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Waitlist Growth+
The waitlist keeps selling once a date is full. Instead of a dead end, travellers can join a waitlist for the departure. When seats free up, the next group in line whose size fits gets the seats held for a few hours. If they don't book in time, the seats pass to the next in line.
At a glance
- Plan: Growth and Scale
- Category: Sales
- Where: Console › Plugins › Waitlist, and Bookings › Waitlist
How it works
What the traveller sees
- When a departure is full, or the group is bigger than the seats left, the booking form offers Join the waitlist instead of checkout. Nothing is charged.
- After joining, they see "You're on the waitlist" with their place in line, and get a confirmation email (if on).
- When seats free up for them, they get an email with a link that holds the seats until a set time. The link takes them straight to checkout with the held seats.
When seats free up
Seats can free up after a cancellation, an unpaid checkout that expired, or when you add seats or reopen a date. With automatic offers on, Tourtify offers them straight away.
What your team sees
Bookings › Waitlist shows departures with a line, how many groups are waiting, offers out and the demand you could sell. You can offer seats by hand, move someone to the top, or add seats to a departure.
Turn it on
- Go to Console › Plugins.
- Find Waitlist and flip its switch on.
- Select Configure to choose how offers work, then Save.
Settings
When seats free up
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Offer freed seats automatically | After a cancellation, an unpaid checkout, or when you add seats or reopen a date. Off: you choose who to offer from the Waitlist page. | On |
| How offers work | Hold the seats for the next in line, or Email everyone who fits; first to book gets them. Holding is fairer: nobody else can take the seats while the offer is open. | Hold the seats |
| Hold seats for (hours) | If they don't book in time, the offer lapses and the seats go to the next in line. 1–72. | 12 |
Emails
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm sign-ups by email | Travellers get a "You're on the waitlist" email when they join. | On |
Manage the waitlist
Open Bookings › Waitlist.
- Departures with a line lists dates where people are waiting, with seats taken and free.
- Each person shows a status: Waiting, Offer out, Held, Booked from waitlist, Offer lapsed or Closed.
- Search by name, email or tour, and filter to Seats free only.
From a waiting traveller you can:
- Offer seats to make them an offer now, even with automatic offers off.
- Move to top to put them first in line.
- Withdraw offer to cancel an offer that's out.
- Remove them from the list.
For a departure you can Offer to next in line, Email those who fit, or add seats with + seats when you can run a bigger group.
Demand you could sell
The page highlights departures where more people are waiting than there are seats. If you can add a vehicle or a guide, adding seats there turns waiting travellers into bookings.
Good to know
- Only groups that fit the free seats get an offer. A group of four isn't offered two seats.
- When someone books from an offer, they are marked as booked automatically.
- Waitlist offers can also go out on WhatsApp with WhatsApp notifications.
- Turning the plugin off stops sold-out dates taking waitlist sign-ups. People already waiting are kept.