We’re sometimes asked whether Band Pencil can connect to a member's personal calendar (Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook etc.) and automatically mark them as unavailable for gigs.
We actually did experiment with this feature in the past. Members could connect their personal calendars so events would automatically block out their availability inside Band Pencil. However, after trialling it with real users, we decided to remove the feature. Here’s why.
In theory, syncing calendars sounds ideal. In practice, many people don’t maintain their calendars perfectly.
Members often had:
This meant Band Pencil would sometimes mark members as unavailable when they were actually free to take a gig.
Another common issue was that normal reminders were treated like real events. For example:
Many calendar systems treat these as calendar entries, so Band Pencil would assume the member was unavailable for that time. From a booking manager’s perspective this made availability look much worse than it actually was.
Another challenge we saw frequently was that members often used multiple calendars. If someone only used Band Pencil for one band, they typically weren’t actively maintaining that specific calendar. Instead, they were updating their personal calendar or another calendar they used day-to-day. As a result, the calendar connected to Band Pencil quickly became out of date, which again caused incorrect availability.
Although the feature sounded convenient, it generated a lot of questions like:
In most cases the issue came from something inside a personal calendar that Band Pencil had no control over. Ultimately, the feature created more confusion than clarity.
Instead, Band Pencil uses the traditional availability request method. Members simply confirm whether they are available for a specific event when asked. While this might seem less automated, in practice it is:
Availability decisions are made intentionally for each booking, rather than inferred from calendars that may not reflect real availability.