Every rule the system enforces when you place, challenge, and confirm holds. For the short version, read how it works.
Reading this as crew? Read the other side.
What does a hold need?
Dates, and a rate. A hold without a number is worse than the phone call it replaces, so it is refused without one.
You can also set how long they have to answer. Without one, your company default applies.
How many holds can one person have on the same dates?
Three. A fourth is refused. Beyond three the queue stops meaning anything.
When is a hold refused?
They are already confirmed to someone else on overlapping dates.
They marked those dates unavailable.
Your company already holds them for those dates. One hold per company per range.
They already have three holds covering those dates.
How is my position decided?
By who got there first. Your hold takes the next free position behind any that already overlap your dates.
Position is per hold, not per day. If someone holds Aug 10 to 11 and you take Aug 11 to 12, you are second for the whole range even though nobody else wants Aug 12.
Can I change a hold after sending it?
Dates, rate, and notes, while it is still pending or active. Changing the dates on a hold they already accepted sends it back to pending, because they agreed to different dates than the new ones.
A confirmed booking cannot be edited. Cancel it instead.
The convention the industry already runs on, written down.
What is a challenge?
A production holding second place telling the production ahead of them to decide. The one ahead is put on a clock: confirm the booking or release the dates.
It happens between productions. The crew member is not asked anything and nothing on their side changes.
When can I challenge?
Your hold has to be active, meaning they have accepted it. A pending hold gives you no standing.
You can only challenge the position directly above you. A third hold cannot leapfrog to challenge first.
A hold already under challenge cannot be challenged again.
How long do they get?
Their own response window, not yours. If they work on 24 hours, the challenge gives them 24. You cannot impose a short deadline on a company that works longer.
What happens if they say nothing?
Silence releases it. They had their window; when it passes their hold releases and you move up.
Who can confirm?
Only the production holding first place, and only once the crew member has accepted. Second and third cannot confirm without first getting there.
What does confirming do?
Books them, and clears every competing hold on those dates. Each of those productions is told. You do not make a single call.
Can a booking be cancelled?
Yes, by either side, and a reason is required. Releasing is for holds; cancelling is for confirmed bookings, and the other party is told with the reason you gave.
What happens to holds once the dates pass?
Anything still unanswered is closed out as released, so old holds do not sit in your list forever.
How quickly does any of this happen?
Expiries, lapsed challenges, and past-dated holds are processed in the background every few minutes rather than the instant a deadline passes. Give it a moment before assuming something is stuck.
Can other productions see who has booked me?
They see that the dates are taken and what position they would be in, but not which company. Knowing a rival booked a monitor engineer for a given week leaks their tour schedule.
You see every company on your own calendar, and a company always sees its own name on its own holds.
Why can we not see rates or message crew yet?
Your company is still being reviewed. It usually clears within a day, and you are emailed when it does.
Everything else works while you wait. You can search, read profiles, see availability, and place holds.
Rates and direct messaging are held back because an unreviewed account is the cheapest way for someone to harvest what crew charge.
Can more than one person use a company account?
Yes. The owner invites people by email, and everyone on the company shares the same holds, bookings, and private notes.
How do invitations work?
They go to one address, expire after seven days, and can be withdrawn before they are accepted. Only the owner can invite or remove people.
Can I belong to two companies?
No. One person, one company. Someone already at another company has to leave it before joining yours.
Something here not matching what you see? Tell us — this page is meant to describe the system exactly, not approximately.