No Locum Accepted Your Booking — or Your Locum Cancelled? Here’s What Happens Next
By Eugene Bojé, Founder of Airlocum
Airlocum has a built-in safety net called automated rebooking. If no locum accepts your booking request within 2 hours, or if a locum who already confirmed your shift cancels, the system automatically resends your request to find a replacement. You don’t need to log back in or redo your search — Airlocum handles it for you.
Most shifts in London and the South East are filled within 15 minutes. Automated rebookings exist for the occasions when your first request doesn’t match immediately, or when plans change at the last minute. The system is working for you, even when you can’t see it.
When Do Automated Rebookings Happen?
Automated rebookings trigger in two situations:
1. No Locum Accepts Your Request
You send a booking request and no locum accepts within 2 hours. Airlocum automatically resends your request to additional locums to give your shift another chance of being filled. This is the most common trigger.
2. A Confirmed Locum Cancels Your Shift
A locum accepted your booking but then cancels. When this happens, Airlocum automatically sends a new request to find a replacement — so you’re not left scrambling to redo your search manually.
In both cases, the rebooking respects the filters you set in your original search. Your preferences are carried forward automatically.
How Does Automated Rebooking Work with “My Favourites First”?
When you send a booking request with “My favourites first” enabled, Airlocum sends your request to your favourited locums first. If none of them accept, the request automatically cascades to all other available locums who match your filters. This gives your trusted locums priority without limiting your options.
Here’s how this interacts with automated rebookings:
Your initial request: Goes to your favourites first, then cascades to all matching locums if needed
If a rebooking triggers: Goes directly to all available locums who match your filters. Your favourites already had their chance in the first round, so the rebooking casts the widest possible net to fill your shift.
This means the system gives you the best of both worlds: your preferred locums get priority on the first pass, and if nobody accepts, every available option is explored automatically.
What Do My Filters Control During a Rebooking?
The rebooking copies every filter from your original search. This means:
If you set a price filter: the rebooking respects your price limits
If you set a distance filter: the rebooking stays within your set mileage
If you set a skills filter: the rebooking only reaches locums with those qualifications
If you used no filters: the rebooking reaches all available locums in your area
Your initial filter choices don’t just control your first request — they shape every rebooking that follows. It’s worth setting them carefully from the start.
What Happens When a Confirmed Locum Cancels My Shift?
When a locum cancels a confirmed shift, two things happen automatically:
You’re notified immediately so you know the shift needs covering
A new booking request is sent automatically to all available locums matching your original filters
The locum who cancelled will not receive the replacement request. And because the rebooking goes directly to all available locums (not just your favourites), it maximises your chances of finding a replacement quickly — even at short notice.
How Do I Get the Best Results from Automated Rebookings?
Three things make the biggest difference:
Build a strong Favourites list (15–30+ locums). The more favourites you have, the more likely your initial request gets accepted before a rebooking is even needed. And if a rebooking does trigger, you’ve already given your best locums the first opportunity.
Send to plenty of locums from the start. Practices that send requests to 10–30+ locums fill shifts significantly faster than those who send to just 1 or 2. Wider reach on the first request often means no rebooking is needed at all.
Use “My favourites first” and let the system work. This gives your trusted locums priority while ensuring the request still cascades to others if needed. Combined with automated rebookings, your shift has multiple chances of being filled - all without extra effort from you.
Trust the process: your initial request goes to favourites first, then cascades to everyone else, then the rebooking goes wide. That’s three layers of coverage, all automatic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off automated rebookings?
Not currently. This feature significantly improves booking success rates. Your filters and Favourites list give you control over who sees your request without needing to switch anything off.
What if I no longer need the shift?
Cancel the booking request as soon as possible. This stops the rebooking process and prevents unnecessary notifications to locums.
How long do rebookings continue?
Until a locum accepts the shift or you cancel the request.
Does the rebooking go to the locum who cancelled?
No. The locum who cancelled will not receive the replacement request.
Does the rebooking still prioritise my favourites?
No. By the time a rebooking triggers, your favourites have already been given priority in the initial request. The rebooking goes directly to all available locums matching your filters to maximise your chances of filling the shift quickly.
Will the rebooking change my filters or preferences?
No. The rebooking uses exactly the same filters you set in your original search. Your preferences are always preserved.
Take Control of Your Bookings
The strongest thing you can do is build a Favourites list of 15–30+ trusted locums. With “My favourites first” and automated rebookings working together, your shifts have three layers of coverage: favourites first, then all matching locums, then a rebooking that goes wide. All automatic.
Want help building your list? Our team can recommend top-rated locums in your area. Just open live chat and say “build my list.”
