Button to add a booking

So, rather belatedly, we've added a big green "Add new booking" button to the calendar screen for users who don't like to click-and-drag:

We prevaricated for a long time about doing this. Because now that button is there, the most obvious way to create a new booking is of course to click the button. So we were worried that users wouldn't ever realise they can just add a booking by clicking and dragging across a range of dates in the calendar.

So we show this message after you use the button to create a booking:

"You can also create a new booking by clicking in the calendar and dragging across the required number of days."

While many user testers had no problem clicking-and-dragging (and naturally tried this when presented with a blank calendar) a few didn't think to click-and-drag so this button is for them. We didn't want people falling at the very first hurdle and simply having no idea how to add a booking.

I generally don't like throwing "tips" on the screen, if you do that too much you end up with the a reincarnation of the much-ridiculed Microsoft Office Assistant ("Looks like you are writing a letter! Are you too stupid to do it yourself? Can I really mess it up for you?").

But I think this situation just about warrants it. And once you click "Dismiss this message" you'll never see it again.