Intro to Waitlist

When a class or event is fully booked, the Waitlist gives customers a way to raise their hand for a spot — and gives you a way to fill it.

In this article:

• How the Waitlist Works
• Automated Waitlist Notifications
• Manual Waitlist Notifications
• Enabling and Disabling the Waitlist

How the Waitlist Works

When a time slot is sold out, a Join Waitlist button automatically appears on your calendar and booking page. Customers fill out a short form with their contact details, number of seats and are added to the waitlist for that specific time slot.

All entries are recorded in order from first to last — so if you're managing invitations manually, you'll always know who was first in line.

For session-based courses (multi-day):

• If the course hasn't started yet and is sold out, the waitlist will appear.
• If the course has started and allows mid-session sign-ups, the waitlist will still appear.
• If the course has started and does not allow mid-session sign-ups, or has already ended, the waitlist will not appear.

Automated Waitlist Notifications

With automated notifications turned on, Occasion will automatically email and text waitlisted customers when a spot that fits their party size becomes available — no manual action needed on your end.

For example, if 2 seats open up, every waitlisted customer who needs 2 seats or fewer will be notified at the same time. The first customer to book gets the spot.

To turn on automated waitlist notifications:

1. Go to Settings from the sidebar.
2. Then select Account Settings
3. Select Campaigns.
4. Toggle on Waitlist notifications.

To customize the email and SMS templates your customers receive, see Inviting Customers from the Waitlist.

Manual Waitlist Notifications

Prefer to stay in control of who gets notified? You can skip the automation and reach out to customers directly — by email or text — from the Calendar Workspace.

This is useful when you want to prioritize a specific customer, confirm interest before opening a spot, or manage a smaller, high-touch list.

For step-by-step instructions, see Inviting Customers from the Waitlist.

Enabling and Disabling the Waitlist

The Waitlist is automatically available on all accounts — there's nothing to activated.

To disable the waitlist for a specific listing, set that listing to Private. This hides the Join Waitlist option on the calendar.