Skip to main content
Settings → Reservations holds four settings that shape how a service day runs: whether guests can join today’s waitlist from your storefront, when check-in asks about a party that arrived early, when visits end by themselves, and whether a party that never arrives is marked a no-show by itself. Set them once before your first busy day, and come back when your rhythm changes — a tasting bar turning tables every 45 minutes wants different numbers from a one-seating dinner.

​
Before you start

  • Anyone who can open Riserva in your Shopify admin can change these settings.
  • They apply to every location and every experience in your store.
  • Nothing changes until you press Save in the bar at the top of the page.

​
Change the settings

  1. In Riserva, open Settings.
  2. Under Reservations, press Edit reservation settings.
  3. Change any of the four groups described below.
  4. Press Save in the bar at the top of the page. You see “Settings saved”. Discard puts everything back as it was.

​
Storefront waitlist

The walk-in waitlist on the Host page and the Reservations tile in Shopify POS is always there for your team. This setting decides whether guests can add themselves to it from your website. Let guests join today’s waitlist online — off unless you turn it on. When it is on:
  • A guest who opens the booking window on today and finds no open times sees “Today is fully booked, but tables open up. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you if a spot frees up.” and can leave a Name and an Email. Their party size is the one they already chose.
  • The offer appears only for today. It never appears for a future date, or on a day closed by a blackout period.
  • The party lands on the same waitlist your host stand and the register use, with the note “Joined online — wanted” and the experience’s name (for example “Joined online — wanted Estate Tasting.”).
  • Joining twice with the same email at the same property does not create a second entry.
What the guest is told: “You’re on the list — we’ll email you if a spot opens up today.” Riserva does not email them anything else until a host presses Notify on their entry, which sends the Waitlist — table ready email.
Good to know Only turn this on if someone watches the waitlist during service. A guest who joins online and never hears back has had a worse experience than one who saw no waitlist at all.

​
Early arrivals

Sometimes a party arrives well before their reservation — hours early, or on the wrong day (“they put tomorrow and arrive today”). Checking them in without changing anything leaves the calendar wrong: the later seat stays held, the visit is recorded on the wrong day, and the reminder email still goes out. So when a party is early enough, Riserva asks before it checks them in. Ask when a party arrives more than … minutes early — 60 minutes unless you change it. You can enter anything from 0 to 1,440 (a day). At 0, any party checking in before its start time is asked. A party that is on time, a little early (inside your number) or late is checked in straight away, with no question.

​
What the check-in question asks

When a party is early enough, pressing Check in opens a window titled Early arrival — and the guest’s name. It appears wherever you check a party in: the Host list, a reservation’s page, the panel on the Host Timeline and Map, and the Reservations tile in Shopify POS (there the question takes over the reservation’s page, because POS has no pop-up windows). The window first says what the reservation is for and how far away it is, for example “Booked for Wed, Sep 23 at 12:00 PM — 5 days from now.” Then it offers:
  • Move to 2:00 PM and check in — the button names the time it will use. Riserva moves the reservation onto today at the same venue: the time slot running right now (“That slot is in progress right now.”), or, when nothing is running, the next slot today (“Nothing is running right now — that is the next slot today, …”), or, after the day’s last slot has ended, that last slot (“That was today’s last slot — it has already ended; the visit is recorded on today.”). The seat the party was holding later is released for other guests, the visit is recorded today, and the party is checked in.
  • Check in without moving — checks the party in and leaves the reservation on its original date and time. Their later seat stays held.
  • Cancel — closes the window and changes nothing.
The question never takes the choice away: Check in without moving is always there.

​
When today’s time is full

If the time slot Riserva would move the party onto is already full, the window turns into a warning — for example “Today’s 2:00 PM time is full for a party of 4. You can seat them anyway — host’s call.” (the time follows your time format in Settings → Regional formats) — and the main button becomes Seat them anyway. Pressing it moves the party onto that full slot over its limit and checks them in. The timeline records your call: the move reads ”… — capacity overridden”, and the early-arrival line ends “(seated over capacity)”. If you would rather not, choose Check in without moving.

​
When there is no time today

If the experience has no times today at that venue, there is nothing to move the reservation onto. The window says “There are no times for this experience at this venue today, so the reservation can’t be moved from here — check the party in without moving, or move it from the edit page.” and offers only Check in without moving and Cancel.

​
What the guest and the timeline see

The guest is not emailed about this move — they are standing in front of you. The reservation’s timeline records it all, with your name:
  • “Arrived early — moved from Wed, Sep 23, 12:00 PM to Sat, Sep 19, 2:00 PM at check-in”
  • “Reservation rescheduled to Sat, Sep 19, 2:00 PM”
  • “Rescheduled email not sent (the guest was at the counter)” — this line is how Riserva records that no email went out. The email was skipped on purpose; you do not need to change anything in Settings → Emails.
  • “Guest checked in”

​
Ending visits

On a busy afternoon nobody presses Complete. Riserva can end a visit by itself: a party that is checked in or seated is marked Completed, it leaves On property, its table shows as free on the Timeline and Map, and the visit is recorded. Ending visits asks when that happens, with three answers: “After the scheduled end” — the default. A party is marked done a set time after its reservation’s end. Choosing it shows one more field, Wait after the scheduled end for … minutes — 15 minutes unless you change it, from 0 up to 1,440 (a day). The reservation’s end time is its start time plus the experience’s duration; turn time is not part of it. A 2:00 PM tasting that lasts 30 minutes, with the default 15-minute wait, ends by itself at 2:45 PM. “At the end of the day” — every party still on the floor is marked done at midnight, property time, or at its own end if that is later. Pick this when parties often linger and you would rather nobody’s visit closes while they are still at the table: Running over stays on the row all evening, so nobody is lost, and the day is tidied up overnight. “Never — staff press Complete” — a party stays under On property until someone completes it. Running over still shows after its end, as a reminder. Choose one and press Save.

​
What your team sees

  • Nothing announces it on a party that is on time — ending by itself is simply how visits work in your store, so no row or page carries a notice about it.
  • Once a party is past its end time it gets a Running over badge and a Still here button appears. In the admin, hover the badge to see when the visit will end (“Ends by itself at 2:45 PM”, or “Ends by itself at the end of the day”). On the Host Timeline and Map the same party gets an amber edge on its bar or table. After a Still here press, it is not running over again until that extra time has passed.
  • The Reservations tile in Shopify POS shows the same Running over badge on the party’s page, with Still here at the bottom.

​
Keep a lingering party: Still here

Press Still here when a party is running over but has not left. It moves their expected end out by 30 minutes — counted from now, or from their current end if that is later — and clears Running over until that time has passed. Press it again whenever they run over again; there is no limit. Still here works under all three answers:
  • After the scheduled end: the automatic end waits for the new time plus your wait.
  • At the end of the day: the visit still ends at midnight, unless the extra time runs past midnight — then it ends at the new time.
  • Never — staff press Complete: nothing ends by itself; Still here only moves the Running over reminder.
Still here does not stop online guests booking the table after the reservation’s original end time. The floor and the online calendar can disagree for a while; that is deliberate, so a lingering party never costs you a sale.

​
End a visit early: Complete

Press Complete on the Host list, on a reservation’s page, on the Timeline and Map panel, or in the Reservations tile in Shopify POS. A checked-in party can be completed without being seated first.

​
When it actually happens

Riserva ends overdue visits whenever someone opens the Host page, the Timeline and Map, or the Reservations tile in Shopify POS for that location, and once an hour in any case. A party nobody is looking at still ends within the hour after its time.

​
How you can tell a visit ended by itself

The reservation’s timeline never pretends someone pressed the button. It shows “Reservation completed” and “Visit ended automatically, 15 min after its expected end — nobody pressed Complete” (or, under At the end of the day, “Visit ended automatically at the end of the day — nobody pressed Complete”), both from System. A Still here press shows as “Still here — the visit runs on, the automatic end waits” with the name of whoever pressed it.

​
Never ending visits by themselves

Choose Never — staff press Complete and press Save. Parties then stay under On property until someone presses Complete, and the Running over badge no longer says when the visit ends. On the Host list the Running over badge and Still here still appear after a party’s end time, as a reminder to complete it.

​
No-shows

A party that never arrives stays on the Arriving list — Late ten minutes after its time — until someone presses No-show or checks it in. On a busy day nobody does, and the party stays Confirmed for ever: its table looks taken, and your no-show rate in Reports counts too few. No-shows asks whether Riserva should mark such a party itself, with three answers: “Never — staff mark no-shows” — the default. A party stays on Arriving until a host presses No-show or checks it in. “After the reservation time” — a party that has not checked in is marked a no-show a set time after its reservation’s start. Choosing it shows one more field, Wait after the reservation time for … minutes — 60 minutes unless you change it, from 0 up to 1,440 (a day). With the default, a party booked for 2:00 PM that has not checked in by 3:00 PM is marked a no-show. “At the end of the day” — every party still not checked in is marked a no-show at midnight, property time, after its reservation’s date (never before the reservation’s own start). Pick this when you only want the day’s books tidied up overnight; hosts can still mark one earlier by hand. Choose one and press Save.
Good to know A no-show is a stronger statement than a finished visit. Marking a party a no-show — by hand or by this setting — counts it in Reports, keeps the guest’s saved card on file (Riserva charges no no-show fee), and sends Klaviyo’s Riserva Reservation No-show event if Klaviyo is connected. If a Klaviyo flow emails the guest on that event, the automatic answer will send it for every party that never arrives.

​
What it touches, and what happens

Only reservations still Confirmed or Pending payment — parties that never checked in. A party that was checked in, seated, completed or cancelled is never touched. An automatic no-show is the ordinary No-show: the party leaves Arriving and appears under Done in the Reservations tile in Shopify POS, its table is freed on the Timeline and Map, a saved card is kept exactly as for a no-show a host pressed, Reports count it, Klaviyo receives the no-show event when it is connected, and Shopify Flow’s Reservation no-show trigger starts any workflow you built on it. Riserva does not email the guest. It happens at the same moments visits end by themselves: whenever someone opens the Host page, the Timeline and Map, or the Reservations tile in Shopify POS for that location, and once an hour in any case.

​
How you can tell a no-show was marked automatically

The reservation’s timeline shows “Marked as no-show” and then “Marked no-show automatically, 60 min after the reservation time — never checked in” (the number follows your setting) or, under At the end of the day, “Marked no-show automatically at the end of the day — never checked in”, both from System. It never pretends someone pressed the button.

​
When the guest walks in after all: Undo no-show

A no-show called too soon — by a host or by this setting — can be taken back. On the reservation’s page, press Undo no-show — the main button at the top, the only thing left to do on a no-show. In the Reservations tile in Shopify POS, open the party from the Done tab and press Undo no-show (“No-show undone”). The reservation goes back to Confirmed (or Pending payment, if that is what it was marked from), its no-show time is cleared, and you can check the party in as usual. The timeline reads “No-show undone — the party is back among those arriving”, with your name. Nothing refuses it: no money moves on a no-show.

​
If it’s refused

  • “Only a party on the property can stay longer.” — Still here works only for a party that is checked in or seated. The party was probably just completed, by someone else or automatically.
  • “The reservation changed a moment ago.” — someone or something changed the reservation at the same moment, so your tap was not applied. Reload and try again.
  • ”… has no times today at this venue — check the party in without moving, or move the reservation from its edit page.” — there is no slot today to move an early party onto. Check them in without moving, or move the reservation from its edit page.
  • “Today’s 2:00 PM time is full for a party of 4. You can seat them anyway — host’s call.” — the slot today is full. Press Seat them anyway to move them over its limit, or Check in without moving.
  • “This reservation is confirmed, so its no-show can’t be undone. Refresh the page to see where it stands.” — the reservation is no longer a no-show; someone probably undid it already, or checked the party in. Reload to see where it stands.