Create a resource

A resource is anything you need to run an experience, such as:

You create the resource once, attach it to the experiences it serves, and CaptainBook uses it to help calculate availability, capacity, and who should receive booking information.

The category is the most important choice when creating a resource.

CaptainBook has four resource categories:

A few things to know:

If you are unsure between Guide and Auxiliary, think of it this way:

Guide is the resource primarily responsible for running the experience.

Auxiliary is an additional resource required alongside it.

Go to:

Resources → Quick actions → Add a new resource

If you do not have any resources yet, you can also use the button in the empty Resources screen.

The form contains the main information CaptainBook needs to create the resource.

Enter the name your team will use for the resource.

For example:

Choose one of:

Be careful when choosing the category. You can change it later, but doing so can affect capacity and availability.

Capacity is the number of guests this resource can support.

For example, a boat with capacity 10 can contribute 10 seats to a schedule.

If two boats with capacities 10 and 8 are attached to the same schedule, they can provide up to 18 seats.

Capacity behaves differently depending on category:

CaptainBook may warn you when the resource capacity and the schedule’s maximum travelers do not match. This is informational and does not prevent saving.

Type is your own internal label for the resource.

Examples:

Use consistent names so your Resources list stays easy to filter and organize.

If the type is exactly boat and the MCPY Manager app is installed, additional maritime fields become available.

For Guide and Auxiliary resources, you can enable:

This resource needs access to my workspace

Use this when the resource is a person who should:

You can either link an existing user or create a new one.

Search by name or email and select someone who already belongs to your workspace.

If the person is not already a user, create one directly from the resource form.

You will need:

The person receives an invitation email and creates their own password.

If you do not have the Create user permission, the option to create a new user is unavailable.

For a Guide with workspace access, you must select or create a user before the resource can be saved.

Any resource custom attributes configured for your account appear directly in the resource form.

Examples include:

Custom attributes can be managed under:

Resources → Quick actions → Manage attributes

Use custom attributes for structured information rather than adding everything to the Type field.

Additional options may appear depending on the apps installed on your account.

Available for Guide resources when the Payroll app is installed.

This creates a booking widget dedicated to that resource.

Available with the Franchise app for eligible person resources.

This creates a dedicated business unit and adds the resource and user to it.

If you do not see these options, your account does not have the related app enabled.

Click Add a new resource.

If something is missing or invalid, CaptainBook shows the validation error at the top of the form.

After a successful save, you return to the Resources list, unless you created the resource directly from an experience.

You can also create a resource directly while configuring an experience.

From a schedule, use Create a new resource in the resource or auxiliary resource panel.

CaptainBook then helps by:

If the resource has a capacity, CaptainBook recalculates the schedule’s availability automatically.

Depending on the resource type:

The user is linked to the resource and can begin receiving relevant booking notifications.

CaptainBook creates a hidden non-login user so the asset can hold bookings and appear on calendars.

No capacity is used.

CaptainBook recalculates the schedule’s capacity and availability where applicable.

A Guide whose connected user syncs Google Calendar can also have external busy periods reflected in CaptainBook availability.

Open a resource and click Edit to manage additional settings.

These include:

For Guide and Asset resources, you can optionally limit how many separate departures the resource can run each day.

Once the limit is reached, its remaining departures that day stop being bookable.

Guests can still join a departure the resource is already running while capacity remains.

For the full setup and behavior, see the dedicated article on limiting daily departures.

Resources are included according to your plan:

Additional resources can be billed separately on supported plans.

If you are at your included limit, CaptainBook warns you before creating another resource.

Only the account owner can add a resource beyond the included allowance when additional billing is required.

You may need different permissions depending on what you are doing:

Roles are managed under:

Profile menu → Roles & Permissions

To create several resources at once, go to:

Resources → Quick actions → Import

Upload a .csv or .xlsx file, map the columns, review the data, and complete the import.

You can also include user information such as:

Resource category is not imported from the file, so review categories after import.

Imported resources count toward your plan allowance in the same way as resources created manually.

You selected Equipment.

Equipment resources do not use capacity.

This can happen when:

Enter a capacity or, for a Guide, turn workspace access off if it is not needed.

Workspace access is enabled but no user has been selected.

Choose an existing user, create one, or switch workspace access off.

Your role does not have the Create user permission.

Ask an administrator to invite the person first or grant you the required permission.

Assets require both Create resource and Create user permissions.

Creating a resource by itself does not change availability.

The resource must:

Equipment never affects availability.

Auxiliary resources only affect availability when auxiliary inventory is enabled on that schedule.