Waitlist with a freed slot offered to the first in line
When the time you want is taken, join the waitlist. If it frees up, the first person in line is offered it and the time is held for them, two hours to start with. If they do not take it, the next person is asked.
PLANSEvery plan
Why it matters
The seminar hall is taken for Friday afternoon, so three other teams give up and plan around it. On Thursday the booking is cancelled, and the hall stands empty because nobody remembers who asked. In SmartMy Facility each of those teams can join the waitlist for that exact time. The moment the time frees up, the first in line is told and the time is held for them. If they do not accept in time, or decline, the next team is asked. The hall is used, and the order is fair and on record.
The problem it solves
- A popular hall is cancelled the day before and stands empty because nobody knew who else wanted it.
- The office keeps a list of people waiting on paper and calls whoever answers first.
- Someone is offered a room by phone, says yes, and finds it taken by a walk-in.
- People keep refreshing the booking screen hoping a time frees up.
How it works
- On the facility's day, the booker clicks a struck-out (taken) time, fills in What for and People, and clicks Join the waitlist.
- Their place is under My Bookings > Waitlist, marked Waiting. People queue in the order they joined.
- When the time frees up, the system looks at the line for that facility and time. A cancellation, a booking moved out or an offer passed on all free it.
- The first person whose time is now free gets an offer. The time is held for them and they are told, with the time to accept by.
- They click Accept the offer, and the booking is made under the usual rules (approval or payment may follow). Or they click Decline.
- If they decline or do not answer in time, the offer is cancelled and the next person in line is offered it.
Everything it does
Joining
- Only when the chosen time is really taken; a free time is booked instead
- From the facility's day on the office screen and in the app; Join Waitlist on a draft booking in the full form
- The entry keeps the facility, the time, What for, People, the booker and the Entity
- Facilities whose rule set has Waitlist switched off do not offer it
Offers
- Order: first come, first served, by the time each person joined
- Waiting entries for the same facility, or the whole space or a part of it, that overlap the freed time are looked at
- An offer goes only when the whole wanted time is free; others keep waiting
- The offered booking holds the time, so nobody else can take it meanwhile
- Offer Held for (h): 2 hours to start with, never beyond the start of the booking
- Accepting checks the rules and clashes as for a new booking; approval or payment may follow
- Offers past their time are passed on by a job every 10 minutes
Statuses
- Waiting, Offered, Booked, Expired, Cancelled
- Leave takes someone off the line, or declines an open offer
- Entries whose time has started expire
Who sees the line
- Each person sees their own entries
- Facility managers see the whole line of their facilities under Operations > Waitlist, with Queued dates
Who uses it
BookerJoins the line for a taken time and accepts or declines an offer.
Facility managerSees who waits for which time and can remove an entry.
Where you use it
- Web: the facility's day and My Bookings > Waitlist on the office screen; Facilities > Operations > Waitlist
- The booking portal: Accept the offer or Decline on an offered booking; joining the line is on the office screen and in the app
- The SmartMy Facility app: waitlist offers under My Bookings (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not a priority order: the line is first come, first served
What you control
Settings
- Waitlist: on to start with, per rule set
- Offer Held for (h): 2 to start with
Approvals
- Facility booking: an accepted offer on a facility that needs approval goes through its chain
Notifications
- Facility Waitlist Offer: to the person first in line, with the time to accept by, in the app and by email
- Facility Booking Confirmed or Waiting for Approval: after they accept, in the app and by email
- Each of these goes out at once. WhatsApp or SMS go instead of email where you set them up, from your message credits. App push follows once the apps are in the stores. A person can switch off email, WhatsApp or SMS for themselves, never the event; in-app notices always arrive
Questions
How long do I have to accept an offer?
Two hours to start with, set per rule set in Offer Held for. The offer never runs past the start of the booking.What if two people want the same time?
The one who joined first is offered it first. If they decline or do not answer in time, the second is asked.Is the time held while I decide?
Yes. The offer holds the time, so nobody else can book it until you accept, decline or the offer runs out.Does accepting confirm the booking straight away?
It does when the facility needs nothing more. Where approval or payment is needed, that step follows as for any booking.Can we switch the waitlist off for some rooms?
Yes. Untick Waitlist on the rule set of those rooms.Can managers push someone up the line?
No. The line is first come, first served. A manager can remove an entry or book the time for someone directly.Related features
BOOKINGSMoving and cancelling bookings, with late cancellations flaggedBookers move or cancel their own bookings in a couple of taps, and every move is checked again against the rules and other bookings. A cancellation inside the free cancellation time is flagged as late and can count towards a ban.BOOKINGSNo double bookingTwo people can never hold the same facility at the same time. Every booking is checked against other bookings, setup time, hall parts, seats and blocked time, even when two people press Book together.CHECK-IN AND NO-SHOWSCheck-in with the QR code on the door, and no-shows freedAsk people to check in when they arrive, by scanning the QR code on the door or tapping Check in. A booking nobody checks in to is released after the grace time, and leaving early frees the rest of the time.PORTAL, OFFICE SCREENS AND APPThe booking portal for staff, members and hirersPeople without a back-office login book from a web page: parents, students, members, residents and outside hirers. They browse what they may book, pick a free time on a facility's day and book. Then they follow their bookings: check in, accept a waitlist offer, pay, sign or cancel.PORTAL, OFFICE SCREENS AND APPThe SmartMy Facility phone appOne app for everyone who books, approves or runs a facility, on Android and iOS. Bookers find a free room and book in a few taps, scan the door QR to check in and report a problem with a photo. Approvers decide, the front desk runs its day, members see their passes and cashiers sell at the counter.ACROSS SMARTMY FACILITYNotificationsBookers, approvers and attendees are told as soon as something changes. That is a booking confirmed, waiting, rejected or cancelled, a reminder before it starts, a waitlist slot to take, or a payment due. Messages go in the app and by email, and by WhatsApp or SMS when your organisation turns them on.
See it with your own rooms.
Tell us what you run: rooms, halls, courts, desks. We will show you a booking from request to check-out with your rules.