diff --git a/pipecat-cloud/guides/capacity-planning.mdx b/pipecat-cloud/guides/capacity-planning.mdx
index cd78d5a0..bbe50e03 100644
--- a/pipecat-cloud/guides/capacity-planning.mdx
+++ b/pipecat-cloud/guides/capacity-planning.mdx
@@ -71,11 +71,19 @@ To determine the optimal reserved instance count for your deployment, consider:
   apps, consider a waiting UX or message.
 </Tip>
 
+<Tip>
+  For a known busy period, raise `min-agents` **3-5 minutes** before your traffic
+  starts, not seconds. A `min-agents` change is applied asynchronously, so new
+  instances still need time to become available after the change is accepted.
+  See [Cold-starts](../fundamentals/scaling#cold-starts) for what makes a
+  scale-up slower.
+</Tip>
+
 ## Cost-Efficient Scaling Strategies
 
 - **Development/Testing**: Use `min-agents: 0` to minimize costs during development
 - **Production Voice AI**: Set `min-agents` to cover your baseline traffic to avoid cold starts
-- **Time-Based Scaling**: Consider modifying your reserved count for known high-traffic periods
+- **Time-Based Scaling**: Consider modifying your reserved count for known high-traffic periods. Make the change ahead of the traffic, not as it starts.
 - **Cap session duration**: Use [`--max-session-duration`](/api-reference/cli/cloud/deploy#param-max-session-duration) as a safety net against runaway sessions. If your application's calls are meant to be short, setting a tight cap (e.g. 120s for a 60s use case) prevents a buggy bot from racking up hours of charges.
 - **Monitoring**: Regularly review your warm capacity utilization to optimize your configuration
   <Info>