Waiting lists

Learn how the waiting list works so a sold-out session never turns customers away - they join the list, and Session emails them automatically when a space frees up.

When a session is full, the booking page swaps the checkout for a "Join waiting list" form. Customers leave their details, and the moment a space opens up - through a cancellation, refund or reschedule - Session emails everyone on the list who's waiting for that many spaces. There's nothing to switch on: the waiting list appears automatically on every full session.

How it works

The waiting list runs itself. Customers opt in, and Session handles the notifications.

1. 1
   A session reaches capacity, so its booking button is replaced by the "Join waiting list" form.
2. 2
   A customer chooses how many spaces needed, enters their details, and joins the list.
3. 3
   When a space opens up later, Session emails everyone on the list who needs that many spaces or fewer.
4. 4
   They follow the link in the email and book as normal - first to check out gets the space.

What customers fill in

The form asks for only what's needed to reach them and match the right opening:

• Spaces needed - from 1 up to the session's capacity. Someone after 3 spaces is only notified when at least 3 become free, so a single cancellation won't email a customer who needs a group of seats.
• Name and email - where the "a space opened up" email is sent. Signed-in customers have these filled in already.
• Phone - shown only if you collect phone numbers at checkout.
• Marketing opt-in - shown only if you collect marketing consent and haven't asked this customer before.

A customer who's already on the list sees a confirmation instead of the form, so they can't join twice.

When customers get notified

Session re-checks real availability before emailing, so a notification always reflects spaces that are genuinely free right now. The list is notified when a space opens through any of these:

• A booking on the session is cancelled or refunded.
• A customer reduces the number of spaces on their booking.
• A booking is rescheduled to a different date, freeing space on the original.

Customers are worked through in the order they joined, and everyone whose requested number of spaces now fits is emailed at once. Each notified customer gets the waiting list email - "A space has opened up for ..." - with a button straight to the booking page.

Give members a head start

The waiting list catches demand after a session sells out. To get ahead of it, give your members early-booking access so they can book popular sessions before the general public - and before those sessions fill.

Set this on each membership under Offers → Memberships with "Early access booking", which lets active members book a set number of days further ahead than everyone else. It sits alongside the membership's other perks, such as member rates and included sessions.

Common questions

1. Do I need to turn the waiting list on? No. It appears automatically on any session that's full. There's no setting to enable or disable it.

2. Does joining the list reserve a space? No. It records interest and sends an email when a space opens. The space is only secured once the customer completes a booking, so act fast if you receive one.

3. Will everyone on the list be emailed when one space opens? Only customers whose requested number of spaces fits. If one space opens, customers needing one space are notified; a customer waiting for three spaces isn't emailed until at least three are free.

4. In what order are customers contacted? By the order they joined the list. Session works through the queue and notifies every eligible customer whose spaces now fit, earliest first.

5. Can I see who's on a waiting list? Waiting list entries are managed automatically and aren't shown in the admin bookings list - that page shows confirmed bookings. To free up demand, you can add a booking for a waiting customer yourself once you know a space is available.