Limit how many guests can book a service online

Two optional limits cap online bookings per service, on top of your tables: how many guests can be in the room at the same time, and how many guests a service can take in total. Use them to keep part of the room for walk-ins, or to protect the kitchen.

Where to find it

Backoffice › Settings › Widget Management › Booking Rules tab. Per-service values are under Per-Shift Customization › click a shift.

What it does

• Limit how many guests are in at once › Max guests at the same time. A time is offered online only if the whole party still fits alongside everyone already seated during their stay. Later times reopen as earlier tables leave.
• Limit how many guests a service takes in total › Max guests per service in total. Every booking counts once, so turning a table doesn't free the allowance. When the service reaches the number, it closes online for the rest of that service, even if the room is empty.
• For each limit, What counts toward this limit:
  • All bookings: every booking counts, including those your team enters.
  • Online bookings only: bookings your team enters by hand don't use up the limit, so the rest is held back for walk-ins and phone.
• Per shift you can choose Use global setting, Set a limit for this service or No limit for this service, and override what counts.

How to keep 20 seats for walk-ins at dinner

1. Open Settings › Widget Management › Booking Rules.
2. Switch on Limit how many guests are in at once.
3. Under Per-Shift Customization, open Dinner and choose Set a limit for this service. Enter your room size minus 20.
4. Set What counts for this service to Online bookings only.
5. Click Save theme in the "You have unsaved changes" bar.

Good to know

• These limits only apply to online booking. Your team can always book past them in the Host App.
• They are not pacing. Pacing spreads arrivals per time slot; these limits cap how full the room or service gets. All of them stack and the strictest one wins.
• The whole party must fit: a party of 6 is refused if only 5 places are left.
• Switching a limit off keeps your numbers, so you can switch it back on later.
• Leave the field empty for no limit.

Troubleshooting

The service closed early although the room isn't full Max guests per service in total is reached; it never reopens during that service. Raise it, or use Max guests at the same time instead.

I set a limit but guests still book more Check that the switch is on, and whether the service uses No limit for this service under Per-Shift Customization. With Online bookings only, staff bookings don't count, so the room can hold more than the number.

Small parties can book but larger ones can't The remaining places are fewer than the party size. That's expected; the guest can pick another time.

The limit seems to count guests from the previous service Max guests at the same time counts everyone in the room during the stay, including a lunch that runs into the start of dinner.