In OnceHub, meetings can be scheduled either through a phone call or a web browser interface. 

While both achieve the same goal, this article will outline the key differences between these two methods.

Booking Window and Availability

Scheduling via Phone Call (Guest-centric)

When a guest schedules a meeting via a phone call, the guest provides their preferred date and time for the meeting and then the Phone Booking feature checks the hosts availability for the given time slot. 

If the host is available, the booking is confirmed, otherwise the guest will be assisted in finding a suitable date and time.

NOTE: Phone Booking will not enforce the Booking Window if it is set to use Bookable days.

Scheduling via Web Browser/GUI (Host-centric)

When a guest schedules a meeting through a web browser, the hosts' available time slots are presented to the guest as configured in OnceHub and the guest must select a suitable option from the available slots.

Booking Form Questions

The type of questions guests are asked also differs between the two methods:

• Phone Call: To maintain a natural and conversational flow, only Free Text questions are asked during a phone call.
• Web Browser: The web browser allows for a wider range of question types, including:
  • Free Text
  • Single Select
  • Multi Select
  • Additional Guests
  • Attachment

Important: Field Mapping is currently not supported while scheduling via phone call.

How We Confirm the Guest’s Meeting

The order of confirming the guest’s meeting and collecting their information depends on how they schedule.

• Phone Call: For phone call bookings, only the guest's name and either an email or mobile phone number are required to confirm the meeting. Afterwards, the Phone Booking feature will continue the conversation and ask the guest questions based on the free-text questions in your Booking Calendar form.
• Web Browser: When booking via the web browser, the guest will need to complete all the questions on the Booking Calendar form before they are able to confirm the meeting.

Streamlined Process for Repeat Guests

One of the biggest differences is how we handle repeat guests.

• By Phone: If a guest has previously scheduled a meeting with you, we will automatically use their existing contact details based on their phone number.
• Web Browser: When scheduling via a web browser, guests must manually fill in their contact details each time, unless you have configured prefilling.