With OctoTable you can activate two types of waiting list:
reservation requests on waiting list: this means that the bookings received are not automatically confirmed, but placed on a waiting list. It is you, the restaurateur, who is going to confirm each booking.
sold out waiting list: you can decide to activate the waiting list only when the dining room is fully booked. As soon as you have a table free again, you will inform the customer who can confirm or cancel the reservation.
Let's see those options in detail!
1. Reservation requests on waiting list
If you do not wish to receive confirmed bookings immediately, you can choose the type of confirmation in each service (Configuration > Services/Opening Times).
❗Beware: have you linked this service to Reserve with Google? Google does not allow you to receive reservation requests, but only confirmations. Therefore, if you have connected this service to Google, you will continue to receive confirmed reservations from Google and wait listed reservations from your site.
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After sending the booking request, the customer will read on the booking page that the restaurant will confirm via email or sms to the contact details provided.
Once the request is received on OctoTable, you will see the notification next to the clock icon, click on it and you will find the list of reservations on waiting list:
At this point you can check and confirm only when you are sure you have availability.
You will find three options regarding the waiting list:
Reject reservation (red button) : clicking this button will reject the client's reservation.
Confirm reservation (green button) : by clicking the green button , you will automatically confirm the reservation without the client having to give you reconfirmation.
Request booking confirmation (blue button) : clicking this button will send the customer an automatic message and he/she will have to confirm the booking to you via the link entered in the message, within the time limit set in Configuration > General settings > Waiting list
If you have the Unlimited Email/SMS Template package active, you can send an email and/or SMS each time you receive a booking request; click here to see the right settings to include in the templates. Click here for more information about automatic templates.
2. Sold out waiting list
The second waiting list option allows you to activate it only when you have the whole room full but still want to receive requests for the next shift.
Go to Configuration > Dining Room/Areas section and click on the pencil next to the room where you want to enable the Waiting List.
Under Availability sold out, select WAITING LIST and click on SAVE at the bottom of the page.
Do the same for all the rooms where you want to activate the waiting list when the availability is over.
You can find your reservation again in the reservation list (Reservations > Waiting List) or by clicking on the clock icon in the top right corner.
When you have a free table again, you can Accept the customer's booking by clicking on the blue button, who will then have time to confirm or decline the booking.
Decide how much time to give the customer to confirm the reservation by going to Configuration > General Settings > Waiting List and set a time limit in minutes.
When the reservation has expired, you can set up another automatic email/email transmission and then manually delete expired reservations.
This communication flow will be possible thanks to the automatic messages available under Configuration > Automatic Email/Sms.
Finally, remember that bookings that you take manually can also be placed on waiting list. Click on the New Booking quick button in the top right-hand corner and after entering the customer data mark it as Waiting.
Once you click Save, the booking will follow the same procedure as we showed you before.
Do you want to know how to create communications to send to customers? Click HERE👈🏼