How to Build and Use Your Dental Locum Favourites List
By Eugene Bojé, Founder of Airlocum
The Favourites list is one of Airlocum's most powerful features for dental practices that want quality control without sacrificing booking speed. It lets you pre-approve a curated pool of trusted dental locums — nurses, dentists, hygienists, and therapists - so every booking request goes to professionals you already know and trust, with no compromises on fill speed.
⚡ At a glance ✔ Add locums to your Favourites by clicking the heart icon on any profile ✔ Aim for 15–30 favourites for the best balance of speed and quality control ✔ Use the 'My Favourites First' filter when booking to prioritise your approved list ✔ If none of your favourites accept within 15 minutes, the request automatically widens to a broader locum pool ✔ Works with all other filters: skills, distance, price |
Why Use a Favourites List?
The problem: When practices send booking requests to only 1–2 locums — even when 30 or more are available — fill rates drop sharply. You're working against probability rather than with it.
The solution: Build a curated Favourites list of 15–30 trusted dental locums and use the 'My Favourites First' filter when booking. Your request goes to pre-approved professionals first, with automatic widening if none of them accept within 15 minutes.
Benefit | What this means for your practice | |
✅ | Higher fill rates | More approved options in your pool means better odds of fast acceptance on every shift. |
✅ | Quality control | You pre-approve every locum. No surprises —professionals you've already vetted or reviewed. |
✅ | Time saving | No need to scroll through profiles on repeat bookings. Your approved list is ready to go. |
✅ | Smart auto-widening | If none of your favourites accept within 15 minutes, the system automatically sends to a wider pool — respecting all your other filters. |
✅ | Consistency | Build working relationships with locums who already know your practice, patients, and preferences. |
How to Build Your Favourites List
Method 1 — Add locums during search
The quickest way to build your list is while browsing search results before or after a booking.
1. Go to the Search Results page. 2. Browse locum profiles — review ratings, reliability scores, and qualifications. 3. Click the heart icon on any profile you want to add. It appears at the centre-right of each locum's summary card. 4. The heart turns solid green, confirming the locum has been added to your Favourites list. |
Method 2 — Add locums from previous bookings
After a successful shift, add high-performing locums while the experience is fresh.
1. Review locums you have worked with successfully before. 2. Search for them by name in the Search Results page. 3. Click the heart icon on their profile to add them to your Favourites. |
💡 What size should my Favourites list be? Aim for 15–30 locums for the best balance of quality control and fill speed. Even a list of 4–5 locums is worth using — your request will go to them first for 15 minutes before widening automatically. Less than 15 may not provide enough options for consistent coverage across all shift types and dates. Build towards 15–30 by adding one or two locums after each successful shift. |
How to Use Your Favourites List When Booking
Once your list is built, activate it with a single filter at the point of booking.
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🔄 How auto-widening works After 15 minutes with no acceptance from your Favourites, Airlocum's system automatically resends your request to a wider pool of available locums. Your other filters (price, skills, distance) are preserved in the wider send. This means you never have to choose between quality control and fill speed — the system handles the fallback for you. |
Managing Your Favourites List
Adding new locums
After every successful shift: review the locum's rating and add them if they performed well.
Regular browsing: search periodically for new locums in your area and add those with 4.5+ star ratings and 90%+ reliability scores.
Quality indicators to look for: high star rating, strong reliability score, relevant skills, and reasonable travel distance from your practice.
Removing locums
Click the heart icon again on any locum's profile to remove them from your Favourites list. The icon will return to unfilled grey.
Remove locums who are consistently unavailable, have low ratings after recent shifts, or are no longer a good fit for your practice.
Ongoing maintenance - recommended monthly
Review your list after each shift and add strong performers immediately.
Once a month, remove locums who have become consistently unavailable or whose ratings have dropped.
Aim to keep your list at 15–30 active, high-quality locums at all times.
Best Practices for Building a High-Quality Favourites List
When selecting locums to add, prioritise:
Star rating: look for 4.5 stars or above from practice reviews.
Reliability score: aim for 90%+ — this reflects how consistently the locum accepts bookings and doesn't cancel.
Relevant skills: match locums to the roles and specialisms most common at your practice (e.g. implants, sedation, nervous patient experience).
Travel distance: prioritise locums within a reasonable commute of your practice for faster and more reliable arrivals.
Diversity of availability: include locums with different availability patterns so you always have options on any given day.
💡 Combine Favourites with other filters The 'My Favourites First' filter works alongside — not instead of — Airlocum's other filters. For example: use 'My Favourites First' + a price cap + a skills filter to get pre-approved locums who also meet your specific shift requirements. For urgent shifts, consider removing the price filter temporarily to maximise the pool within your Favourites. |
Troubleshooting
"My Favourites list is empty"
You haven't added any locums yet. Go to Search Results, browse profiles, and click the heart icon on locums you'd like to approve. Start with locums you've already worked with successfully.
"I can't find the heart icon"
The heart icon appears at the centre-right of each locum's summary card in Search Results. If you're on the booking checkout screen, return to Search Results to add locums.
"My request went to locums outside my Favourites list"
This is expected behaviour. If none of your Favourites accept within 15 minutes, the system automatically widens to the broader locum pool. This is by design — it ensures your shift gets filled even if your preferred locums are unavailable. Check that you selected 'My Favourites First' before sending, and that your Favourites list is not empty.
"My booking still went to all locums immediately"
Check that you activated the 'My Favourites First' filter before sending your request. If the filter was applied and the request still went to all locums, contact the support team via live chat.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Favourites list on Airlocum?
The Favourites list is a curated pool of dental locums that a practice pre-approves for booking. When you use the 'My Favourites First' filter, your booking request goes to those locums first, ahead of the wider locum pool. If none of them accept within 15 minutes, the system widens automatically.
How many locums should I have in my Favourites list?
Aim for 15–30 locums for the best results. Even a list of 4–5 is useful — requests go to them first for 15 minutes before widening. Fewer than 15 may limit your options across different shift dates and role types.
Will my booking still be filled if none of my Favourites accept?
Yes. If none of your Favourites accept within 15 minutes, Airlocum automatically sends your request to a wider pool of available locums, using the same other filters you applied. You do not need to take any action.
Can I use the Favourites filter alongside other filters like price or skills?
Yes. 'My Favourites First' works alongside all other Airlocum filters. You can combine it with a price cap, skill requirements, and distance filters to find the right locum from your pre-approved list.
How do I remove a locum from my Favourites list?
Click the heart icon again on the locum's profile in Search Results. The icon will return to unfilled grey, confirming they have been removed.
Is the Favourites list the same as the Blocklist?
No. The Favourites list is for locums you want to prioritise. The Blocklist is for locums you want to exclude from all future booking requests. See: How to Use the Locum Blocklist on Airlocum.
Does the Favourites list affect automated rebookings?
Yes. If you used the 'My Favourites First' filter when you sent the original request, the automated rebooking system (which activates after 2 hours if no one accepts) will also respect that filter — keeping the rebook within your approved list before widening.
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