> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.riservahq.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Add a private or internal event

**Add private event** books a whole venue for one client, or for your own team,
on one page. It makes the event, books it, closes any other venues you pick
for the day and sends the payment link.

Use it for a buyout, a rehearsal dinner or a company party (a **Private
event**). Use it for a trade tasting, a staff event or a room blocked for work
(an **Internal event**).

## Before you start

* The venue must exist under **Settings › Venues & floor maps**.
* For a client who is already a customer, have their name or email ready to
  search.

## Add the event

1. Go to **Experiences**, click the arrow on the right of **Add experience**,
   and choose **Add private event**.
2. Under **Type**, pick **Private event** or **Internal event**.
3. Fill in the client (or, for an internal event, an optional contact).
4. Pick the **Date**, **Start time**, **End time** and **Venue**.
5. Tick any venues under **Also close** that should take no reservations that day.
6. Enter **Guests**, then pick **How they pay**, the **Price for the venue**
   and the **Cancellation** terms.
7. Click **Create event**.

The panel on the right, **Create event will**, lists what the click will do
before you make it.

## What the fields mean

| Field | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Event name** | Leave it blank for "Private event — \<client>" or "Internal event". Staff see it on Host, the reservation and Reports. |
| **Reference** | Optional free text, such as a budget code or the client's PO. It is shown on the reservation's Details card and in exports. |
| **Client** | Search your Shopify customers, or type a name, email and phone. A typed client is matched to an existing customer by email, or added as a new one. |
| **Contact** (internal) | Optional. Who on the team runs it. An internal event stores no email. |
| **Venue** | The room the event takes. Nothing else can be booked there between the start and end time. |
| **Also close** | Other venues closed for the whole day. Reservations already there stay booked. |
| **Guests** | The planned head count. It does not change the price. |
| **How they pay** | **Send a payment link**, **Collect at the event**, or **No charge**. |
| **Price for the venue** | One price for the whole event, whatever the head count. |
| **Cancellation** | **No refunds** (the default): the event gets its own all-sales-final policy. **Use my shop policy**: your shop's cancellation policy applies, and the choice shows its terms. Not asked when you pick **No charge**. |

## What happens next

You land on the new reservation, with a blue note saying what was made (and
where the payment link went). Its **Payment** card holds the link to copy or
resend. Anything left for you to finish shows as a yellow note at the top of
the same page.

A Private event's client gets the usual confirmation email when they have an
email on file, and the payment link by email when you chose it. Shopify sends
that payment email, so it can land in the client's spam folder. An Internal
event sends no guest email at all.

The client can't change or cancel the event themselves. The confirmation has
no **Manage** link. Its **Cancellation policy** line gives the event's terms,
then "This is a private event. To change or cancel it, contact *your store*."
For example: "All sales final — no refunds. This is a private event. To change
or cancel it, contact *your store*." A free event leaves the terms out. If the
client finds their reservation through **Find my reservation** on your store,
the page shows the same message and offers no change. You make every change
from the reservation in the admin.

## Good to know

* The event is an ordinary experience underneath: **Whole venue**, **Unlisted**
  and one date. Guests can't find or book it online.
* **Send a payment link** makes a Shopify checkout link for the price. The
  reservation reads **Awaiting payment** until it is paid.
* **Collect at the event** leaves the reservation at **Payment due**. Take the
  money at the register, or mark it paid on the reservation's Payment card.
* **No refunds** is a custom policy on the event. To change it later, open the
  event and use **Set custom rules for this experience** in its **Booking
  rules** card. Events made before this choice existed keep the rules they
  had.
* **Also close** adds one blackout period, named after the event, under
  **Settings › Venues & floor maps**. Remove it there to reopen those venues.
* Reports, the Reservations list and exports can show private and internal
  events apart from public ones, by their **Event type**.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title={"If you see \"Couldn't book the venue\""}>
    Something already has the venue at that time, and **nothing was created**.
    The message names what.

    * **Reservations already booked in the venue**: click **Book anyway** to take
      the room. Those parties stay booked, so move or cancel them from Host. The
      new reservation's timeline notes that it was booked anyway.
    * **Another private event or buyout already has the venue**: there is no
      Book anyway. Pick another time or venue.
    * **A limit such as pacing**: click **Book anyway** to book over it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title={"If a yellow note is at the top of the new reservation"}>
    The event and its reservation exist. Something is left for you, and each line
    says where to finish it:

    * **Reservations already booked in the venue are still booked** (after **Book
      anyway**): move or cancel them from Host.
    * **The Shopify product didn't sync**: open the event and retry from its page.
    * **The payment link wasn't created**: create it from the reservation's
      **Payment card**.
    * **The payment link wasn't emailed**: copy it or send it from the
      reservation's **Payment card**.
    * **The other venues weren't closed**: add a blackout period under
      **Settings › Venues & floor maps**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title={"Mark an event you already made the old way"}>
    Any experience can carry the marker. Open the experience, find the
    **Organization** card, and set **Event type** to **Private event** or
    **Internal event**. Add a **Reference** if you like, then save. Setting it back
    to **Not a private event** clears the reference too.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

* [Experiences and one-off events](/core-concepts/experiences-and-events)
* [Booking a reservation for a guest](/daily-operations/book-a-reservation)
* [Capacity strategies explained](/core-concepts/capacity-strategies)
* [What things mean on this screen](/reference/experiences#add-private-event)


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