BunkingBunk Assignments

Bunk Assignments

Assign campers to bunks, move placements, review requests, and manage capacity warnings from the Bunk Assignments board.

Place campers into bunks from one board

Bunk Assignments helps you see who still needs a bunk, who is already placed, and move people between the unassigned list and named bunks. You will find it in the admin site under BunkingBunk Assignments, at the path /bunking/bunk-assignments.php.

Staff can use this page only if their login includes permission to view users. If you see an access message instead of the board, ask an administrator to confirm your permissions.

Before you start

Bunk Assignments depends on your bunk setup. If the setup is incomplete, the board cannot show or save assignments correctly.

If the page says bunking is not configured, fix Bunk Settings first. Choose the bunk field, make sure the bunk names exist as answer choices on that field, then return to Bunk Assignments.

Confirm the bunk field is mapped

Someone on your team must map the correct profile field in Bunk Settings. Each answer choice on that field becomes a bunk on the board.

Optional: show bunk requests on the board

If you collect bunkmate requests or bunk preference notes in other profile fields, link those fields in Bunk Settings. Once they are linked, request details can appear next to each person on this page.

Know the page layout

The page has three main working areas. Once you know what each one does, daily bunking becomes much faster.

AreaWhat it does
Filter UsersChooses which people load into the unassigned list
Available UsersShows people who match your filter and do not have a bunk yet
BunksShows one column per bunk, with already assigned people in the matching bunk

A reminder at the top of the board tells you to drag users into bunks to assign them.

Filter the right people into the board

Filters control who appears in Available Users. The panel works like other report-style filters, so you can choose fields, operators, and values to narrow the list.

The default setup usually favors campers so you are not flooded with staff or parents. If the results look wrong, check the user type filter first.

What to expect from filters

  • Apply Filter loads matching unassigned people from the server.

  • Reset clears your selections and reloads the page.

  • Add filter may appear on some templates so you can stack conditions.

  • Available Users only shows people who do not currently have a bunk value.

  • People who already have a bunk appear only in their bunk column unless you remove them from that bunk.

Assign someone to a bunk

Run your filter first so the left side shows the people you want to place. Then drag each person into the correct bunk column.

Load the right people

Set your filters, then click Apply Filter.

Success looks like this: the Available Users list fills with people who match the filter and still need a bunk.

Drag a person into a bunk

Drag the person’s card from Available Users into the correct bunk column on the right.

If a bunk is collapsed, dragging over it can expand it so you can drop the card.

Confirm the assignment saved

The person disappears from Available Users and appears inside that bunk.

The bunk header count updates, and the Total Assigned number reflects the change.

Move someone or remove a bunk assignment

You can rebalance bunks at any time by dragging people between columns. You can also clear an assignment by moving someone back to the unassigned list.

Move someone to a different bunk

Drag the person from their current bunk column into a different bunk column.

Success looks like this: the person disappears from the original bunk and appears in the new one.

Remove someone from a bunk

Drag the person from a bunk column back into Available Users.

This clears their bunk assignment. After the move, the person appears in the left list again as unassigned.

Select several people at once

Multi-select works in Available Users only. Use it when you want to place several unassigned people into the same bunk at once.

  • Ctrl-click on Windows or Command-click on Mac adds or removes one person from the selection.

  • Shift-click selects a range between two clicks.

  • Drag any selected person to move the full selection together.

  • Selected rows stay highlighted so you can see what will move.

Bulk selection does not apply to people already inside bunk columns. Use it from the Available Users list before assignment.

Search people and bunks

Search helps you narrow what you see without changing the underlying board setup.

Search Available Users

Use the Available Users search box to narrow the left list by text such as a person's name. This is an on-screen search only. It does not change the server filter.

Search bunks or assigned names

Use the Bunks search box to find a bunk name or a person already assigned to a bunk. As you type:

  • bunk columns that do not match are hidden

  • matching bunks move to the top

  • matching names within a bunk may rise to the top of that list

Clear the search box to show everything again.

Review bunk requests and suggestions

If request fields are configured in Bunk Settings, the board can show extra context while you place campers. This helps you review preferences without leaving the page.

What you may see on the board

  • Extra request detail on a person’s card

  • A Toggle Requests control that shows or hides request text for everyone

  • Request details on hover for people already assigned

  • A Suggested bunk line when the system can infer a likely placement

  • A colored accent on a card to flag a suggestion worth reviewing

Use a suggested bunk

When a card shows a suggested bunk, the move link assigns that person to the suggested bunk in one step. Use it when the suggestion matches the placement you want.

Suggestions are a helper, not a rule. Review the camper’s details before accepting a suggested move.

Collapse bunks to reduce clutter

Click a bunk header to collapse or expand that bunk’s list. Empty bunks may start collapsed so the board is easier to scan.

Collapsing bunks is useful when you have many bunks and want to focus on only a few during placement.

Watch for capacity warnings

If your team set capacities in Bunk Settings, each bunk can show current occupancy and the maximum allowed. A header may show a value like 8 / 10.

When a bunk goes over its limit, the bunk can be highlighted and show how many people it is over. Your program may use one of two behaviors:

  • Warn means you can still assign the camper, but the board alerts you.

  • Block means the system may stop the assignment until space opens or the limit changes.

If the board blocks an assignment, the message explains why. Free a spot in that bunk or ask someone with access to adjust the capacity rule in Bunk Settings.

Build a draft with Smart Assignments

Smart Assignments helps you generate a draft layout using rules you define. It does not change live bunk assignments until you apply accepted suggestions.

Open Smart Assignments

Click Smart Assignments from the Bunk Assignments page.

If the tool says no campers are available, return to the board and click Apply Filter first so campers are loaded into scope.

Choose the session scope

Pick one of these options:

  • All active campers loaded by the filter includes everyone in your current filter, including people already in bunks.

  • Only campers currently unassigned uses only the people in Available Users.

Use the first option for rebalancing and the second when you only want to place unassigned campers.

Choose Allowed Bunks

You can limit which bunks are allowed.

Generate the draft

Click Generate Draft.

Suggestions appear grouped by bunk so you can review each proposed placement before anything is saved.

Accept only the moves you want

Accept or reject each suggested person.

When you are ready, click Apply Accepted Assignments to write only the accepted moves to the live bunk field.

An AI draft assignments control exists in the page markup, but it is not shown in the default template. This guide does not cover it.

Open a profile without losing your place

Each card includes an open-in-new-tab icon next to the person’s name. Use it to open that profile in a new tab when you need to confirm details before making a placement.

This is helpful when a request, age group, cabin rule, or other profile detail needs a quick check.

Use Bunk Settings for setup and Bunk Assignments for daily work

Bunk Settings controls the structure behind the board. That includes:

  • which profile field is the bunk field

  • which fields count as bunk requests

  • optional capacities

  • whether capacity behavior warns or blocks

Bunk Assignments is the day-to-day workspace where you filter people, drag assignments, review requests, and use Smart Assignments when needed.

Troubleshoot common problems

What to do next