Once someone is set up as a guide, you can put them on the departures they're running so the whole team knows who's on each trip. Assignments show on the calendar and the manifest, and they drive the guide's own schedule feed and alerts.
In this article
Assigning a guide is a scheduling label, not an availability control. It never changes ticket availability, capacity, or pricing, and it's internal: guides don't appear on customer tickets or confirmation emails.
Assign one guide to one trip
- Open the Calendar and select the timeslot you want to staff.
- Go to the Guides tab. The tab label carries the number already assigned.
- Find the guide, using Search for a guide if the list is long, and turn their Assigned toggle on.
The toggle saves immediately: no separate save step. The counters at the top of the tab update to show how many guides are assigned and how many remain available, and the guide's name appears on the timeslot on the calendar and manifest. To take someone off the trip, turn the same toggle off.
Assign as many guides to one timeslot as the trip needs, for example a lead and a support guide.
What the Status column tells you
Each guide's row shows one of three states:
- Assigned — already on this departure.
- Not assigned — free to add.
- Unavailable — already assigned to a different trip whose start and end times overlap this one, on the same date.
Unavailable is about overlapping assignments only. A guide with time off booked still shows as Not assigned, not Unavailable, and nothing stops you from scheduling them: see Time off doesn't block assignment below.
Double-booking warnings
If you assign a guide who is marked Unavailable, TripWorks asks you to confirm before it saves. The warning names the guide and lists every trip they're already on that overlaps, with the activity, date, and start and end times, so you can see exactly what the clash is.
Double-booking isn't blocked: confirm the warning and the assignment goes through. That's deliberate, because an overlap is sometimes correct, for example a guide who hands off partway through or covers two adjacent departures from the same dock.
The overlap check compares the two timeslots' start and end times on the same date. Back-to-back trips, where one ends exactly as the next begins, don't count as a conflict.
Time off doesn't block assignment
Time off you record on a guide's profile is advisory. It shows on the Guides roster and on the guide's own Availability tab, but it does not prevent an assignment, and it does not raise the double-booking warning. Before you staff a date, check the roster's Time off column or the guide's Availability tab.
See Set up a guide for how to record time off, and Assign guides in bulk & set recurring schedules for blocking out time straight from the schedule grid.
What happens after you assign
- The guide's name and manifest color show on that timeslot across the calendar and the manifest.
- The trip lands in the guide's upcoming assignments and in their personal calendar feed. See How guides see their schedule.
- If the guide has assignment alerts turned on, TripWorks notifies them. See Guide alerts & notifications.
Staffing more than one trip at a time
Toggling one timeslot at a time is right for a quick change or a same-day swap. To fill a week, a season, or a standing weekly rota, use the bulk tools instead: see Assign guides in bulk & set recurring schedules.
Frequently asked questions
Does assigning a guide change availability or capacity?
No. A guide assignment is an internal label for who is running the trip. Ticket availability, capacity, and pricing are all unaffected, and a departure with no guide assigned still sells normally.
Can guests see which guide is assigned?
No. Guide assignments are internal to your team. They appear on your calendar and manifest, never on customer tickets, confirmation emails, or the booking widget.
Can I put two guides on one trip?
Yes. Assign as many guides to a timeslot as it needs, for example a lead and a support guide. Every assigned guide shows on the calendar and manifest, and each gets their own alerts and schedule feed entry.
Why is a guide showing as Unavailable?
They're already assigned to another trip on the same date whose times overlap this one. Assign them anyway and TripWorks shows you the clashing trips and asks you to confirm. Time off does not make a guide show as Unavailable.
Will TripWorks stop me double-booking someone?
It warns you, but it doesn't block you. The confirmation lists every overlapping trip the guide is already on, and you decide whether to go ahead. Overlaps are sometimes intentional, so the final call is yours.
Can I assign a guide who has time off booked?
Yes, and TripWorks won't warn you. Time off is advisory: it's shown on the Guides roster and the guide's Availability tab, but it doesn't block scheduling. Check the roster's Time off column before staffing a date.
How do I remove a guide from a trip?
Open the timeslot, go to its Guides tab, and turn that guide's Assigned toggle off. The change saves immediately, and the guide is notified if they have unassignment alerts turned on.
Does the guide get told when I assign them?
Yes, if their alerts are on. Each guide has their own notification settings covering assignment, unassignment, and changes to trips they're on, across email, SMS, and in-app. See Guide alerts & notifications.
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