Using Waitlists
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Written by Charles
Updated over a week ago

As your events start filling up, waitlists can help you automatically build a back-up list of interested parties, in case space becomes available later on.

Enable Waitlists

To start using waitlists, enable the waitlists feature under Admin->System Configuration->Workflow Settings:

Waitlists with Online Bookings

With waitlists enabled, customers booking online will see the option to add themselves to the waitlist for events that are sold out.

If an event is not sold out, but doesn't have enough for a customer's party, they will see an option to join the waitlist as well:

Joining a waitlist is similar to making a reservation, but there are a few key differences to ensure that customers don't think think they've made an actual reservation:
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  1. Messaging on all pages will clearly communicate that the customer is joining a waitlist, not making a reservation.

  2. No payment information will be requested during the waitlist process.

  3. No email confirmation will be sent after the waitlist process.

Waitlists with Phone and Walk-up Bookings

As with online booking, your staff can add customers to the waitlist from your Control Panel, if an event is full:

Or, if an event has insufficient room for the customer's party:

Checking the Waitlist Status

If customers are waitlisted, you'll see the number of waitlisted tickets on your calendar, above each event.

This information is available at the top of the Event Detail and Today's Events screens as well:

Converting a Waitlist Request to a Reservation

Waitlist requests will appear on your Event Detail and Today's Events screens in a separate list below your "Checked-in" guests.

They will be sorted in the order they were received.

If adequate space becomes available, you'll see a "Convert" button that will allow you to convert the waitlist request to a "processed" reservation with a balance due.

When you convert it, this booking will be allocated real inventory on your event.

With that in mind, we recommend contacting the guest before you convert their booking, to ensure that they are still available to attend your event.

Collecting Payment

The newly processed booking will show a balance due, which you can collect using any of our standard payment workflows, eg:

  1. Collect a card number over the phone

  2. If the customer is on-site, swipe/dip their card using a card reader

Other Keywords: Waiting List

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