Starting today, relief shifts are booked automatically, at the end of the 3 business day auto-booking window (with a few exceptions). When a relief professional applies, they're booked on the date and time shown on their application (the auto-booking deadline), unless you reject them first. You can also book them yourself sooner. You're only ever charged the shift booking fee when a shift is booked.
For information about paying relief professionals, see How is shift payment for relief professionals handled on Hound?
Summary - How a relief shift is booked now
A relief professional applies to your shift and confirms they're available and their credentials are current.
You review the application. Each one shows the exact date and time it will be booked automatically.
The shift is booked when that time arrives, or sooner if you click Book now. There's no extra confirmation step for the relief professional.
Note: You are responsible for arranging payment to the relief professional directly for all booked shifts on Hound.
When does an application book automatically?
Applications sent 3 or more business days (Monday to Friday) before the shift starts are booked automatically. This happens 3 business days after they apply, but never later than 24 hours before the shift starts. Applications sent closer to the shift than that are never booked automatically: you'll need to book them yourself.
[Insert shared comparison table, employer rows only]
You don't need to count days. Every application shows its exact booking time, and we'll remind you 24 hours before it.
Why did we change the shift booking process and introduce auto-booking?
We changed booking to make it faster and simpler to fill your relief shifts. Under the old process, a shift wasn’t booked until three things happened: the relief professional applied, you approved, and they came back to confirm. We found that many applications were never answered and expired before anyone was booked. Even after a practice approved someone, the relief professional sometimes confirmed days later, or not at all, leaving the shift unfilled.
Here’s what’s better now:
Fewer missed bookings. A qualified applicant no longer slips away because an application sat unanswered during a busy week. If you don’t reject them, they’re booked.
Faster bookings. There’s no waiting for the relief professional to confirm. Click Book now and the shift is booked immediately, or let it book automatically at the time shown.
More applicant credential information. Every applicant confirms their availability and that their credentials are accurate and current before they can apply. DVMs also confirm their state license, DEA registration and provide their state license number. Applicants can only apply to shifts for their own position.
Clear timelines. Each application shows exactly when it will book. If more than one person applies, you’ll see their place in line, and we’ll remind you 24 hours before anything books automatically.
You’re still in control. You can reject any applicant before their booking time or book someone sooner. If a shift books automatically, you can still cancel for free for a short window after booking.
Easier to connect. A chat with each applicant starts automatically, so you can ask questions before the booking time without searching for them.
1. Check your notifications for new applications
When someone applies, you'll get an email and an in-app notification showing when the application will be booked. A banner at the top of your account also shows how many applicants are waiting and when the next one books. Clicking on any of these takes you directly to the shift application, which is on your Shifts > Bookings page.
You'll get a reminder email 24 hours before an application books automatically. For short-notice applications that need your approval, you'll get a reminder 24 hours before the shift starts.
2. View shift applicants
Go to Shifts › Bookings from the top menu bar, click on the "review" button from the top banner or click on your notification to review shift applications directly, Shifts with applicants appear under Applied, tagged with when they auto-book (for example, "Auto-books in 1 d") or Needs approval.
Click Applicants on the shift card to open the applicant list.
You can also click on Review applicants on the banner at the bottom of every shift detail page to review all shift applicants.
3. Review each application
Each application shows:
Their place in line (#1, #2…), if more than one person applied. The first in line is booked automatically.
The booking status: "Books automatically on [date, time]", or Needs approval for short-notice applications.
What they confirmed: availability for the shift date and time, and that their credentials are accurate and current. DVMs also confirm their state license and DEA registration and enter their license number.
Their message, if they included one. Click Message to reply. A chat with each applicant is started for you automatically. Note: you can send free chat messages to any shift applicant on Hound, regardless of your Hound subscription tier.
Example showing 3 shift applicants: first in line auto-books on Oct. 26 at 10:44 AM ET, second one auto-books on Oct. 26 at 11:13 AM ET only if the first applicant is rejected; third applicant withdrew their application.
Example of a shift application that requires approval, because the shift start state is less than 3 business days before the application time. These shifts never auto-book.
4. Book now or reject (or wait for the auto-booking deadline)
To book an applicant right away, click Book now. You'll see a confirmation message before booking, and the booking fee is charged immediately. Because you chose this applicant yourself, the fee isn't refunded if you cancel later.
To turn an applicant down, click Reject before their auto-booking time. You'll see a confirmation message before rejecting, and they'll be notified. You can add an optional reason which will be shared with the relief professional (if this is empty, they simply receive the standard rejection notification and email).
If someone else is next in line, they'll be booked at their own original auto-booking time. Rejecting the first applicant doesn't give you extra time to review any additional applicants, so check the next applicant's time before you reject.If you do nothing, the first applicant in line is booked automatically at the time shown. Everyone else in line is told someone else was booked.
In this example, the first applicant highlighted will be auto-booked on Oct. 26 at 10:44 AM ET if you do nothing.
5. Review shift costs and booking fees
Before you book, you'll see the costs for the shift:
Expected Worker Pay: pay/hour × total shift hours, paid by you to the relief professional directly, off Hound. For example, $100/hour × 9 hours = $900.
Shift Booking Fee: $15/hour for DVMs and $3/hour for non-DVMs [CONFIRM RATE]. This is the only fee you pay Hound. For example, $15/hour × 9 hours = $135.
Total Expected Cost: worker pay + booking fee, as a guideline only. You're never charged this amount.
When the booking fee is charged depends on how the shift was booked:
How it was booked | When you're charged | If you cancel |
Auto-booked (3 business days after the shift application) | The fee is held at booking and charged when free cancellation ends | Free until 3 business days after booking, or until the shift starts, whichever is first. After that, not refunded |
You clicked Book now | Immediately | Not refunded |
Short-notice application you approved | Immediately | Not refunded |
If the relief professional cancels a booked shift at any time, you get a full refund of the booking fee.
The fee is charged to the card of the person who posted the shift, or your practice's default card. Make sure there's a valid card on your account: if the payment fails, the shift isn't booked and we'll email you.
All your shift booking fees are listed on the Billing page > Shift Charges. Click on your avatar or initials in the top right menu bar, click on Billing, then the Shift Charges button at the top.
If you need to download a PDF of your transactions, click on My Charges or Team Charges, click on Detailed View and then the Download PDF button in the upper right corner.
6. Cancelling a booked shift
Open the shift from Shifts › Bookings › Booked, then click the Cancel shift icon in the top right corner. For automatically booked shifts, the cancel window shows when free cancellation ends. The relief professional will be notified.
7. Editing or deleting a shift with applicants
You can edit a shift by clicking the pencil icon directly from the shift card view, or by clicking on the shift to open the details > click on the pencil icon in the top right corner.
Once a shift has applicants, its date, time, pay rate and position can't be changed. This protects applicants from being booked on terms they didn't agree to. If you need to change these, delete the shift and post a new one. Deleting a shift closes all its applications and notifies the applicants.
8. Applications from the older shift booking process
Some applications still use the older process: those sent before October 21, 2026, and those sent from older versions of the Hound mobile app. They're marked Older application flow: approve, then they confirm and never book automatically. Click Approve, and the shift is booked once the relief professional confirms it. The booking fee is charged when they confirm.
Questions?
If you have any questions, click your profile image or initials in the top right corner, then Support › Chat with us.