Waitlist

A waitlist records clients who want an appointment slot that is already full, so they can be offered it if someone cancels. It converts cancellations into filled chairs instead of gaps.

Also called: cancellation list, standby list

A late cancellation is only lost revenue if nobody knows the slot has opened. A waitlist turns the shop's most awkward moment — a Saturday cancellation at short notice — into a message to someone who already said they wanted that time.

Waitlists work best on the slots that are genuinely contested. A list on a quiet Tuesday morning collects nobody and teaches clients the feature does not work.

Booked's waitlist applies to sessions that are full on capacity, which is why it covers group sittings rather than every one-to-one appointment.