How to enable and manage an event waitlist
When a ticket type sells out, you can enable a waitlist so interested attendees can register their interest. As tickets become available again (through cancellations or additional releases), you can notify waitlisted attendees and give them the opportunity to purchase.
Enabling the waitlist
The waitlist is configured per event in the event's Advanced Settings.
- Go to My Account → Manage Events and click Edit for your event.
- Scroll to the Advanced Settings section.
- Find the Enable Waitlist setting and choose when the waitlist should activate:
| Option | When the waitlist becomes visible to attendees |
|---|---|
| When at least one visible ticket is sold out | As soon as any single ticket type runs out of stock |
| Always | The waitlist link is always shown, even when tickets are available |
| When all tickets are sold out | Only when every ticket type is fully sold out |
| When specific tickets are sold out | Only when the ticket types you select are sold out |
- Save your event.
Managing the waitlist
Navigate to My Account → Event Waitlist (or from the Event Dashboard, click Event Waitlist).
From the waitlist page you can:
- Set the Payment Deadline — The number of hours a waitlisted attendee has to complete their purchase after they are notified and a ticket is released to them. Default is 3 hours.
- Bulk Release & Notify — Select waitlisted attendees and notify them that they can now purchase a ticket. They receive an email with a link and have until the payment deadline to complete the purchase.
- Bulk Issue Tickets — Create orders and send payment invoices directly to selected waitlist entries.
- Bulk Edit Tickets — Modify the ticket selections for selected waitlist entries (e.g. if a different ticket type became available).
- Bulk Remove — Remove selected entries from the waitlist.
- Download Waitlist Data — Export the full waitlist as a CSV file.
How attendees join the waitlist
When the waitlist is active, the event page shows a Join Waitlist button (in place of the normal purchase button). Attendees click it and enter their contact information. They are added to your waitlist and will receive an email notification when you release tickets to them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the waitlist first-come, first-served? The waitlist captures entries in the order they sign up. However, when you release tickets, you manually choose which waitlisted attendees to notify — so you can prioritize in any order you prefer.
What happens if a waitlisted attendee doesn't pay in time? Their slot is released back to the waitlist pool once the payment deadline expires. You can then offer the ticket to the next person on the list.
Can I show the waitlist even when tickets are available? Yes — set the option to Always to show the waitlist link at all times. Some organizers use this to capture interest for future events or to manage overflow beyond their official capacity.