Waitlist emails and automated table offers

Decide which emails waitlist guests get, whether a cancelled table is offered automatically, and how long a guest has to claim it.

Where to find it

Backoffice › Settings › Waitlist Settings › Guest notifications and Automated offers (offer engine). The offer engine settings are shared with the Host app (Waitlist › Offer engine); changing them in either place changes both.

What it does

Guest notifications

• Confirmation email when joining waitlist (on by default).
• Notification mode – Manual (staff sends "table available" from the Host app or Backoffice) or Timed automation (Beta).
• Auto-notify on reservation cancellation – when a booking is cancelled, the next guest on the waitlist for the same date and time is emailed (if under the slot limits).
• Notification expiry (minutes) – default 30 (5 to 1440).
• Max concurrent notifications per time slot – default 3.

Automated offers

• Automated offers – when a table frees up, 10Seat offers it to the best-matched waiting guest with a time-limited hold, then to the next guest.
• Offer mode – Send automatically — no staff action needed or Ask me first — staff approves each offer.
• Hold ladder – how long a guest gets to claim, depending on how far ahead the service is. Defaults: 12 hours a week ahead, down to 15 minutes close to service.
• Quiet hours – no offers overnight (default 22:00 to 08:00); a hold that spans quiet hours is extended.
• Fairness & limits – Open the table to the public after (15, 30 recommended, or 60 minutes, or Keep exclusive until the list is exhausted), Max empty seats, Min lead time (minutes), Rotations per guest, per table and Offers per guest per day.
• Deposit on a claimed table – Same as the service (inherit), Always require or Never require. Inherit charges what a direct booking would pay (experience deposit or per-guest payment); the guest pays before the table is confirmed.

How to set it up

1. Go to Settings › Waitlist Settings.
2. Set Guest notifications and click Save.
3. Under Automated offers (offer engine), switch on Automated offers, pick the mode and adjust the ladder and limits.
4. Click Save in that section.

Good to know

• Entries are still collected when automated offers are off; staff can offer tables by hand.
• A guest who ignores an offer keeps their place on the list.
• Paid claims use the Payment hold time from the widget booking rules.

Troubleshooting

"The waitlist feature is turned off for this location. Enable it to configure automated offers." Enable the Waitlist add-on first.

Guests are not emailed when a booking is cancelled Auto-notify on reservation cancellation is off, the slot already has the maximum number of open notifications, or the cancelled booking was for another date or time.

Offers go out at night Check Quiet hours (From / Until) and save.

A guest claimed a table but it is not confirmed A deposit is due. The table is confirmed once the guest pays.