When a session is full, registrants can join its waitlist instead. Here's how it works and what you control.
Set capacity and the waitlist limit
- Go to Manage > Speakers and Sessions > Sessions. The session list shows each session's Cap (capacity), Total Registered, Avail (seats left) and Wait (how many people are on the waitlist right now).
- Click the pencil icon next to the session. Each session instance has its own Capacity and Waitlist Limit.
- Set Capacity to the number of seats and Waitlist Limit to how many people can wait for a seat, then click Save.
A blank waitlist limit means unlimited: If you leave Waitlist Limit blank, there's no cap on the waitlist, and anyone can join once the session is full. The box may look empty, and the Wait column in the session list may show 0, but 0 there is the number of people waiting, not the limit. To turn the waitlist off, type 0 in Waitlist Limit and click Save.
How registrants join
When a session reaches capacity and still has waitlist space, the Add to Schedule button on the form changes to Add to Waitlist. After they join, the session shows as Waitlisted. When the waitlist is full too, registrants see Waitlist Full.
You can change any of these button labels. Edit the form, click Sessions in the left menu, click Session Display Options at the bottom of the page, and scroll to Add/Remove Button Labels.
Moving people off the waitlist
You have two options.
Manually
- Go to Manage > Speakers and Sessions > Bulk Assignment and click the Process WaitListed Sessions tab.
- Pick the session in Select Session. You can narrow the list by attendee type, a question answer or registration status.
- Select the registrants and click Mark Registered to give them a seat, or Remove From Wait List to take them off. You can only assign as many people as there are open seats.
See Process WaitListed Sessions (tab)
Automatically
- An Administrator goes to Plan > Configure > Options.
- Under Speaker and Session Management Module, check Automated Waitlist Process and click Save.
When a seat opens, the next person on the waitlist is added, first in, first out, usually within 15 to 20 minutes. A person who is already in another session at the same time is skipped. There's no screen that shows the order of the waitlist. See Activating Session Waitlist Automation
Tell people they got in: The automated waitlist process doesn't email people when it moves them into a session. When you confirm waitlisted registrants yourself, you can send them a Session Waitlist email. Set up the template under Promote > Email Templates > Session Waitlist. A Default Session Waitlist Email Template is there to start from. See Send a Session Waitlist email when you confirm waitlisted registrants Otherwise, let them know another way.
Don't want a waitlist?
Type 0 in the session's Waitlist Limit and click Save. (Leaving it blank means unlimited, as described above.) When the session fills up, registrants see the Sold Out label. To show different wording, such as "Full," change the Sold Out label under Session Display Options > Add/Remove Button Labels.
FAQ
Can registrants take themselves off a waitlist?
Yes. On the form, a session they're waitlisted for shows a Cancel button instead of Add to Waitlist. They can click it while registering, or go back into their registration later and remove the session.
Can Certain tell me when a session is almost full?
Yes. First, under Plan > Configure > Options, check Notification in the Event Module section and click Save.
Then go to Plan > Configure > Alerts, check Send notification email when any session or session instance reaches, enter a percentage (90 is the default), and click Save.
I don't see the Automated Waitlist Process option.
Ask an Administrator in your organization to turn it on. If they don't see it either, contact Certain Support.
Next step: Set capacity and the waitlist limit on each session, then test with a full session.
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