Velaro lets a customer choose an appointment from a chat conversation. The chatbot collects the details, presents available times, confirms the selection, and keeps the conversation context available to your team. The connected calendar remains the source for availability and the confirmed appointment.

Velaro does not create a second, disconnected calendar. A completed booking is written to the calendar system you choose, so the customer and the staff member see the same appointment.

Choose the Right Calendar Connection

Choose one primary booking owner for each service. If you connect more than one calendar, Velaro checks connected calendars for conflicts, but it should write the appointment to one declared primary owner. Do not configure two systems to create the same appointment independently.

Before You Turn It On

1. An account administrator enables the appointment and selected connector capabilities for the site. Available options depend on your Velaro subscription and the integrations connected to your account.
2. Choose the service, appointment duration, staff member or organizer, business hours, and time zone.
3. Connect one calendar system and verify it can return availability before making the chat flow public.
4. Configure the booking conversation to collect the customer's name and email before confirmation.
5. Run one internal test appointment. Verify the customer confirmation and the calendar event before enabling the flow for visitors.

Outlook Calendar Setup

Use Outlook Calendar when the appointment should appear directly on a staff member's Exchange or Microsoft 365 calendar.

1. Connect Microsoft 365 to Velaro and grant the calendar permissions requested during the connection.
2. Select the organizer mailbox and the calendar that owns the appointment.
3. Set the appointment duration, working hours, and confirmation message in the Velaro booking flow.
4. Test a time that is free and a time that is busy. A free time should create an Outlook event; a busy time should not be offered.

This is the recommended choice for a trainer, salon professional, consultant, or small service team that works from individual Outlook calendars.

Microsoft Bookings Setup

Use Microsoft Bookings when a business already has its services, staff, and appointment rules maintained in Microsoft 365.

1. Connect Microsoft 365 to Velaro.
2. Select the Microsoft Bookings business.
3. Confirm that the Bookings business has at least one active service and staff member.
4. Choose the service that the Velaro flow should offer.
5. Test a booking and confirm it appears in Microsoft Bookings and the assigned staff calendar.

Microsoft Bookings is useful for organizations that need a shared catalog of services and staff. It is optional; an Outlook Calendar connection is enough for a simple appointment workflow.

Calendly Setup

Use Calendly only when it is already the booking system your business uses.

1. In Calendly, create or select the event type that Velaro should offer.
2. Create a Calendly Personal Access Token with permission to read the event type and availability.
3. In Velaro Integrations, connect Calendly, enter the token, and select the default event type.
4. Validate the connection before enabling the flow. If the token is expired, revoked, or regenerated, create a replacement token and reconnect it in Velaro.
5. Test one booking end to end. If your Calendly plan and event type allow direct booking, Velaro can create the invitee. Otherwise, Velaro hands the customer the scheduling link so Calendly completes the booking.

Do not revoke the previous token until the new token has passed validation.

Customer Experience in Chat

1. The customer asks to book an appointment.
2. Velaro asks only for the information needed for the selected service.
3. Velaro shows times returned by the connected calendar.
4. The customer chooses a time.
5. Velaro creates or hands off the appointment through the selected calendar owner and confirms the result in the conversation.
6. The agent sees the booking context in the conversation and can continue with any follow-up.

Troubleshooting

No times are offered — Confirm business hours, time zone, the selected service or organizer, and that the calendar connection is healthy.

Calendly says the token is invalid — Generate a replacement Personal Access Token in Calendly, reconnect it in Velaro, and validate before retiring the old token.

A booking is created twice — Make one system the primary writer for that service. Do not let separate booking flows create events in both Calendly and Microsoft Bookings.

The chatbot says booking is unavailable — Check that the appointment capability is enabled for the site, that a connector is configured, and that the integration health check is successful. The bot should not offer a provider that is disconnected.

What Is Included

Calendar connector availability is controlled by your Velaro subscription and the integrations your administrator has enabled. If you need a connector or a multi-staff booking design, contact Velaro Support with the services, staff count, and calendar system you use so the flow can be configured correctly.