What does “blocking bays” mean?
Blocking bays means temporarily or permanently making parking spaces unavailable for normal bookings.
You might block bays when:
You want to reserve spaces for a special event
There is work being carried out in the car park
Bays are being removed from your lease or converted to another use (e.g. storage)
The car park is closed for certain days or times
For example, public holidays or full-building shutdowns
How you block bays depends on whether the change is temporary, partial, or a full closure.
Common reasons to block bays
1. Events – reserving bays for guests
You may want to block some bays from normal use so they can be used for:
Event attendees
VIPs or guests
Short-term visitors for a specific day or time window
In this case, you usually want to keep the bays, but change who can use them and when.
Access methods to consider when blocking bays for events or visitors
When you block bays for visitors or an event, think about how those people will access the car park:
1.1 Visitors are using a different access method (not the BaseUp app)
If event guests or visitors will use a different access method (for example, building passes, a guard at the gate, paper permits):
You only need to make sure the bays are blocked in BaseUp
You do not need to create BaseUp bookings for those visitors
In this case, your main task in BaseUp is just to protect the bays so normal users cannot book them.
1.2 Visitors are using the BaseUp app for access
If event guests or visitors will use the BaseUp app to enter the car park:
Do not block the bays.
Instead, leave the bays bookable and create visitor bookings.
In this case:
You should not use policy limits, block-out dates, or asset group changes to block those bays for the event.
Simply create visitor bookings (or standard bookings for staff) for the bays you want them to use.
BaseUp will then manage access for those visitors via the app and prevent double-booking.
2. Works in the car park – bays temporarily unavailable
You may need to block bays because:
There are repairs or construction happening in a section of the car park
Equipment is being installed (e.g. EV chargers)
Access to a level or area is restricted for safety
In this case, bays need to be temporarily unavailable for booking until the work is complete.
3. Bays being removed or repurposed
Sometimes bays are no longer part of your parking allocation, for example:
You are returning bays to the landlord and no longer leasing them
Bays are being converted to storage or another non-parking use
Bays are being permanently reassigned and should not appear in BaseUp at all (or not be bookable)
In this case, bays need to be removed from normal use, and any future bookings must be updated.
4. Car park closed (e.g. public holidays)
You may also need to close the entire car park for specific dates or times, such as:
Public holidays
Building-wide shutdowns or security closures
Major works that impact the whole car park
In these cases, no bays should be bookable during the closure period.
Choosing the right way to block bays
BaseUp gives you three main ways to control bay availability:
Policy limits
Asset group changes
Block-out dates
Policy limits – near-term changes (next month)
Use policy limits when:
You need to block or reduce bays for dates within the next month
You might be blocking some bays or even the entire car park, but the change is short term and soon
Examples:
An event next week where you want fewer bays available to normal users
Short-term works happening over a few days in the coming weeks
Policy limits work over the next month of dates you can see in the dashboard, so they are ideal for near-term operational changes.
(See the Policy Limits Guide for detailed steps.)
Asset group changes – permanent or long-term bay removal
Use asset group changes when:
Specific bays should no longer be bookable
Bays are being returned, repurposed, or removed for the long term
You want clear separation between active and non-active bays
You do this by:
Removing bays from the asset groups that are linked to booking policies.
Optionally moving them into a “Non-active” or “Storage” asset group that is not linked to any policies.
(See the Asset Groups Guide for instructions.)
Block-out dates – full car park closure in the future
Use block-out dates when:
You are closing the entire car park for dates further in the future
You want to set these closures up well in advance
Examples:
Planning all public holidays for the year where the car park will be closed
Known future building shutdowns
Block-out dates:
Apply to the whole car park
Are best for far-ahead planning, so you can quickly configure all closure days in one go.
How do I block specific bays only?
If you need to block specific bays (not just reduce overall capacity), you should temporarily remove those bays from their asset group.
High-level steps:
Go to the Assets tab.
Find the bay(s) you want to block.
Remove those bays from the asset group(s) that are linked to booking policies.
Once a bay is no longer in an asset group that’s used by a policy, it will no longer be bookable.
Remember:
Any existing future bookings in those bays will not move automatically – you must manually move or cancel them.
When you’re ready to make the bay bookable again, simply add it back into the relevant asset group.
For detailed steps on managing bay membership in groups, see the Asset Groups Guide.