Standby: adding and managing requests

Standby is a list of guests who want a table at a time that's already full, on today or a future date. It's not today's walk-in waitlist and it's not a booking: nothing is held until you send an offer.

Before you start

• Your plan must include reservation standby. Otherwise the Standby page shows an upgrade notice.
• Only owners and managers can change the Standby settings.

Settings

On the Standby page:

• Take standby requests online – when on, the booking page offers standby on times with no tables. Off by default.
• Time to respond to an offer – how long a table is held for the guest after an offer (10 to 120 minutes).
• Automatic standby offers – see Standby offers and guest responses.

Add a request for a guest

1. Choose Add request. This needs Take standby requests online to be on.
2. Enter the guest's details, the date, party size, Preferred time and Flexibility (how much earlier or later they could come).
3. Save. The request appears under Active requests.

Guests who join online appear in the same list. On the booking page, standby is only offered for a time that really can't be booked. It isn't offered because a whole day looks busy.

Manage requests

• Guest link copies the guest's private page, where they can view or cancel their request.
• A request can be cancelled by staff or by the guest.
• Ended requests appear under Recently ended.

There is no Standby QR code. Guests reach Standby through your normal booking page or Booking QR code.

Troubleshooting

• Add request is greyed out: turn on Take standby requests online.
• Guests don't see standby online: the setting is off, or the requested time still has tables available to book.