Restaurant waitlist questions, answered.

Paper lists and sticky notes break down on busy nights. Waitlist gives your host stand a live digital queue so you can track party size, quoted wait, status, and seating without the chaos. Guests get clearer updates, hosts spend less time answering “how much longer?”, and your floor stays more organized during peak service.

Waitlist has a Free plan to get started, and a Pro plan for busier restaurants. Free includes one location, a digital waitlist, and manual WhatsApp messaging (up to 50 parties/day). Pro is $30/month, or $24/month when billed annually, and unlocks unlimited locations, reservations, table management, priority support, and upcoming analytics and messaging features. See our pricing page for the full breakdown.

Yes. Every account can reach us at support@waitlist.best. Pro includes priority support so busy restaurants get faster help when something matters mid-service. You can also use Report Issue in app settings for the quickest technical response.

A modern browser, an internet connection, and a phone or tablet at the host stand. Sign up, create your restaurant, and you can start adding walk-ins right away. No special hardware purchase is required.

Waitlist runs in the browser on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. Most restaurants use an iPad or Android tablet at the host stand, plus phones for managers who need to check the queue remotely. Any recent device with Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox works well.

You can still add them to the digital waitlist with a name and party size. Keep them in the queue like any other party, and call their name or seat them when ready. Phone numbers and WhatsApp updates are optional helpers—not a requirement to manage the line.

Yes. Log in on the devices your team needs—host tablet, manager phone, or backup laptop. Your waitlist stays in sync so everyone sees the same live queue.

There is no long-term contract. Use Waitlist during your busy season, pause or cancel if you close for months, and come back when you reopen. Seasonal restaurants often stay on Free between peaks and upgrade to Pro only when volume justifies it.

From Settings, choose Pro and complete checkout. You can also start from the pricing section on the homepage. Upgrades take effect as soon as payment succeeds so you can unlock reservations, table management, and multi-location right away.

Monthly Pro is $30/month and renews each month. Annual Pro is billed once per year at the equivalent of $24/month (about 20% savings). Features are the same—annual simply costs less over a full year.

Receipts are issued through our payment provider after each successful charge. Check the email tied to your Waitlist account for invoices, or contact support@waitlist.best if you need a copy for accounting.

You can cancel Pro or return to Free from Settings. After canceling, Pro features remain available through the end of your current billing period, then your account continues on the Free plan limits.

No. Waitlist is month-to-month or annual subscription billing with no multi-year lock-in. Cancel anytime—no cancellation fees and no forced renewal beyond your current period.

Yes. Email support@waitlist.best and we will walk you through how Waitlist works for your restaurant—queue flow, reservations, tables, and guest notifications—so you can see it before or after you sign up.

Yes on Pro. Manage upcoming bookings alongside walk-ins, assign tables, and keep reservation timing coordinated with your live floor so hosts are not juggling separate tools.

Yes on Pro. Create areas and tables, see what is free or occupied, and assign parties from the waitlist or reservations. The floor view helps hosts seat faster without walking the room with a clipboard.

In table management, add dining areas (for example patio, bar, or main dining), then create tables with capacity. You can refine the layout as your floor changes—no special design tools required.

Yes. When you add a party you set a quoted wait, and the queue tracks how long guests have already been waiting. That helps hosts give realistic expectations and spot parties that are overdue.

Analytics for average wait, peak hours, seated guests, and no-shows is coming soon on Pro. Today you can review party history to see who was seated, canceled, or marked no-show.

A public waitlist page guests can check themselves is coming soon. For now, hosts keep guests informed with quoted waits and WhatsApp updates when a table is ready.

Coming soon. Public page customization will let you control how your restaurant waitlist appears to guests. Until then, manage the queue inside the Waitlist app.

Open History for your restaurant. You can review seated parties and other completed statuses so you have a clear record of the night without cluttering the active waitlist.

Coming soon. Preset notes will speed up common host comments (high chair, allergy, celebration, and similar). Today you can still type free-form notes on each party.

Free supports one location. Pro unlocks unlimited locations so each spot can run its own waitlist, reservations, and tables under your account—ideal for groups and multi-unit operators.

Team members who need access can sign in with their own Waitlist login, or share access based on how you run the host stand. For help setting up additional people on your account, email support@waitlist.best.

On Pro, add a new restaurant location from your account, then set up its waitlist and tables. Each location keeps its own queue so Friday night at one address does not collide with brunch at another.

Most restaurants use one primary waitlist per location, with areas and tables to organize the floor. If you need a special setup (for example bar vs dining), contact support@waitlist.best and we will help you choose the cleanest approach.

Waitlist helps you notify guests when a table is ready. Free includes manual WhatsApp messaging so hosts can send a ready message in a tap. Automatic WhatsApp messaging is coming soon on Pro.

Two-way SMS lets guests reply to waitlist texts and hosts respond without switching apps. Two-way SMS is coming soon on Pro. Until then, WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach guests who prefer messaging apps.

Guest notifications are focused on WhatsApp and SMS-style messaging because that is what works best during a live wait. Email is not the primary guest channel for table-ready alerts.

Free supports up to 50 parties per day. If you regularly exceed that, upgrading to Pro removes the daily party cap and unlocks reservations, tables, and multi-location so busy nights are not constrained.

Two-way SMS chat is coming soon on Pro. With WhatsApp today, you can open a conversation when you send a table-ready message and continue the thread there if a guest needs directions or a couple more minutes.

Any recent iPad or Android tablet with a stable Wi-Fi connection works well. Many restaurants prefer a 10–11 inch screen so the queue and tables stay readable at a glance. A simple stand and charging cable go further than buying specialized hardware.

We protect account access with authenticated sessions and keep customer data limited to what you need to run the waitlist. Review our Privacy Policy for how information is collected and used. Never share login credentials across untrusted devices.

Waitlist is built for live service: add parties, update status, notify guests, and seat tables in real time over a normal internet connection. If something looks off mid-shift, refresh the page and contact support—we treat downtime and host-stand blockers as high priority.

Use Report Issue in Settings for the fastest path, or email support@waitlist.best with your restaurant name, device, and a short description of what happened. Screenshots help us fix problems faster.

Guest details like name, phone, party size, and notes are used to operate your waitlist, reservations, and notifications. We do not sell your guest list. See the Privacy Policy for the full picture of processing and retention.

You and the people operating your Waitlist account. Phone numbers exist so your team can notify guests about their table. Our team only accesses account data when needed to provide support or maintain the service, as described in our Privacy Policy.