Use the waitlist to make sure your group events are always full! With Thryv's waitlist feature, you can add interested clients to a waitlist even after the event fills up. This guide will show how! 

Note: This article will assume that the group event has already been created, if you're looking for a guide to creating a group event, Click Here

Article Contents:

• Waitlist Settings
• Adding A Client To The Waitlist
• Customer Experience
• FAQ

Waitlist Settings

First, to activate the waitlist, navigate to Settings>Booking Options>Booking Policies and check the box to enable the waitlist.

There are two settings available for how the waitlist will function.

• Automatically Fill Available Spots
  • When the waitlist is set to Automatically Fill Available Spots, Thryv will notify every customer on the waitlist via SMS message notifying them that a spot is available. The message will provide them with a link, and the first client to use the link will be added to the group events. All other clients will be notified again if another spot becomes available.
• Manually Fill Available Spots
  • Once a spot opens up, you will need to add a client from the waitlist to the event. This would be the selected option if you want to have a system other than first-come first-serve as soon as a spot opens up

Adding A Client To The Wait List

There are two ways a client can be added to the waitlist. They can be added by you within Thryv, or a form to join the waitlist will replace the registration form for the event in your online booking portal.

To manually add a client to the waitlist, navigate to your event, and click on Waitlisted.

Click on Add To Waitlist, then select the customer you want to add. Add a message to your notification if desired, and click on Add To Waitlist to add the client.

Clients also are able to add themselves to the waitlist through online booking. Instead of saying Schedule, the button will say Join Waitlist. The form in your portal they will be asked to fill out will be identical to the one used for scheduling, only the text on the button will change.

Customer Experience

Once your customer is added to the waitlist, they will receive an email confirmation, containing instructions that they will be notified if a spot opens up. That message will come as a text message (SMS)

Here is an example of the text message your customer will receive when a spot becomes available

Once they follow the link, your client will see a confirmation screen indicating that they are registered for the event. They will be automatically added to the event in Thryv and no further action is needed on your part.

FAQs

When a spot becomes available for an event with a waitlist, are all clients on the waitlist notified?

Yes! Every customer on the waitlist will receive an SMS/text notifying them of the available opening. The waitlist is first-come, first-serve and the first customer to complete the booking with be added to the event.

Can a customer without a valid telephone number join the waitlist?

When managing the waitlist automatically, if a customer attempts to join the waitlist without a valid number stored, they will be prompted to enter a valid number. If managing the Waitlist manually, when you add a customer to the waitlist, Thryv will show an error message letting you know the customer does not have a valid number. However, it will not stop you from adding them to the waitlist. You can always go in and add or update a customer telephone.

What if only one spot is available but multiple people are on the waitlist?

Everyone on the waitlist will receive automatic notification of the open availability. If the spot is taken by another customer any customer that attempts to use the notification link after the spot has been filled will be taken to a confirmation screen indicating that the spot has already been taken, but reassuring them that they are still on the waitlist.