How waitlists work

When a class reaches capacity, clients can join a waitlist. Arketa handles the logic of notifying and moving clients in automatically, or you can manage it manually.

How clients get on the waitlist

When a class is full, clients see a Join Waitlist option instead of a book button. They join the waitlist and are notified when a spot opens.

How spots are filled

Arketa offers two ways to handle waitlists:

Automatic waitlisting — when a spot opens, the next client on the waitlist is automatically moved into the class and charged (if payment is required). No manual intervention needed. Set up automatic waitlisting →

Manual waitlisting — when a spot opens, clients are notified by email. They need to manually claim the spot before someone else does. If you haven't enabled automatic waitlisting, this is the default.

Managing the waitlist manually

From the check-in screen, open the Waitlist tab to see everyone who's waiting. For each client, you can:

• Add to class — manually move them into the class (bypasses automatic logic)
• Cancel reservation — remove them from the waitlist

You can also add a client directly to the waitlist by adding them to a class that's already full — they'll be placed on the waitlist automatically.

Waitlist order

By default, waitlist position is based on signup time (first come, first served). You can manually reorder the waitlist if you want to prioritize specific clients — for example, long-time members or clients who were bumped due to a cancellation.

Waitlist reordering →

Waitlists for appointments

Appointments have their own waitlist flow, where clients can specify preferred time ranges. Waitlisting for appointments →