A group does not need one opening. It needs several at the same time, from the same location, on the same day.
Lead time for a group is a different calculation from lead time for an appointment. You are not looking for a slot. You are looking for a location that can put enough providers on your group at once, which is a staffing question, and staffing gets committed well before the calendar looks full.
One person needs one opening. Six people who want to finish together need several providers working at the same time. That is why a location can look wide open and still not be able to take your group on the day you want. Ask directly how many people they can work on at once on your date.
Saturdays, the run-up to holidays, and the wedding months are the hardest for groups everywhere. So are the hours everyone wants, which are mornings before an afternoon event. If your date sits in any of those, treat every week of delay as a real cost.
The occasion, the head count, the date, and the time you need to be finished. With those four a location can tell you yes or no quickly. Without them the conversation goes in circles and nothing gets held.
Services, add-ons and who is having what can be settled later. The date and the staffing cannot. If a location can hold your group, ask what it takes to secure the date and what the deposit terms are, then work out the rest against a booking that exists.
Tell us the occasion, how many people and when you need to be done. We will find the locations that can hold the group and get the terms in writing.
Book the GroupA head count and a date is plenty to start — we will follow up on timeline, deposit and what the location needs to know.