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Waitlist Notifications Growth+This feature requires the Growth+ plan or higher

When availability opens up for a waitlisted item, EquipDash can automatically notify the waiting customers by email. This guide explains how those notifications work and how to manage them.

Automatic Notifications​

When Auto-Notify is enabled in your waitlist settings, EquipDash handles notifications for you. Here is what happens:

  1. A trigger event occurs -- for example, a booking is canceled, an experience session's capacity is increased, or new inventory is added.
  2. EquipDash checks the waitlist -- the system looks for any active waitlist entries that match the now-available item.
  3. Notifications are sent -- all matching customers in Waiting status receive an availability email.
  4. Status updates -- each notified entry's status changes to Notified and the notification timestamp is recorded.

This all happens in the background within a few minutes of the trigger event.

What the Customer Receives​

The availability notification email includes:

  • Your business name and branding
  • A message that the item or experience they were waiting for is now available
  • Details about the item (product name, experience name, and session)
  • A Book Now button that takes them to your booking widget to complete the booking
  • A link to cancel their waitlist entry if they are no longer interested

Confirmation Email​

When a customer first joins the waitlist, they receive a separate confirmation email that:

  • Confirms they have been added to the waitlist
  • Shows the item and dates they are waiting for
  • Includes a link to cancel their waitlist entry

Both notification types -- Waitlist Spot Available and Waitlist Joined -- can be toggled on or off in Settings > Notifications.

Manual Notifications​

If you prefer to control when notifications are sent, leave Auto-Notify turned off. You can then send notifications manually from the waitlist management page:

  1. Open the waitlist entry you want to notify.
  2. Click Send Notification.
  3. The customer receives the same availability email described above.

This approach is useful if you want to prioritize certain customers or wait until you have confirmed the availability yourself.

Notification History​

Each waitlist entry keeps a record of all notifications sent. To view notification history:

  1. Open the waitlist entry from the waitlist table.
  2. Scroll to the Notification History section.
  3. You can see:
    • The date and time each notification was sent
    • Whether the notification was successfully delivered
    • If the entry was converted to a booking (and which booking)

Failed Notifications​

If a notification fails to send (e.g. due to an invalid email address or a temporary email service issue), the system:

  • Logs the failure
  • Keeps the entry in Waiting status (not Notified)
  • Retries failed notifications automatically

You can see failed notifications in the entry's notification history and retry them manually if needed.

Notification Triggers Summary​

Trigger EventWhat Gets Checked
Booking canceledWaitlist entries for the same product or experience schedule in the canceled booking.
Experience capacity increasedWaitlist entries for that specific experience schedule.
Inventory addedWaitlist entries for that product (and variation, if applicable).

Tips​

  • Enable Auto-Notify for the best customer experience. Customers get notified quickly, increasing the chance they will book before someone else.
  • Keep an eye on your conversion rate in the waitlist statistics to understand how effective your waitlist is.
  • If a customer was notified but did not book, their entry remains in Notified status. You can follow up with them directly or wait for the entry to expire.