Limit online covers and work without tables
You can cap how many guests the widget accepts, either at the same time or per service, and keep the rest for walk-ins and phone bookings. If you do not use a floor plan, you can let the widget sell seats without tables.
Where to find it
Backoffice › Settings › Widget Management › Booking Rules
What it does
Limit how many guests are in at once → Max guests at the same time Never more than this many guests seated at once. A time is offered only if the whole party still fits next to everyone already seated during their stay, so later times reopen as tables turn over. This is not pacing: pacing spreads arrivals, this caps how full the room gets.
Limit how many guests a service takes in total → Max guests per service in total Never sell more than this many covers in one service. Every booking counts once, so a table turning over does not free up the allowance. Once reached, the service closes online for the rest of the night.
For both limits, What counts toward this limit offers:
- All bookings (default) – every booking counts, including those your team enters.
- Online bookings only – staff bookings do not use up the limit. Use this to hold seats back for walk-ins and phone.
Each service can use the global setting, its own number, or no limit (under Per-Shift Customization).
Work without tables (Beta) Online availability ignores your tables. You only set how many guests can be booked online at the same time and the maximum party size; pacing and your other booking rules still apply. Online bookings arrive without a table, and your team assigns one later. The total seats come from Location Settings ("Total seats: … The online limit below can be lower, never higher").
How to set it up
- Go to Settings › Widget Management › Booking Rules.
- Switch on the limit you need and type the number of guests. Leave it empty for no limit.
- Choose what counts toward it.
- Optionally set a different number per service under Per-Shift Customization.
- Click Save theme.
Good to know
- These limits only apply to online booking. "Your team can always still book past it from the host app."
- Switching a limit off keeps your number, so you can switch it back on later.
- With Work without tables on, experiences are not bookable online.
Troubleshooting
The widget says fully booked while the room is half empty A service total limit was reached (it does not free up when tables turn over), or the "at once" limit is set too low. Check both limits, globally and for that service.
With Work without tables on, no times appear at all No number is set. The page warns: "Enter the total seats in Location settings, or how many guests you take online at the same time (or a maximum per service). Without a number, no online bookings are possible."
My experiences disappeared from the widget Work without tables is on. Experiences cannot be booked online in that mode.
Staff bookings are blocking online availability The limit counts All bookings. Change What counts toward this limit to Online bookings only.