The waitlist lets clients with a Zenamu account queue for a class that's fully booked. When a booking is cancelled, Zenamu automatically books the first client on the waitlist and emails them. The waitlist is different from Notify me, which only sends an email about a free spot (see below), and from make-up sessions, which clients earn by excusing themselves from a course session.
Where the waitlist works: The waitlist is available for group classes and for single sessions of a course (the course needs a Price per session pricing option). It isn't available for whole-course bookings, events and workshops, or appointments. Only logged-in clients can join; guests who book without an account can't. Free classes have no waitlist, only Notify me.
Plans: The waitlist is available on the Expert and Ultimate plans (including Expert 2024), during the trial, and on older plans such as Professional. It isn't available on the free Getting Started plan and the Standard plan.
How do I turn on the waitlist?
The waitlist is off by default. Go to Settings > Bookings and rules > Bookings, find Waitlist, and turn on Let clients join the waitlist when a class is fully booked. Clients then see a Waitlist button on a fully booked class.
How do clients pay when they join the waitlist?
Clients pay up front when they join. They can join only if the class offers a pricing option they can pay with credits, entries, a membership, a make-up session, a credit/debit card (Stripe), or PayPal. If a class accepts only bank transfer or payment in person, clients see Notify me instead of the waitlist.
Each payment method behaves slightly differently:
Credits and entries — the amount is held as a "deposit" on the client's account.
Memberships — the client joins the waitlist without any additional charges.
Make-up sessions — the make-up is held for this class. If the client doesn't get in, it goes back to their account and they can use it for another class.
Credit/debit card (Stripe) or PayPal — the payment is collected immediately. The order shows a status of "Paid" with a "waitlist" tag.
The client is added to the waitlist and waits in a queue for a spot to open up.
What happens when a spot becomes available?
A spot opens when a booked client cancels their booking, or when you cancel a client's booking, before the class starts. The waitlist operates on a FIFO (First In, First Out) basis:
First vacancy: The first client on the waitlist gets the available spot.
Subsequent vacancies: The second client on the waitlist gets the next available spot, and so on.
Zenamu handles this fully automatically. When a spot opens up, the client at the top of the waitlist is booked into the class, notified via email, and the held credits, entries, membership, or make-up are used for the booking.
When does the waitlist close?
On a fully booked class, the Waitlist and Notify me buttons disappear from your public schedule once the cancellation deadline for that class has passed. They also disappear after the booking deadline.
The cancellation deadline also decides how long clients who are already on the waitlist keep their place:
Credits, entries, memberships and make-up sessions — the waitlist closes as soon as the cancellation deadline passes. With a 24-hour deadline, for example, waitlisted clients are released 24 hours before the class and get their credits, entries or make-up back.
Card (Stripe) and PayPal — these bookings stay on the waitlist until the class starts, so they can still be moved in after the cancellation deadline has passed.
If your cancellation deadline is set to Anytime, the whole waitlist stays open until the class starts.
To keep the waitlist open closer to the start, set a shorter cancellation deadline, or Anytime, in Settings > Bookings and rules > Booking cancellation > Sessions > Cancellation deadline. Keep in mind this also lets clients cancel their own bookings later. Appointment settings, such as Minimum notice, don't affect the waitlist.
Good to know
If you cancel a client's booking manually after the cancellation deadline has passed, the spot is no longer filled from the waitlist automatically (card and PayPal bookings are the exception). You can still move a waitlisted client in yourself with Convert to regular participant.
What if no spot opens up?
If no spot opens up, Zenamu releases the waitlist booking automatically:
Credits and entries — the held amount is returned to the client's account once the cancellation deadline passes.
Memberships — the membership remains active without any change.
Make-up sessions — the make-up becomes available again, and the client can use it for another class.
Card (Stripe) and PayPal — once the class has started, the payment is automatically refunded and the order is cancelled. Both a payment receipt and a cancellation receipt are generated.
What's the difference between the waitlist and Notify me?
Notify me is an email alert, not a booking. On a fully booked class, anyone, including guests without an account, can click Notify me and enter their email address. There's nothing to set up, and it works on every plan.
When a booking is cancelled and nobody is on the waitlist, everyone who signed up gets an email at the same time. The spot is filled on a first-come, first-served basis — whoever books first gets the spot. Nothing is booked or paid automatically.
If clients are on the waitlist, they get priority and the Notify me email isn't sent.
People stay signed up after the email, so they get another one if a spot opens again later.
Once the cancellation deadline passes, Notify me sign-ups are cleared and no more emails go out for that class.
You'll find the list of people who signed up in the class detail, on the Notify me tab.
FAQ
When does a waitlisted client receive an email — and when not?
Zenamu moves the next waitlisted client into the class, and sends the email, only in some situations:
A client's booking is cancelled before the class starts — ✓ email is sent and the next client on the waitlist is moved in.
Studio manually increases the class capacity — ✗ email is NOT sent. Waitlisted clients are not moved in automatically.
Studio adds a new class session — ✗ email is NOT sent (it is treated as a new class, not as a spot opening on the original one).
If you increase the capacity and want to move waitlisted clients in: use Convert to regular participant for each of them (see Can I manually move a waitlisted client into the class?).
My clients were taken off the waitlist before the class. Why?
That's the cancellation deadline at work. Once it passes, Zenamu closes the waitlist for that class and returns the held credits, entries and make-ups to your clients. A 24-hour deadline means the waitlist empties 24 hours before the class starts. Clients who paid by card or PayPal stay on the waitlist until the class starts.
If you'd rather keep the waitlist running right up to the class start, set the cancellation deadline to Anytime in Settings > Bookings and rules > Booking cancellation > Sessions > Cancellation deadline. Keep in mind this also changes when your clients can cancel their own bookings.
A spot opened up but the waitlisted client wasn't moved in. Why?
Zenamu moves a client in automatically only when a booking is cancelled before the class starts. Increasing the capacity or adding a session doesn't move anyone in, and nothing happens once the class has started. Other common reasons:
The cancellation deadline had already passed — clients who paid with credits, entries, a membership or a make-up had already been taken off the waitlist. Only card and PayPal bookings stay until the class starts.
The client's membership ended in the meantime — when a membership ends, Zenamu cancels the client's upcoming bookings paid by that membership, waitlist bookings included.
The client never finished their card or PayPal payment — an unpaid order isn't moved into the class. It's cancelled automatically once the cancellation deadline passes, and nothing is charged.
Why can't a client join the waitlist?
They aren't logged in. Guests see To join the waitlist for this class, please log in. or can use Notify me.
The waitlist is turned off, or your plan doesn't include it.
The cancellation deadline or the booking deadline for the class has passed.
The class is free, or it only accepts bank transfer or payment in person.
It's a whole-course booking, an event, or an appointment, which have no waitlist.
Can clients join the waitlist with a bank transfer or payment on site?
Not from your public schedule. These payment methods aren't offered for full classes, so clients see Notify me instead. Make-up sessions are the exception: they count as payment on site and can be used to join the waitlist.
Can I manually move a waitlisted client into the class?
Yes. Open the class detail from Class schedule, go to the Waitlist tab, and choose Convert to regular participant for the client. If the class is full, a Class is full dialog asks you to confirm; click Yes, convert and the client is booked over capacity. You can't convert a client whose card or PayPal payment isn't complete yet.
A client joined the waitlist by mistake. What can I do?
In the class detail, on the Waitlist tab, either choose Convert to regular participant to book the client into the class, or Cancel waitlist booking to take them off the waitlist.
Can I put a client on the waitlist myself?
No. Only clients can join the waitlist. A booking you create with Add participant is always a regular booking, even if the class is full.