Set up walk-in seating and walk-in sittings
The Walk-in seating add-on adds a Walk-in view to the Host app: a party-size × table grid where a host seats a walk-in party in one tap. You define the "sittings" (such as Drink or Dinner) that decide how long a walk-in keeps its table.
Where to find it
- Add-on: Backoffice › Settings › Add-ons › Walk-in seating
- Sittings: Backoffice › Settings › Walk-in sittings (shown once the add-on is on), or Manage sittings on the add-on page
What it does
- One tap to seat – tables ranked by best fit for each party size.
- Hold or queue – tables that free up soon can be held for a party, or the party can be pushed into the digital queue.
- Guests fill in their own details – show a QR code; the guest types name, phone and email on their own phone. The guest page reads "Your table is ready to be booked" and the link is valid for a limited time.
- Sittings you define – each sitting has a name, an icon and, per party-size range, how long the table is kept (15 to 480 minutes). Or switch on Follow the booking duration rules so walk-ins get the same duration a booking made right now would get.
The default sittings are Drink (60 minutes for 1–4 guests, 75 for 5–6, 90 for 7 or more) and Dinner (following your booking duration rules; fallback 120 minutes for 1–4 guests, 180 for 5 or more).
A preview ("Right now: 2 → 90 min…") shows the durations that apply at this moment.
How to set it up
- Go to Settings › Add-ons, open Walk-in seating and click Enable walk-in seating.
- Click Manage sittings.
- Edit or add sittings: name, icon, then Add party-size range with min covers, max covers (No max for open-ended) and duration, or tick Follow the booking duration rules.
- Use the arrows to order them. You can have up to 5 sittings ("Up to 5 sittings fit on the host screen").
- Click Save sittings.
Good to know
- Hosts see the Walk-in view on the service screen right away. Each device can still hide it in the Host app settings.
- Turning the add-on off keeps your sittings, but hides the Walk-in view.
- Reset to Drink + Dinner restores the defaults.
- A walk-in blocks its table for the sitting's duration, so it affects which times are still offered online.
Troubleshooting
"Every walk-in sitting needs a name" / "Two walk-in sittings are called …" Give every sitting a unique name.
"Walk-in sitting … needs at least one party-size range" Add a range, or tick Follow the booking duration rules.
"Walk-in sitting … has an invalid range or duration (15–480 min)" / "… has overlapping party-size ranges" Make sure each range has a duration between 15 and 480 minutes and the ranges do not overlap (for example 1–2 and 3–4, not 1–3 and 3–4).
"Too many walk-in sittings for the host screen" Remove sittings until there are 5 or fewer.
"Only admins can change sittings" Ask a user with the Admin role to make the change.
The Walk-in view is missing in the Host app The add-on is off for this location, or the device hides the view in its Host app settings.
A guest's QR link says "This link has expired" The link is valid for a short time only. The guest can give their details to the host instead.