Google Calendar Just Made Appointment Scheduling Way Less Annoying

If you run a service business—speech therapy, massage, tutoring, consulting—you know the scheduling dance. Client texts asking "are you free Thursday?" You check your calendar. Text back. They're not free Thursday. Back and forth until something sticks. Google just made this a lot less painful.

What Google Actually Changed

Late January 2024, Google quietly rolled out some updates to their appointment scheduling feature. Three things that actually matter for small businesses:

Add up to 20 co-hosts. If you run a practice with multiple therapists or instructors, everyone can now share the same booking page.
Secondary calendar support. Create appointment schedules on shared team calendars, not just your personal one.
"Check calendars for availability." The system actually looks at your (and your co-hosts') calendars before showing open slots.

That last one is the big deal. No more double-bookings because you forgot about the dentist appointment on your personal calendar.

Simple sketch of multiple people connected to one calendar, representing co-host scheduling

Why This Actually Matters (The Numbers)

Here's the thing about appointment-based businesses: no-shows hurt. A lot.

Client no-shows cost small businesses $27 billion in just the first half of 2023. That's not a typo. Billion with a B. The average small business sees about 8 no-shows every six months—at an estimated cost of $107 each.

What causes no-shows? Automated reminders cut no-shows by 29%. And guess what Google Calendar's scheduling feature includes? Automated email reminders.

It's not rocket science. Make it easier to book, remind people it's happening, fewer people forget.

What This Looks Like in Real Life

Let's say you're a speech therapist in Arroyo Grande with a small practice. Three therapists, one front desk, clients booking sessions throughout the week.

Before this update, you had a few options:

Pay for scheduling software (Calendly, Acuity, etc.)—typically $12-15/month per user
Have someone answer phones and manually check calendars
Play text message tag with every client

Now? Set up a shared appointment schedule on Google Calendar. Each therapist is a co-host. The system checks everyone's calendars automatically. Clients get a booking link they can use any time—even Sunday evenings, which is when most people actually book appointments.

Cost: $0 if you're using free Google accounts. The basic appointment scheduling feature is free.

Quick sketch of a phone showing an appointment booking interface

The Catch (Because There's Always a Catch)

A few things Google's free tier doesn't do:

One booking page only. If you need multiple appointment types (30-minute vs. 60-minute sessions), you'll need Google Workspace Business Standard or higher.
No payment collection. Clients can book, but you can't require deposits. For that, you'd need Workspace plus a Stripe connection.
Limited customization. The booking page looks... fine. It's functional. It won't win any design awards.

For a lot of small businesses, these limitations don't matter. You just need clients to be able to see when you're free and grab a slot. Done.

If you need the fancy stuff, Google Workspace Business Standard runs about $14/user/month. Still cheaper than most dedicated scheduling tools.

How to Set It Up (5 Minutes)

If you've never used Google Calendar's appointment scheduling before:

Open Google Calendar on your computer (not the phone app—easier on desktop)
Click the "+" button or click on an empty time slot
Select "Appointment schedule" instead of "Event"
Set your available hours—when can people book?
Add co-hosts if you want others to share the schedule
Copy your booking link and put it on your website, email signature, wherever

That's it. People click the link, see your open slots, pick one, done. No back-and-forth texts.

40% of appointments are booked outside business hours. Your booking link works at 10pm on a Sunday. You don't have to.

When to Skip This and Pay for Something Else

Google Calendar scheduling is great for simple use cases. But you might want dedicated software if you need:

Complex intake forms—collecting detailed info before appointments
Deposits or prepayment—reducing no-shows by putting money on the line
Multiple appointment types—without paying for Workspace
Calendar integrations beyond Google—syncing with Outlook, iCal, etc.

67% of clients prefer online booking. The tool matters less than having something. If Google Calendar gets you there for free, start there. You can always upgrade later.

The Bottom Line

Google just made a free tool better. If you're a small business juggling appointments—especially with multiple people who need to coordinate—check out these new features.

Will it replace a full-featured scheduling platform? Not for everyone. But for a speech therapist booking client sessions, a music teacher scheduling lessons, or a consultant offering office hours? It might be all you need.

And it costs you nothing to try.

Need Help Setting This Up?

If you're staring at Google Calendar wondering where to click, or you want help figuring out whether this makes sense for your business—give me a shout. I'm happy to walk you through it.

Sometimes the simplest tools are the best ones. This might be one of those times.