Booking/Customer Waitlist
Hi there, have been looking to see if there is any kind of 'Waiting list' function that could be integrated into our Checkfront set-up. We get lots of customers calling to ask about availability even though it is clear from CF that there is not. They then ask, can you put me on a waiting list?
I understand that there is no way of doing this at the moment via Checkfront so would like to suggest this as a new development.
We would like to give customers a way to leave contact details (perhaps just and email address), so that they will be notified automatically via CF if there are cancellations and therefore spaces for them to book a particular activity session? They could then join a waiting list for any activity sessions they are interested in joining.
They would still need to be bound by the booking cut-off deadlines set up for each item.
Is this something that others would be interested in? We feel that it could save us a lot of valuable time answering calls from potential customers at busy times of the year.
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the following don't really "answer" your questions, but is something that may help in the meantime.
In the Rule definition, you can allow for overbooking:
https://support.checkfront.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007464033-Rules-Definitions
I haven't tested it myself, but I assume it would allow a Customer to (pre-)book while somehow informing that customer that it is overbooked.
When receiving the booking, you could changed its status to "Waiting List" or whatever name suits best.It is just an idea to explore, defo not the ideal solution you'd like, but I thought I'd share anyway...
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I agree, a waitlist function would be a great boon. Some guests have specific dates they're interested in and others will take anything that comes up within their broader time frame. Currently I just jot down their name but it usually ends up being mislaid. If guests made a customer account would there be any way to notify them of available dates in a first come first serve sequence?
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Here's another vote for a waitlist function. We end up having to jot down people's names and contact information or create a running email list of waitlisted customers when ideally we want them to enter this information in some sort of online form that allows us to automatically send them updates should seating open up. PeekPro had a good waitlist form years ago when we used them before moving to Checkfront.
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@Genevieve that sounds good...
I'm building a group tour that runs when, say, four people have booked. So we need Checkfront to allow reservations from the first three customers. However, when a fourth customer books, Checkfront should bill and collect payment from all four of them.
Maybe at the time that the tour gets the fourth client, the first three should be asked to re-confirm, but as soon as there are four clients wanting to pay then all will be charged at the same time.
Subsequent clients should of course pay instantly as the tour is confirmed.
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The suggestion for a waiting list feature was first discussed on the old forum back in January 2012 so it's been over a decade since first proposed. The most recent update from the Checkfront team was in January 2017:
Unfortunately, this feature has not beed added to the system yet and I don't have any update to provide as to if or when it might be added. I have added you to the list of those who would like to see this feature added, so when we have an update, we will let you know.
As a workaround, you might be able to use a custom status to store waitlist customers, but most of that would still be done manually so it doesn't really solve this problem.
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