Wabi — Reservation Controls

Booking Rules

Accept online bookings

Allow guests to book tables through your online widget

Enable online bookings to configure rules

Channel-Specific Rules

Per-channel settings

Apply different booking rules per channel

Online widget

Max party Advance

Google Reserve

Requires Google Business integration

Instagram

Requires Instagram integration

Phone/walk-in

Max party Advance

Capacity Limits

Max covers per time slot

covers

Leave blank to auto-calculate from floor plan capacity and turn times. Currently: ~32 covers/slot (120 seats, 90min avg turn)

Max covers per service

SERVICE

MAX COVERS

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Late Night

Max covers per day

covers

Leave blank to auto-calculate from service totals

Party Size

Minimum party size

guests

Maximum party size

guests

Large party threshold

guests

Parties this size or larger get special handling

Large party action

Booking Windows

Advance booking window

days

Booking interval

Time slot granularity shown to guests

Same-day bookings

Allow guests to book for the current day

Same-day cutoff

How close to the time slot guests can book

Last booking time

Latest time slot available for booking

Auto-Confirmation

Auto-confirm bookings

Automatically confirm reservations without manual review

Auto-confirm for parties up to

guests

Larger parties require manual confirmation

Waitlist

Enable waitlist

Allow guests to join a waitlist when no tables are available

Pause waitlist PAUSED

Temporarily stop accepting new guests. Existing waitlist is preserved.

Enable waitlist to configure settings

Waitlist Availability

Limit waitlist to specific hours

Waitlist is only available during these hours. Outside these times, the join button is hidden.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Closed

Waitlist Capacity

Use per-shift limits

Set different capacity limits for each shift

Maximum waitlist size

Maximum number of parties on waitlist at any time

Maximum party size for waitlist

Larger parties will be asked to call

Shift Max Waitlist Max Party Size

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Late Night

Per-day overrides

Override capacity for specific days (e.g. higher Friday/Saturday limits)

Maximum waitlist size per day

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Wait Time Estimates

Show estimated wait times

Display approximate wait times to guests

Display format

Estimated wait by party size

1-2 guestsmin

3-4 guestsmin

5-6 guestsmin

7-8 guestsmin

9+ guestsmin

Wait time calculation method

Zone-specific wait times

Show different wait estimates based on seating area

Offset from base wait time. Negative = shorter wait.

Indoormin

Barmin

Patiomin

Privatemin

Auto-Management

Auto-notify next in line

Automatically send notification when a table becomes available

Auto-Remove

Remove unresponsive guests

Remove if guest doesn't arrive after being notified their table is ready

After table-ready notification minutes

Remove after maximum wait

Remove guests who have been on the waitlist longer than this

Maximum total wait minutes

Notification Channels

SMS

Requires WhatsApp Business integration

Push notification

For guests with the Wabi app

Preferred channel

Notification Settings

Notify when added

Notify when table ready

Notify before removal

Warning before removal minutes

Include cancel link in SMS

Add a self-cancel link to waitlist notifications. Reduces ghost entries.

Include check-in link in SMS

Guest can confirm arrival via link instead of checking in with host

Two-Way SMS

Two-way SMS

Allow guests to reply to notifications

Accept 'cancel' replies

Guest can reply CANCEL to remove themselves

Accept 'late' replies

Guest can reply LATE to extend their grace period by 10 minutes

Auto-reply message

Notification Templates

Added to waitlist

{guest_name} {venue_name} {wait_time} {position} {queue_size} {cancel_link}

Table ready

{guest_name} {venue_name} {check_in_time} {check_in_link} {cancel_link}

Removal warning

{guest_name} {venue_name} {check_in_time} {check_in_link}

Priority Rules

VIP guests always first

Prioritise returning guests

Prioritise large parties (6+)

VIP auto-priority

Automatically move VIP-tagged guests to front of waitlist

Online Waitlist

Allow online waitlist joining

Let guests join the waitlist from your booking widget

Show position in queue

Display queue position to online waitlist guests

Show estimated wait online

Require phone number

Require party size

QR code for walk-in joining

Generate a QR code guests can scan at the door to join the waitlist

Guest self-check-in

Allow guests to confirm arrival via their phone

Custom fields

Seating preference

Special requests

High chair needed

Waitlist to Reservation

Offer future reservation

When wait is too long, offer guests the option to book a future table instead

Wait threshold

minutes

Offer reservation when estimated wait exceeds this

Reservation message

{booking_link}

Deposits

Require deposits

Require a deposit or credit card to secure a reservation

Enable deposits to configure policies

Deposit Rules

Deposit type

Fixed amount

Require deposit for

All bookings

Large parties (above threshold)

Uses the large party threshold from Booking Rules

Peak hours

Weekends

Special dates

Deposit timing

Credit Card Holds

Require credit card on file

Hold a card without charging — charge only on no-show or late cancellation

Hold amount

Require for

All bookings

Large parties

New guests

Guests with no-show history

Specific days only

Only require credit card on selected days — no barrier on quiet days

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Card hold expiry

Cancellation Fees

Charge cancellation fee

Charge a fee for late cancellations

Fee type

Fixed fee

Apply when cancelled within

Only charge fee for cancellations within this window

Waive for

First-time cancellation

VIP guests

Rescheduled (not cancelled)

Specific days only

Only charge cancellation fees on selected days

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

No-Show Fees

Charge no-show fee

Automatically charge guests who don't arrive

Fee type

Fixed fee

Waive for

First-time no-show

VIP guests

If cancelled within grace period

Grace period

minutes

Specific days only

Only charge no-show fees on selected days

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Refund Policy

Allow refunds

Full refund window

Cancellations within this window get a full deposit refund

Partial refund

Partial refund percentage

Partial refund window

Refund method

Processing time

Special Event Pricing

Enable special event deposits

Set custom deposit amounts for holidays and special events

Valentine's Day

14 Feb $75 per person Non-refundable

New Year's Eve

31 Dec $150 per person Non-refundable

Mother's Day

10 May $50 per person 50% refundable

Default special event settings

Deposit type: Per person

Refundable

Applied to new special events by default

Payment Methods

Accepted for deposits

Credit card

Debit card

Apple Pay

Google Pay

Payment processor

Connected: Stripe Change

Currency

Guest Communication

Deposit confirmation template

0 characters

{amount}Deposit amount charged {venue_name}Restaurant name {date}Reservation date {time}Reservation time {guest_name}Guest's name

Cancellation fee notification

0 characters

{fee_amount}Fee amount charged {venue_name}Restaurant name {refund_info}Refund details if applicable

Refund confirmation

0 characters

{refund_amount}Refund amount {processing_time}Expected processing time {venue_name}Restaurant name

Generated Policies

Auto-generated from your settings above. Edit if needed. These appear on your booking widget, confirmation emails, and guest-facing communications.

Cancellation policy Regenerate

No-show policy Regenerate

Deposit policy Regenerate

Refund policy Regenerate

Policy display

Show on booking widget

Guests must accept policies before confirming a reservation

Include in confirmation email

Relevant policies included at the bottom of booking confirmations

Include in SMS confirmations

Short policy summary appended to SMS (adds ~1 segment)

Wabi platform terms

Standard booking platform terms that protect your venue. Guests agree to both your policies and Wabi's terms when confirming.

Wabi Booking Terms & Conditions

Last updated: February 2026

Preview

Widget consent preview

By confirming this reservation, I agree to the cancellation policy, deposit policy, and Wabi Terms & Conditions.

This is how the consent checkbox appears on your booking widget

VIP Tiers

Define VIP levels for priority seating and special treatment

Gold

5+ visits or $500+ spend

Auto-assigned

Platinum

20+ visits or $2000+ spend

Auto-assigned

Black

Manual assignment only

Staff-assigned

VIP Benefits

Priority waitlist

VIP guests automatically moved to front of waitlist

Preferred seating

Reserve best tables for VIP guests

Complimentary items

Trigger comp items based on VIP tier

Birthday recognition

Flag upcoming VIP birthdays for staff

Custom welcome message

Display personalized message when VIP checks in

Access Controls

Require reservation for entry

Walk-ins only when tables available

Private events mode

Restrict entire venue or sections to invited guests only

Guest blocklist

Prevent specific guests from booking

Blocklist 3 guests blocked

VIP Policy Overrides

Override deposit, cancellation, and no-show rules per VIP tier

Exempt from deposit requirement

VIP guests book without paying a deposit

Exempt from cancellation fees

No late cancellation charges for VIP guests

Exempt from no-show fees

No-show charges waived for VIP guests

Extended grace period

Give VIP guests extra time before marking as no-show

VIP grace period

Standard grace period is 15 min

Per-tier overrides

Apply per tier

Different rules for Gold, Platinum, and Black tiers

No-Show Controls

How the venue handles guests who don't arrive

Grace period before no-show

Time after reservation before marking as no-show

Auto-mark no-show

Automatically flag reservations as no-show after grace period

Track no-show history

Record no-shows on guest profile for future reference

Flag repeat offenders

Alert staff when a guest with previous no-shows books again

Repeat offender threshold

Number of no-shows before flagging a guest

Require deposit from flagged guests

Automatically require deposit for guests with no-show history

Auto-release table on no-show

Free the table for walk-ins after no-show is confirmed

Cancellation Controls

Rules for how guests can cancel or modify bookings

Allow guest self-cancellation

Guests can cancel via confirmation link or widget

Cancellation cutoff

How far in advance guests must cancel to avoid fees

Allow modifications

Let guests change date, time, or party size

Require reason for cancellation

Ask guest to select a reason when cancelling

Offer reschedule before cancel

Prompt guest to reschedule instead of cancelling outright

Notify staff on cancellation

Push alert to host when a booking is cancelled

Fee configuration is managed in Deposits & Policies tab

Guest Tags

Custom tags visible on reservations and guest profiles

VIP

Regular

Allergy Alert

Birthday

Anniversary

High Spender

Influencer