Approving session bookings

When a mentee books a session, it enters "pending" status. Your job is to review and either approve or reject. This article covers how, when, and what to consider.

Where pending bookings appear

• Dashboard → Pending Bookings — the dedicated page.
• Notification bell — every new booking triggers a notification.
• Email — you get an immediate email with the request details.

What you see on a pending booking

• Mentee name and profile photo
• Requested time — in your timezone
• Duration and session type (if you offer multiple)
• Price paid
• Mentee's message (if they included one)
• Mentee's history — prior sessions, total spend, average rating they give

Decision checklist

1. Is the time actually free? Re-check your calendar in case you forgot a conflict.
2. Can you deliver what they're asking? If their message describes something outside your expertise, it's fair to message them first before approving.
3. Any red flags? Mentee's review-giving history skewed low, or prior mentor-no-show complaints, or rude message tone — reject or message first.

Approving

Click Approve. Three things happen automatically:

1. Booking moves from "pending" to "approved".
2. A Zoom meeting is created for the session.
3. Calendar links (Google, Yahoo) are generated.
4. The mentee is notified via email + in-app with all details.
5. You're notified and the session appears in your Upcoming Sessions list.

Rejecting

Click Reject. You must provide a reason — it's shown to the mentee.

• Common valid reasons: schedule conflict, outside my expertise, I won't be able to prepare adequately, timezone mismatch.
• Bad reasons: "no" with no explanation.

The mentee is refunded immediately (since it was pending). You're not financially penalised, but rejections affect your approval-rate badge.

Suggesting an alternative time

If a time doesn't work but you'd still like to do the session:

1. Click Suggest alternative instead of reject.
2. Pick a new time from your calendar.
3. The mentee gets notified with your suggestion and can accept, decline, or propose yet another time.
4. Once both agree, booking confirms automatically.

Auto-approval

If you're comfortable letting any booking through, enable auto-approval in Schedule → Settings. New bookings go straight to "approved" with Zoom link generation immediate. You can always disable this later.

When to use auto-approval:

• Your schedule is tight and bookings rarely conflict with anything.
• You've built trust with a steady stream of well-prepared mentees.
• You want to remove friction from the booking flow.

When NOT to use auto-approval:

• You want to vet each request (especially early on).
• Your expertise is narrow and you want to confirm fit first.
• You occasionally get requests outside your scope.

Response time matters

Respond to pending bookings within 24 hours. Slow response rates hurt your searchability — the platform boosts mentors who approve quickly. Systematic bookings without response auto-expire after 7 days and refund the mentee.

Post-approval, pre-session

Between approval and the session start:

• Review the mentee's profile and message so you're prepped.
• Reply to any pre-session messages.
• If you need to cancel, do it early — the mentee appreciates the notice.

Related

• "Managing your schedule" — availability drives what pending bookings land
• "Handling no-shows and cancellations" — after the session