If you turned on Turn on the waitlist on the Waitlist card of the Booking rules page (a Pro feature), guests can join the waitlist when they cannot find a suitable free slot. You manage the entries on the dashboard’s Waitlist page; the menu item only appears while the waitlist is on.
- 1. Turn on the waitlist
- 2. Waitlist expiry (days)
Where can I find the waitlist?
- Open the Waitlist page in the dashboard. With several locations you can filter by location at the top.
- The Active tab holds open entries that still need action. On desktop, clicking an entry opens its details on the right with the buttons; on a phone the buttons are on the card.
- The Closed tab (the latest 100 entries at most) lets you review fulfilled, guest-cancelled, removed and expired entries: Fulfilled, Cancelled, Removed, Expired.
What an entry contains
| Field | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Guest name and email | Who joined the waitlist |
| Service | Which service the guest is waiting for |
| Preferred period | The date range the guest chose |
| Joined | When the guest joined |
| … notifications sent | How many availability emails Bokko has sent for this entry; only shown when there was one |
How guests join the waitlist
Guests can join the waitlist from the public booking flow when no suitable slot is available. Name and email address are required, phone number is optional, and the guest selects a preferred date or date range.
Propose slot, Guest already booked, Remove
- Use Propose slot to offer a specific time: in the sheet that opens, choose the day, the staff member and the time, then confirm in the Send proposal? window. Bokko sends the guest a unique link by email and temporarily blocks the slot. On desktop you can withdraw a pending proposal with Withdraw proposal.
- Use Guest already booked to close the active entry (Fulfilled) if the guest has already booked another way.
- Use Remove to close the active entry without marking it fulfilled — for example if the guest no longer wants it. The guest is not notified.
- 1. Propose slot
- 2. Guest already booked
- 3. Remove
Automatic notification
When a booking is cancelled or you decline one and a slot frees up, Bokko automatically notifies the first (longest-waiting) matching active entry whose service and preferred period match and who joined for the same location where the slot freed up. Guests waiting for another location are not notified. You see the notification count on the entry card. There is no separate “Notify” button — it happens on its own.
How entries leave the active tab
- You close it as fulfilled (Guest already booked), or the guest accepts your slot proposal.
- You remove it manually.
- The guest cancels from the link in their confirmation email.
- It expires per the Waitlist expiry (days) setting (30 days by default, adjustable between 1 and 90 in Booking rules).