Events with a waiting list

When you have limited spots configured for your event, and registrations have reached the maximum available spots, resulting in your event being full, you can use the waiting list feature to continue accepting potential registrations.

Using the waiting list feature allows you to know how many more attendees would like to attend the event and decide how you want to accommodate those on the waiting list. You may be able to add more spots, regain some spots from cancellations, or just squeeze in an extra person or two. You may have such high interest that you decide to create another event for the attendees on the waiting list or be able to add them to a future date of the same event.

Either way, using a waiting list will also help you with future event planning to gauge the interest of your audience better.

How to Use the Waiting List Feature

To enable this feature, follow these steps:

STEP 1: From your Corsizio dashboard, go to Step 5 – Filters & Settings of the event for which you want to have the waiting list.

STEP 2: After you have enabled the "Limit the number of spots available" option as part of this step, turn on the "Enable waiting list registrations when the event is full" option.

STEP 3: You can set the maximum number of waitlist registrations that you want to receive.

This is helpful if you do not want your waitlist registrations to grow too large.

STEP 4: You can "Automatically and immediately convert any waiting registrations to standard registrations when spots become available for any reason".

Leave this option disabled if you want to manually and deliberately convert any waiting registrations to standard registrations.
This automatic conversion will go on until 24 hours before the registration closing time of the event, but you can change that and select another predefined value, including keeping it active up to the last minute if you desire.

STEP 5: You can "Allow attendees to remove themselves from the waiting list if needed."

If enabled, it will add a special link to the confirmation email your customers get after registering, allowing them to remove themselves from the waiting list if they no longer wish to be on it.

STEP 6: You can include an optional message with any information about the waiting list for your audience, which will be displayed at the top of the registration form, right below the standard wording.

STEP 7: When finished with this configuration, Save & Exit.

How the Waiting List Shows on Registration Forms

When you have the waiting list feature enabled on an event, and that event becomes full, meaning it reaches the maximum number of spots you set for it, a clear message will be displayed on the registration form to indicate that current registrations are for the waiting list only.

No payment options are presented to attendees when they are registering to the waiting list, but they get to fill out all the details needed in case a spot opens up for the event.

Automatic Conversion of Waiting Registrations to Standard Registrations

When you enable automatic waiting list conversions, then any time a spot becomes available for any of the reasons below, the earliest attendee registration in the waiting list will become converted to a standard registration, and an email confirmation will be sent out to them immediately:

If you cancel, delete, or transfer a registration from the event
If someone self-cancels their registration from the event
If you update the event and change the number of spots available or change the waiting list settings

NOTE — When the automatic conversion option is enabled, you do not have the option to decide who will get the new spots available. The attendees will automatically be converted in the order of the earliest registration and receive an immediate confirmation email of their updated registration.

This only happens if the event is still open for registrations and is not closing for at least 24 hours (or the value you select) from that moment.

If registrants owe an amount to be paid, they would follow the instructions in the email confirmation to pay the amount online or offline, depending on the event setup.

Manual Conversion of Waiting Registrations to Standard Registrations

When you have a waiting list but do not enable automatic conversions and a spot becomes available in a previously full event, you can convert an attendee from "In Waiting List" to a standard registration.

To convert a waiting list registration, open the attendee's registration card. Select the Convert to attendee button or go to the Actions menu and select Convert to attendee. A window will appear to confirm your choice and give you the option to send this person a new confirmation receipt, which will also ask them to pay for any pending amounts, if applicable.

ALERT — When the manual conversion option is enabled, you can not accept new registrations if new spots become available if there are already registrations on the waiting list.

For example, if you make more spots available or if someone cancels their registration, you must first clear the registrations from the waiting list before others can register again as normal.

This is to honor the registration order and prioritize those who registered previously, as they are next in line on the waiting list. New people can still register for the event but will be on the waiting list only in the order they are received.

By managing the waiting list manually, you have the option to convert a waiting list registration to a standard registration, transfer the registration to another event, or cancel the registration altogether.

Other Waiting List Options

You can move any standard attendee to the waiting list for the same event if they have no payment transactions already associated with that specific registration.
You can move an attendee from the waiting list of one event to another event, still as a waiting list status or as a standard attendee, using the Transfer to another event feature in the Actions menu.
You can manually register attendees straight to a waiting list for an event.