Scenario :

Application for assigning guests a table in the Hotel Restaurant.

Guests arrive on different days of the week

Guests might have a holiday duration of 2,3,4,5,6 or 7 nights

There are 200 tables in the restaurant

On arrival guests are assigned a table which they use for breakfast & dinner for the duration of their stay

I already have forms that process the Hotel Check-In and register if they want a morning paper delivered.

So I have a form, which in summary contains

NAME                 : the name of the guest

ARRIVAL             : the first day of their holiday

DEPARTURE       : The date they leave

NIGHTS               : The number of nights they are staying (which is actually DEPARTURE minus ARRIVAL)

PAX                    : Number of guests in the booking

So, if Mr Smith Arrives on Monday, and the Hotel is empty and he and his wife are staying for 7 nights, he can pick any table in the restaurant, once selected that table is reserved for 7 nights. They choose table 26

Then Mr Jones Arrives and he and his wife are staying for 4 nights, the system allows them to choose any table apart from 26, they pick table 75. (Note the tough bit is working out which table is available for the duration of their stay)

The table below shows this in a more graphical way.

Any Suggestions gratefully received !

Neil