. Taking the time to establish clean data structures, departmental lines, and resource allocations will pay dividends in efficiency—and peace of mind.
Conclusion
Duplicate calendar events across departments in FareHarbor were more than just an annoyance—they posed a real risk to smooth operations and team productivity. Thankfully, a focused effort on cleaning up resource mapping and tightening calendar configurations offered a long-term fix. If your business is navigating similar challenges, consider auditing your own setup and making necessary adjustments. Smart resource mapping isn’t just a fix—it’s a strategy.