Waitlist

What is a waitlist?

A waitlist holds demand that you cannot serve yet. People leave their name and contact details, and the organizer contacts them when a place opens or when sales start.

A place on a waitlist is not a booking. The person has paid nothing and has no guaranteed spot.

How a waitlist works

1. The event sells out, or sales have not started. There is nothing to buy at this time.
2. People join the list. Each person leaves a name and an email address, and sometimes the number of places they want.
3. A place opens. A guest cancels, the organizer adds capacity, or sales start.
4. The organizer offers the place. The usual order is first come, first served.
5. The person has a limited time to book. If they do not book in that time, the offer goes to the next person on the list.

Types of waitlist

• Sold-out event. A workshop, retreat or dinner has reached its capacity, and people wait for a cancellation.
• Class or program with limited places. A studio class, a sports team or a course has a fixed number of places for each term.
• Membership with a cap. A club accepts a set number of members and adds new ones when a member leaves.
• Launch waitlist. A product or an event is not on sale yet, and people sign up to hear first when it opens.

Waitlist vs presale

	Waitlist	Presale
What it is	A list of people waiting for a place	A sale that opens early for a selected group
Does the person pay?	No, joining is free	Yes, the person buys a ticket
Is a place guaranteed?	No	Yes, after the purchase
When it is used	When an event is sold out or not yet on sale	Before the general sale opens

The two work together. A launch waitlist collects the people who are interested, and a presale gives those people first access to tickets.

Why a waitlist matters

• It fills places from cancellations. Without a list, a place that opens a week before the event often stays empty.
• It measures demand. Forty people on a waitlist is a good reason to add a second date or a larger room.
• It keeps people in contact. A person who finds a sold-out event and no next step usually does not come back.
• It gives you an audience for the next event. The people on the list have already said they want to come.

How to run a waitlist

1. Collect sign-ups with a form. Ask for a name, an email address and the number of places.
2. Link the form where people see that the event is sold out. The event description and your announcement emails are the usual places.
3. Say how the list works. State the order of the offers and how long a person has to book.
4. Make the place available when one opens. Increase the ticket quantity and send the person the booking link, or add the booking for them.
5. Close the list after the event. Ask the people on it if they want to hear about the next date.

On Checkout Page, a waitlist is a form next to your event. The form collects the sign-ups, and you offer each open place by hand: send the event link, or use "Add booking" to book the person yourself.

What goes wrong with waitlists

• No one checks the list. A waitlist needs an owner who acts when a guest cancels.
• The offer has no deadline. A place held for a person who does not answer is a place that stays empty.
• The order is not clear. If you skip people, say on the form how you choose.
• The list is never used again. The people on it are the first ones to tell about your next event.