Activity Waitlist and Management
This guide will walk you through how to use the Waitlist function. With the Waitlist function, you can give users the option to join a waitlist for any sold-out sessions. This feature is designed to help you manage demand more effectively and ensure that your activities reach full capacity whenever possible.
This article will cover the following:
Configure General Waitlist Settings
Adjust Activity-specific Settings
General Waitlist Settings
You can configure the General Waitlist Settings in Admin/ Settings/ Waitlist Settings. This will apply to all activities that have Waitlist function enabled.
- Expiry Time for Place Offered: This setting determines how long a user has to accept a place once it is offered to them from the waitlist. The expiry time is set in hours and minutes, and once it lapses, the offered place will automatically expire and become available to the next person on the waitlist.
- Notification Window: You can define a specific time window for sending out waitlist email notifications to avoid disturbing your attendees at inappropriate times. By default, email notifications will be sent at any time. Toggle on the Set specific time window for notifications option if you wish to set a start and end time for when notifications can be sent.
Activity-specific Settings
You can configure the activity-specific waitlist settings to control how the waitlist behaves for each individual activity. This provides you with more granular control over how waitlists are managed for different activities, based on your specific requirements.
To access these settings, go to Activities in the admin dashboard and navigate to Step 4 Settings when creating or editing an activity. For each activity, you have three options:
- None: No waitlist will be available for this activity. If an activity is fully booked, users will not be able to join a waitlist for it and the ticket will be shown as "Sold out".
- All sessions: Allows users to join the waitlist for all future sessions within this activity. An email notification will be sent only if all future sessions are available to book. This option is only available if you have a ticket that grants access to all sessions within the activity.
- Single session: Allows users to join the waitlist for individual sessions. An email notification will be sent if selected session(s) are available to book.
How Users Join and Manage Waitlist Entries
Joining Waitlist
Users can easily join a waitlist for any sold-out sessions by clicking the Join Waitlist button. This will open a pop-up where users can complete the following fields:
- Attendee: The user will need to select the relevant attendee's name. If there are no attendees saved, the user will need to go to the My account area to create a new attendee first.
- Sessions to join waitlist for: This field only applies to single-session waitlists. Users can select one or more sessions they wish to join the waitlist for. Any sessions that are already booked or waitlisted will be indicated to avoid double booking.
After joining a waitlist, users will receive notifications when a spot becomes available and can choose to accept or decline the offered place based on their availability and interest.
Managing Waitlist Entries
To manage their waitlist entries, users can go to the My Account area and click on Waitlist. Here, they will see all their active waitlist entries. Users can take the following actions:
- Cancel unwanted waitlist entries: If a user no longer wishes to be on a waitlist, they can click on the entry and select the option to remove themselves from the waitlist.
- Book available spots: When a place becomes available, an "Add to Cart" button will appear next to the relevant waitlist entry. Clicking this button will add the available session to the user’s cart, allowing them to complete the checkout process.
In addition to receiving a notification email, users who are logged in will also see an alert notification at the top of the screen when a spot becomes available.
How Admins Manage Waitlist Entries
Admins can view and manage waitlist entries for each activity directly from the Activities tab in the admin dashboard. To access waitlist entries, go to the Activities tab, click on the menu dropdown for the relevant activity and select Waitlist.
This will open the waitlist management view, where all active and inactive waitlist entries are displayed. Admins can use this page to review entry statuses, update positions, and cancel entries as needed.
The Active entries tab includes Waitlist entries in the following statuses:
- Waiting: This is the initial status when an entry is created, indicating that the user is waiting for a place to become available.
- Pending: After a place becomes available, the system will wait for 5-10 minutes before moving the entry to "Ready" status. This buffer period prevents potential errors (e.g., when a booking is canceled by mistake).
- Ready: The place is now ready for the user to complete their purchase. Users will receive a notification and can finalize their booking by adding the session to their cart.
From this view, admins can use the dropdown menu next to each entry to perform actions such as:
- Cancel: Remove the entry from the waitlist.
- Update Position: Move the entry up or down the waitlist to prioritize certain users.
- Change Expiry: Change the expiry time for waitlist entries that are "Ready".
The Inactive entries tab is for information only and includes Waitlist entries in the following statuses:
- Canceled: The entry was manually canceled by the user or the admin.
- Expired: No booking was created and completed within the expiry time when the place is available.
- Archived: The sessions associated with the waitlist entry are in the past and are no longer relevant.
