Waitlist for walk-ins

The waitlist keeps track of walk-in parties waiting for a table on a busy night. It lives in the Waitlist tab of Reservations. Hosts, waiters, managers and owners can use it. The waitlist is part of Reservations, included in the Growth plan and above and in the free trial.

Where to find the waitlist

1. Go to Service → Reservations.
2. Open the Waitlist tab.

The tab shows a count badge when people are waiting, and the Reservations item in the side menu shows a badge too, so the team can see there's a queue. The waitlist always shows today's parties, whichever date you're looking at on the Reservations page. When nobody is waiting you see No one waiting.

How to add a walk-in to the waitlist

Use the Add walk-in panel on the right of the Waitlist tab:

1. Type the guest's Name (required).
2. Add Phone (for WhatsApp) if you want to message them when their table is ready. Without a phone number, the Notify button won't appear.
3. Set Guests (party size).
4. Set Quote (min): the wait you told the guest, for example 15 or 30 minutes.
5. Click Add to waitlist.

The party joins the bottom of the queue with a number showing their place.

Quoted times and how long guests have waited

Each waiting party shows "Waiting X m · quoted Y m". The waiting time counts up from when you added them. When it passes the quoted time, the line turns red, so you know to check on that party or update them.

Parties you've already messaged also show notified.

Notifying a guest that their table is ready

When a table is about to free up, tap Notify next to the party. WhatsApp opens on your phone or computer with a ready message: their table is ready and they should come to the host stand within 10 minutes. Press send in WhatsApp.

AirQR marks the party as notified when you tap Notify. It doesn't send the message for you. You still need to press send in WhatsApp.

Seating a party from the waitlist

1. Tap Seat next to the party.
2. Choose a table from Pick table. The list only shows tables that are free right now on the floor plan and have enough seats.
3. The party leaves the waitlist and the table turns occupied on the live floor plan.

If a party gives up and leaves, tap Left to take them off the list.

Troubleshooting the waitlist

• No tables in the Pick table list. No free table has enough seats. Tables that are occupied, held or being cleaned don't show. Free a table on the live floor plan first (see Live floor plan), or seat the party across a bigger table.
• The Notify button is missing. The party has no phone number. Add them again with a phone number, or call them over.
• WhatsApp opens but nothing is sent. That's expected. Messages are click-to-send, so press send in WhatsApp.
• Yesterday's parties disappeared. The waitlist only shows today.
• Reservations is missing from the menu, or shows a lock or "This module is off". The Reservations & waitlist module is off (owners turn it on in Settings → Modules), or it isn't in your plan (Growth and above, or an add-on). See I can't see a page or a menu item.

For bookings made in advance, see Reservations and table bookings.