You can add walk-in guests to a waitlist, and when there's space, convert it into a booking. This avoids the use of manual lists outside of ROLLER to manage waitlists, and makes use of any space that comes up and captures revenue by slotting guests in.
A waitlist button is available from POS capacity view and a badge icon shows how many guests are queued. This list syncs across all POS devices at the venue.
This feature is on request only. If you would like to use it in your venue, talk to your customer success manager or the support team. To see how the waitlist works, select the hotspots on the interactive demo below.
Add a guest to the waitlist
To add a guest to a booking waitlist, it's similar to creating a booking at POS. Here's how it works:
From POS, select Capacity from the menu on the left.
Along the top select the new Waitlist button (hourglass icon in the top right).
Select Add to waitlist.
Either search for, and select an existing guest in the search bar or add their First name (required), Last name (required), Email and Phone number (required) to the form. Add optional notes if needed (eg. preferred session time, number of guests in the group, whether phone or email is preferred contact method).
Select Add to waitlist.
Once added they're automatically placed at the bottom of the waitlist if there's more than one entry on it. When they're on the waitlist, they show as a tile in the list. Entries left open from previous days drop off overnight.
If a guest is added to the waitlist, their details are captured as a customer record regardless of whether or not they convert to a booking.
Contact a waitlisted guest
Contact a guest by text message (SMS) when a space becomes available, to keep them informed they’re still on the list, or to let them know you can’t accommodate their booking. Using the Contact guest feature from within the booking waitlist by SMS allows the venue to log when a message was sent to a guest, to avoid doubling-up on communications or leaving the guest uninformed.
To contact a guest through the waitlist:
Open the Waitlist (hourglass icon in the top right).
On the guest’s waitlist tile, select Contact guest.
Select one of the templated messages to send: Waitlist ready, Reminder or Cancelled. See the table below to see the full message contents.
Select Contact guest. This sends the SMS to the guest to the number provided at the time they were added to the waitlist.
Once contacted, a banner displays on the panel showing which message was sent and a timestamp.
Once you exit from the guest’s waitlist entry, and go back to the waitlist the banner shows on that tile so you can see who’s been contacted and when, at a glance. You can contact the guest as many times as needed through the waitlist.
SMS charges apply, see the guide Text and SMS usage fees on your ROLLER invoice to learn more.
Waitlist template | Message contents | When to use |
|---|---|---|
Waitlist ready | Hi [guest name] your spot at [venue name] is ready. Please approach the front desk to get started. | When a space becomes available, and you want the guest to return to book. |
Reminder | Hi [guest name] a reminder that you are on the waitlist at [venue name]. We will let you know as soon as a spot comes up. | Keep the guest engaged and avoid unnecessary queries to staff by sending a reminder message a regular intervals while a guest is waitlisted. |
Cancelled | Hi [guest name], unfortunately we could not fit you in at [venue name] and you have been removed from the waitlist. We hope to see you again soon. | When you can’t accommodate a waitlisted guest at your venue. Letting them know keeps them informed so they can make alternative plans. |
Convert a waitlist entry to a booking
When a space frees up, you can turn the waitlist entry into a booking. Here's what happens next:
When the guest is ready to book, go back to the Waitlist button and select Convert to booking on the guest’s tile.
This starts a booking, and carries the guest details over from the waitlist. Select an available product and add it to the cart, and then take payment and proceed with the purchase as normal. Once the booking has been converted, the entry on the waitlist is removed.
Manage waitlist entries
The order of the list can be adjusted and guests can be removed from the waitlist.
To reorder the waitlist, use the drag handles on the left of the guest's tile and move the order.
To remove a guest from the waitlist select the delete icon in the top right of the tile.