Waitlist for fully booked booking pages
When a booking page has no open times, TidyCal shows a waitlist form. Turn it on or off in Booking types → Advanced → Visibility, then email people when times open.
Overview
The waitlist lets people leave their name and email when your booking page is fully booked, so you can tell them when new times open. It is available on every plan, and it is on by default for your booking types, including ones you created before the waitlist existed.
TidyCal does not email the people on your waitlist. You get the list, and you email them yourself from your own email app when you have added times.
What Bookers See
When nothing at all is bookable on a booking page, the page shows a card titled Fully booked. Join the waitlist with the note “The host will email you when new spots open.” The booker enters their Name and Email and clicks Join waitlist, then sees You're on the waitlist. Someone who joins twice sees “You're already on the waitlist.”
The card appears only when the whole range of dates has no open time. It does not appear when some days are still open, on date polls, or when someone is rescheduling a booking. It also shows on recurring and package booking pages when nothing is bookable.
Turn the Waitlist On or Off
- Go to Booking types in the sidebar and click the booking type to open it.
- In the editor's left menu, expand Advanced, then click Visibility.
- Switch Show a waitlist when there are no open times. on or off.
- Click Save.
The setting is per booking type. Underneath it, the editor reminds you: “People who join show up in Contacts, and you get an email for each one.”
What You Get When Someone Joins
- An email with the subject New waitlist signup for followed by the booking type's title, saying who joined and how many people are waiting, with a View waitlist button.
- A notification in TidyCal saying “<name> joined your waitlist”.
- A new contact, or the person's existing contact if they are already in Contacts. Their name on an existing contact is not overwritten.
- A badge on the booking type's card, such as 3 on waitlist.
The person who joins gets no email from TidyCal. For a team booking type, the signup emails go to the booking type's owner.
Email Your Waitlist When You Open New Times
When people are waiting on one of your own booking types, the Booking types page shows a card such as “3 people are waiting for” the booking type's title, with the reminder to add times first and then email them. The same card appears on Contacts when you filter by Waitlist.
- Click 1. Add times. This opens that booking type's availability, where you add hours or dates so the booking link has open spots.
- Click 2. Email them. Your own email app opens with a ready-made message. It is addressed to you with everyone on the list in BCC, so they do not see each other's addresses.
- Check the message and press send in your email app.
Copy emails copies the addresses instead, for pasting into any email tool; use BCC so people do not see each other. When the list is too long for one email link, the card asks you to copy the emails instead. On the Booking types page, See who opens the list of people waiting.
After you save a booking type that now has open times while people are waiting, the editor reminds you: “You have open times. N people are waiting for this. Let them know.” with Email them (or Copy emails) and See who.
See Who Is on Your Waitlist
Go to Contacts and click the Waitlist filter. Each person has a badge like Waitlist · 30 Minute Meeting showing which booking type they are waiting for. A person who later books that booking type is no longer counted as waiting.
Troubleshooting
My booking page doesn't show the waitlist
- The waitlist shows only when no time is bookable in the whole range. If any day has an open time, bookers see the normal calendar.
- Check that Show a waitlist when there are no open times. is on for that booking type, under Advanced → Visibility.
- It is not shown for date polls, or when someone is rescheduling an existing booking.
I don't see the “people are waiting” card
- The card is shown for your own booking types that have people waiting. For team booking types, open Contacts and use the Waitlist filter to see who joined.
I didn't get an email about a signup
- Open Contacts and check the Waitlist filter; the person is listed there even if you missed the email. Also check the notification in TidyCal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a waitlist in TidyCal?
It is a form shown on a booking page that has no open times. People leave their name and email, and you see them in Contacts so you can email them when you open new times. To add open times, see Availability Schedules in TidyCal.
Is the waitlist on for my existing booking types?
Yes. It is on by default for every booking type, new and existing. Turn it off per booking type under Advanced → Visibility.
Does TidyCal notify people on the waitlist?
No. TidyCal does not email them. Email them opens your own email app so you send the message yourself, from your own address.
Does Look busy trigger the waitlist?
No. Look busy always leaves at least one time visible on every day that has open times, so it never makes a booking page look completely fully booked.