Table reservations and waitlist
Book tables for guests, let them book online, see reserved tables on the table view, seat guests in one tap and keep a waitlist for walk-ins.
Reservations are for restaurants. Bookings and the waitlist live on the POS Table View, next to your tables. Staff and captains can use them.
Before you start
- Set your tables and their Capacity (Seats) under Restaurant › Dining Tables. Ellibo uses the seats to suggest a table for each booking. See Set up your tables.
- Reservations are on for every restaurant. To change how long tables are kept, or to let guests book online, see Settings below.
Add a booking
- Click POS. On the Table View, click + Reservation.
- Enter the guest's name, mobile number and how many guests are coming. Add their email if you'd like Ellibo to email them the booking.
- Choose the date and time.
- Under Table, Ellibo suggests the smallest free table that seats the party. Choose another one if you like, or leave No table yet. A table already booked at that time can't be chosen.
- Add any notes, such as birthday or high chair, and click Save.
If the guest gave an email address and Email the booking to the guest is ticked, they get an email with the date, time and number of guests. Notes stay with your staff; guests don't see them.
You can also open the Reservations list from Restaurant › Reservations in the menu.
Reserved tables
A table with a booking coming up turns purple (Reserved) on the Table View, from 60 minutes before the booking. It shows the time, the guest's name and the party size, for example 7:30 PM · Ravi (4).
When you click a reserved table, Ellibo asks first:
- Seat the booking: the guests have arrived. See Seat guests.
- Use for a walk-in: the table opens as usual, and the booking keeps its place in the list.
If a table already has an order, the booking time shows on it, so you know guests are coming.
The Reservations list
Click Reservations on the Table View. The purple number is today's bookings, and the orange number is online bookings that wait for you to confirm them.
| Tab | Shows |
|---|---|
| Today | Today's bookings, newest to confirm first, then by time. |
| Upcoming | Bookings after today. |
| Waitlist | Walk-ins waiting for a table. |
| Past | Earlier bookings, for looking something up. |
Search by name, mobile number or email. Each booking shows its status:
| Status | Means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| To confirm | A guest booked online and you confirm each booking. | Confirm, Edit or Decline |
| Confirmed | The table is booked. | Seat, Edit, No-show or Cancel |
| Seated | The guests are at their table. When the bill is settled, it shows Completed with the bill number. | - |
| No-show | The guests didn't come within 30 minutes of the time. Ellibo marks this by itself. | Seat if they arrive late, or Restore |
| Cancelled | Cancelled by you or by the guest. | Restore while the time is still to come |
When you confirm, decline, cancel or change the time of a booking that has an email address, the guest is emailed.
Seat guests
- In the list, click Seat next to the booking, or click its reserved table on the Table View.
- Choose a free table. The booked table is already chosen if it's free. Tables with an open bill can't be chosen.
- Click Seat & open order.
The order screen opens on that table with the guest as the customer and the number of guests filled in, ready for the first KOT. Ellibo finds the guest among your Customers by mobile number or email, or adds them. See One customer, one record. If the guest has a tag with an automatic discount, it goes on the bill.
Waitlist
When guests walk in and every table is taken:
- Click Waitlist on the Table View, then Add to waitlist.
- Enter the name, mobile number and how many guests, and click Add.
The list shows how long each guest has been waiting. When a table is free, click Seat, choose the table and the order opens, just like a booking. If guests leave, click Remove.
Booking online
Guests can book a table themselves on your booking page, https://yourstore.ellibo.com/book.php, where yourstore is your online store address.
- Go to Settings › Billing Settings › Reservations and tick Let Guests Book a Table Online.
- Set your first and last booking times, and anything else under Settings.
- Click Save, then Copy link. Share the link on your website, your Google profile, Instagram or WhatsApp. Your online store also shows a Book a table link.
Guests choose a day, the number of guests and a time. Only times with a free table that seats them can be chosen, and Ellibo gives each booking that table. Guests enter their name, mobile number and email, and get an email with a link to see or cancel their booking. They can also tick Send me offers and news; see Offers permission.
- Confirm Online Bookings Automatically on: the booking is confirmed at once.
- Turned off: the booking shows as To confirm under Reservations, and its table is kept for it. The guest is told you'll confirm, and gets an email when you confirm or decline.
You get an email for every new online booking and every cancellation, at your Business Email (General tab), or the address under Email new online bookings to.
A guest can have up to 3 bookings still to come with one mobile number. For bigger groups than you allow online, the page asks them to call you, and shows the phone number from your online store settings.
Settings
Go to Settings › Billing Settings › Reservations. Only admins can change these.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Use Reservations and Waitlist | Shows the Reservations, + Reservation and Waitlist buttons on the Table View. Turn it off to hide them. |
| Show the table as Reserved (minutes before) | How early a table turns purple before its booking. 60 by default. |
| No-show if not seated (minutes after) | When a booking becomes a no-show and its table is free again. 30 by default. |
| A booking keeps its table for (minutes) | How long a booking holds its table. No other booking can take the table in that time. 90 by default. |
| Let Guests Book a Table Online | Turns on your booking page. |
| Confirm Online Bookings Automatically | On: online bookings are confirmed at once. Off: you confirm each one. |
| First booking time and Last booking time | The times guests can choose online. |
| Times every | 15 minutes, 30 minutes or 1 hour between the times. |
| Most guests in one online booking | Bigger groups are asked to call you. |
| How many days ahead guests can book | 30 by default. |
| Book at least (minutes before) | How much notice you need for an online booking. |
| No online bookings on | Days you don't take online bookings, for example the day you're closed. You can still add bookings yourself. |
| Reminder email (hours before) | Guests with an email get a reminder this long before their booking. 0 turns reminders off. |
| Email new online bookings to | Where new booking emails go. Blank: your Business Email. |
| Note for guests | Shown on the booking page and in the emails, for example We hold tables for 15 minutes. |
Emails
Emails to guests come from Ellibo's mail service with your business name, and replies come to your Business Email. Guests get an email when:
- they book online (booking request received, or your table is booked)
- you confirm, decline or cancel the booking
- you change the date, time or number of guests
- the reminder time comes