Waitlist Management

Never lose a customer when you're fully booked. Waitlists capture interested customers and help you fill cancelled spots quickly. This guide covers how waitlists work, managing entries, and converting waitlist customers to bookings.

Why Waitlists Matter

Waitlists solve common booking challenges:

🔄 Fill Cancellations: Quickly contact interested customers when spots open
📈 Gauge Demand: See which sessions are most popular
💰 Recover Revenue: Don't lose sales when you're at capacity
😊 Better Experience: Customers feel heard instead of rejected
📊 Business Intel: Waitlist data shows where you need more capacity

💡 Tip: A long waitlist on certain sessions signals you should add more sessions or increase capacity.

How Waitlists Work

Automatic Activation

Waitlists activate automatically when:

Experience Session: Reaches maximum capacity
Booking Page: Shows "Fully Booked" status
Customer Action: "Join Waitlist" button appears
Information Collected: Name, contact, party size
Notification: You're alerted of new waitlist entry

What Customers See

When a session is full:

[Saturday, Jan 25 at 10:00 AM]
[Fully Booked]
[Join Waitlist →]

After joining:

Confirmation message displayed
Optional: Confirmation email sent
Customer understands they're not yet booked

Information Collected

When a customer joins the waitlist:

Name: Who to contact
Phone/Email: Contact method
Party Size: How many spots they need
Notes: Any special requests (optional)
Timestamp: When they joined (for priority ordering)

Waitlist Statuses

Status	Meaning	Next Action
Waiting	On list, not yet contacted	Contact when spot opens
Notified	You've reached out	Awaiting their response
Booked	Successfully converted	Completed
Declined	Customer declined offer	Move to next in line
Expired	Session passed without conversion	No action needed

Managing Your Waitlist

Viewing Waitlist Entries

From Calendar:

Find the fully booked experience session
Click to open details
Look for "Waitlist" section or badge
Click to view all entries

From Experience Details:

Open the experience appointment
Scroll to "Waitlist" section
See all entries sorted by join time

When a Spot Opens

Follow this process:

Check Waitlist: See who's first in line
Verify Spots: Ensure enough spots for their party size
Contact Customer: Call, text, or email
Set Time Limit: Give them a deadline to respond (e.g., 2 hours)
Update Status: Mark as Notified
Wait for Response:
- If they confirm: Create booking, mark as Booked
- If they decline: Update to Declined, contact next person
- If no response: Move to next after deadline

⚠️ Important: Be quick! Waitlisted customers are actively interested but may book elsewhere if you're slow.

Priority Ordering

Waitlist entries are ordered by:

Join Time: First come, first served (primary)
Party Size Match: Consider if their party fits available spots

Example:

Spot opens for 2 people
Waitlist entry #1: Party of 4 (doesn't fit)
Waitlist entry #2: Party of 2 (fits!)
Decision: Contact #2 first, then #1 if more spots open

Converting Waitlist to Booking

Manual Conversion

When a waitlisted customer confirms:

Go to Calendar
Click New Appointment or use the quick booking flow
Select the experience and session
Enter their details
Process payment if required
Update their waitlist status to Booked

Communication Templates

Use these message templates:

Initial Outreach:

Hi [Name]! Great news - a spot has opened for [Experience] on [Date/Time]. 

Would you like to book? Please reply by [Deadline] to confirm.

Follow-up:

Hi [Name], just following up on the [Experience] spot. 

Please let us know within the next hour if you'd like to book, otherwise we'll offer it to the next person on the waitlist.

Confirmation:

Excellent! You're booked for [Experience] on [Date/Time]. 

[Payment link if applicable]

See you there!

Request Different Time (Appointments)

For standard 1:1 appointments, customers can request alternative times:

Customer can't find a suitable slot
"Request Different Time" appears
Customer provides:
- Preferred dates/times
- Service they want
- Contact information
You receive notification
Follow up with alternative options

ℹ️ Note: This is different from experience waitlists. It's for when no slots work for the customer, not when slots are full.

Common Questions

Q: Can customers see their position on the waitlist? A: Currently, customers know they're on the waitlist but not their exact position. They receive confirmation that you'll contact them if a spot opens.

Q: What if someone with a larger party is first but spot is smaller? A: Use judgment. You can skip to someone whose party size matches, or contact the first person to see if they'd accept fewer spots.

Q: How long should I give customers to respond? A: Depends on timing. If session is tomorrow, give 1-2 hours. If session is next week, give 24 hours.

Q: Can someone join multiple waitlists? A: Yes, a customer can be on waitlists for different sessions. They might book one and need removal from others.

Q: What happens to the waitlist when a session passes? A: Entries automatically expire. They remain in your records for reference but are marked as expired.

Q: Can I add someone to the waitlist manually? A: Yes, you can create waitlist entries for customers who call or message you directly.

Best Practices

Response Speed

Time Until Session	Response Deadline
Same day	30-60 minutes
Tomorrow	2-4 hours
This week	12-24 hours
Next week+	24-48 hours

Fairness Policy

First come, first served as default
Document any exceptions (VIP customers, party size matching)
Be transparent with customers about the process

Capacity Planning

Use waitlist data to:

Identify high-demand sessions
Add more sessions on popular days/times
Consider increasing capacity if consistently waitlisted
Price premium for high-demand slots

Multi-Channel Outreach

When contacting waitlisted customers:

Primary: Their preferred contact method
Backup: If no response in 30 min, try alternate
Final: If still no response, move to next person

Troubleshooting

"Waitlist option not appearing"

Session must be at maximum capacity
Experience services only (not appointments)
Check that session exists and is active

"Can't find waitlist entries"

Open the specific session (not just the service)
Check the Waitlist section in appointment details
Entries are session-specific, not service-wide

"Customer says they joined but I don't see them"

Verify correct session date/time
Check they completed the form (didn't abandon)
Look in expired entries if session has passed

Experience Services - Group bookings with capacity
Creating Experience Sessions - Set up your schedule
Using the Calendar - View and manage bookings
Contact Management - Customer information

Waitlists turn "fully booked" from a lost sale into an opportunity! 📋