> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.riservahq.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What things mean: What your guests see

This page answers "what is my guest looking at?" for every guest-facing
surface: the two booking blocks on your online store, the cart and checkout,
the built-in manage-reservation page, every email Riserva sends a guest and
its calendar file, and the two Riserva cards inside your Shopify admin's
order and customer pages.

## Your online store › The blocks you can add

### Which Riserva blocks can I add to my theme?

There are two: **Experience booking** (a button or form for one experience,
usually on its product page) and **Experiences list** (a search bar and a grid
of bookable experiences, for a property or "Visit us" page). Both are app
blocks you add from the theme editor; there is nothing to switch on under App
embeds. The page guests use to manage a reservation is built in and needs no
block.

**See also:** [Add the booking widget to your theme](/getting-started/add-the-booking-widget)

### Why does my booking button say "Check availability"?

"Check availability" is the label the button uses when the block's **Button
label** setting is left blank. Type your own wording into that setting in the
theme editor to change it.

**See also:** [Add the booking widget to your theme](/getting-started/add-the-booking-widget)

### What is the difference between "Button that opens the booking window" and "Booking form shown on the page"?

With the button, guests click and the booking window opens over the page (full
screen on a phone). With the form, the same calendar and times sit directly in
the page, already open, without the window's title bar or close button. The
booking steps are identical either way.

### Why does the booking button look like my theme's buttons?

When **Accent color**, **Button corners** and **Button width** are left on
their defaults, the widget copies the colour, corner shape and width of your
theme's own buy button on the page. If there is no visible buy button to copy,
it uses Riserva's deep-wine colour and a centred button of comfortable width.
Anything you set in the block's settings always wins.

**See also:** [Add the booking widget to your theme](/getting-started/add-the-booking-widget)

### Why does my guest see "This product isn't set up for reservations yet — link it to an experience in the Riserva admin."?

The product page the block sits on is not the product of an **Active**
experience. That happens when the experience is still a Draft or Archived,
when the block is on an ordinary product, or when the experience is set to
Unlisted (private). Publish the experience, or move the block to the right
product.

**See also:** [Publish an experience](/getting-started/publish-an-experience)

### Why does my guest see "This experience isn't linked to a product yet — publish it from the Riserva admin."?

The experience has no Shopify product to put in the cart, so the reservation
cannot be added. Publish the experience (or retry the product sync from its
page) so Riserva creates the product.

**See also:** [Publish an experience](/getting-started/publish-an-experience)

### Why does my guest see "Sorry, we couldn't load availability. Please try again in a moment."?

The widget could not reach Riserva for the calendar or the search. It is
usually a passing connection problem, and asking the guest to try again a
moment later is the fix. A guest who simply searched too often sees a
different message: "That's a lot of searches in a short time — give it a
minute and try again."

**See also:** [Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/troubleshooting)

### What does "That's a lot of searches in a short time — give it a minute and try again." mean?

The same visitor searched the Experiences list more than 60 times in 10
minutes, so Riserva paused their searches for a moment. It protects your
store from automated traffic; an ordinary guest rarely meets it. Waiting a
minute and searching again is all it takes.

## Your online store › Experiences list

### What is the bar with "Date", "Time" and "Guests" at the top of the Experiences list?

It is the search bar. Guests pick a date, an optional time of day and a party
size, then press **Search** (picking a date searches straight away). With a
date chosen, the list shows only experiences with something open that day for
that party size.

**See also:** [What guests see, end to end](/guest-experience/what-guests-see)

### In what order are the experiences in the list?

In the order you set with **Reorder** on the Experiences page in Riserva.
Until you reorder, they are listed alphabetically, and a new experience lands
after the last one you ordered. The POS Book tile uses the same order.

**See also:** [Experiences and one-off events](/core-concepts/experiences-and-events)

### Can one Experiences list show only one location, or only some experiences?

Yes. Under the block's "Which experiences" header, "Only this location" takes
a location's name exactly as it reads in Riserva (capitals do not matter), and
"Only experiences tagged" takes one tag from the experiences' Organization
card. Blank shows everything. A location name Riserva does not know lists
nothing.

**See also:** [Add the booking widget to your theme](/getting-started/add-the-booking-widget)

### What does "No experiences match this block's location or tag settings yet." mean?

The block's "Only this location" or "Only experiences tagged" setting matches
no bookable experience. Check that the location name is spelled as it reads
in Riserva under Settings → Venues & floor maps, and that at least one active
experience carries the tag. Clear both settings to show every experience.

**See also:** [Add the booking widget to your theme](/getting-started/add-the-booking-widget)

### Why does the Experiences list already show today's date when it loads?

The block's **Preselected date** setting defaults to **Today**, so guests land
on live availability. Change it to **Tomorrow**, or to **No date — start
empty** if you would rather the list open without a date.

### What does "Add a date" mean?

No date is chosen yet. Every bookable experience is listed, without times, and
a hint reads "Pick a date to see each experience's open times." Once a date is
chosen the list narrows to what is open that day.

### What do "Morning", "Afternoon" and "Evening" cover?

Morning is before 12 PM, Afternoon is 12 PM up to 5 PM, and Evening is 5 PM
and later. A guest can tick any mix; the button then reads "Any time", the one
choice, or "2 selected". The filter only narrows the times already found, so
an experience with no time in the chosen part of the day drops out.

### Why can a guest pick up to 50 guests in the list's search, but fewer in the booking window?

The search bar's guest count is a filter across all experiences, so it allows 1
to 50. Experiences whose party range does not include that number are left out
of a dated search. Inside the booking window the count is limited to the
experience's own minimum and maximum party size.

**See also:** [Party size and visibility](/core-concepts/party-size-and-visibility)

### What is the line under an experience's name, like "Prepaid reservation for parties of 2 to 4 · 60 min"?

It is your experience's settings written as one sentence for guests: the party
range and the length of the visit. "Prepaid" appears only when the experience
has a price and charges at booking; a free or charge-later experience reads
plain "Reservation for…". The same sentence appears in your admin's
Experiences list.

**See also:** [Payment policies](/core-concepts/payment-policies)

### What does "\$85 per guest", "\$1,500 for the venue" or "Free" on a card mean?

It is the price of the experience. "Per guest" multiplies by the party size;
"for the venue" is one price for the whole group, used for whole-venue
buyouts; "Free" means booking costs nothing online.

**See also:** [Payment policies](/core-concepts/payment-policies)

### What does "3 times · 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM" on a card mean?

On the chosen date, the experience has three open start times, the first at
11:00 AM and the last at 3:00 PM, for the party size searched. With one time
open it reads "1 time · 2:00 PM". The guest picks the exact time after
pressing **Book**.

### Why does a card show a big letter instead of a photo?

The experience has no photo, so the card shows the first letter of its name as
a placeholder. Add a photo to the experience and the card uses it.

### What does the "Members only" label on a card mean?

The experience is set to Members only. A guest Riserva recognises as a member
sees the card with its times and can book. Everyone else sees the same card
and **Book** button with no times, and pressing **Book** opens a "Reserved for
members" notice with a way to join — unless you set the experience not to
show to non-members.

**See also:** [Party size and visibility](/core-concepts/party-size-and-visibility)

### Why does a members-only card show no times for a non-member?

Times for a members-only experience are never sent to a guest who is not a
recognised member, so the card shows none. Otherwise it looks like every
other card — full-colour photo, the "Members only" chip, name, description,
price and **Book**. To hide it from non-members entirely, untick "Show it to
non-members as locked, with a link to join" under Who can book on the
experience.

**See also:** [Party size and visibility](/core-concepts/party-size-and-visibility)

### What happens when a non-member presses "Book" on a members-only card?

The booking window opens on the members-only notice instead of a calendar: a
lock, "Reserved for members", your message, and your join button with
**Sign in**. Nothing in it books the experience. Set the message, the join
link, the button's words and which button leads under Settings → Memberships →
Members-only experiences.

**See also:** [Member benefits](/memberships/member-benefits)

### Why does a members-only card still show after a guest searches a date?

A members-only card stays in the results whatever the date and time of day,
with no times, so non-members keep seeing what membership offers. Members see
the real times.

### Why is one of my experiences missing from the Experiences list?

The list shows only Active experiences that guests can see. Draft and
Archived experiences never appear, and Unlisted (private) ones never appear.
Members only ones appear to recognised members as usual, and to everyone else
with no times and a **Book** button that opens the members-only notice —
unless "Show it to non-members as locked, with a link to join" is unticked on
the experience, in which case non-members do not see it.
The block's "Only this location" and "Only experiences tagged" settings also
leave out what they do not match. With a date chosen, an experience also
drops out when it has nothing open that day for the party size searched.

### What happens when a guest presses "Book" on a card?

By default the booking window opens on that experience, on the searched date
and party size. If the block's **Book button** setting is **Goes to the
product page**, the guest is taken to the experience's product page instead.

### What does "Nothing open that day — try another date or party size." mean?

No experience has an open time on the chosen date for that party size (after
any time-of-day filter). "No experiences match your search — try another date
or party size." is the same message when no date is chosen.

## Your online store › Booking window, step 1 (date and time)

### Why does the guest count start at 2, or at a different number?

The count starts at 2 and is then moved into the experience's party range, so
an experience for 6 to 12 starts at 6. The minus and plus buttons stop at the
experience's minimum and maximum party size.

**See also:** [Party size and visibility](/core-concepts/party-size-and-visibility)

### Why does the calendar shade some dates and not others?

A shaded date has at least one time a guest can book right now for the party
size shown. A date is left unshaded when it is in the past, has no schedule,
falls in a blackout period, is full, or has only times inside your online
booking cutoff. Changing the guest count re-checks every date, so a date can
shade or unshade when the party grows.

**See also:** [Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/troubleshooting)

### What does "Shaded dates are open for booking." mean?

It is the calendar's legend: the filled-in day chips are the ones with an open
time. Pale days with no fill cannot be picked.

### What is the thin ring around one day in the calendar?

It marks today. A day filled with your accent colour is the day the guest has
selected.

### What does "Checking availability…" under the calendar mean?

The widget is fetching the month's open times, for example after the guest
changed month or party size. The previous month stays on screen, dimmed, until
the new answer arrives.

### Why can't the guest go back a month?

The previous-month arrow is switched off on the current month, because no
earlier date can be booked.

### What does "Select a date to see available times." mean?

No date is chosen yet. Once the guest taps a shaded day, that day's open times
appear in its place.

### How does the guest see the times for a day?

As full-width rows showing the whole visit, start to finish, such as "4:30 PM
– 6:00 PM", in your store's 12-hour or 24-hour format. When two or more
venues run the experience that day, the times are grouped under each venue's
name. Full times are not listed at all.

### What does "3 left" next to a time mean?

Only three places remain at that start time. The note appears only when four or
fewer remain, and only for experiences that count places: Manual capacity, or
Open with a cap. Floor-map and whole-venue experiences never show it.

**See also:** [Capacity strategies explained](/core-concepts/capacity-strategies)

### Does the widget ever show "High demand" or "Sold out"?

No. The widget's only scarcity signal is "N left" when four or fewer places
remain. A full time is simply not listed, and a full day is not shaded.

### Why are the times shown without a time zone?

Times are your venue's local time and the widget does not print a time zone.
The emails do add one (for example "2:30 PM PDT"). If you sell to guests in
other time zones, say so in the experience description.

### What does "\[experience] isn't available that day — try another date." mean?

The chosen day has no open time for this party size. This mostly appears on a
sold-out today, which stays clickable when the storefront waitlist is on.

### What is the bar at the bottom saying "6:00 PM · party of 4" with "Continue"?

It keeps the guest's choice in view. Before a time is picked it reads "Select a
time to continue" and **Continue** is greyed out; after picking it shows the
time and party size, and **Continue** moves on to the details step.

### What does the guest see on a members-only experience if they are not a member?

A lock and "Reserved for members" instead of a calendar, then your message
from Settings → Memberships — or, when none is written, "This experience is
reserved for members of our wine club. Join to book it, or sign in if you're
already a member." Then the buttons: with a join link set, your join button
("Join to book" unless you changed the label) and **Sign in** — one big, the
other a quiet link under it, in the order chosen under "Which button leads".
Without a join link, only **Sign in**. A signed-in guest who is not recognised
also reads "This experience is available to members, and your account doesn't
currently have member access. Contact us if that doesn't look right." and
gets no **Sign in**. It opens from the card's **Book** and from the booking
button on the experience's product page.

**See also:** [Member benefits](/memberships/member-benefits)

### A member says they get "your account doesn't currently have member access". Why?

Riserva recognises a member by the Shopify customer tags you list as member
tags. Check that the guest's customer record carries one of those tags, and
that they are signed in with that same account.

**See also:** [Member benefits](/memberships/member-benefits)

## Your online store › Today's waitlist

### Why does my guest see "Today is fully booked, but tables open up."?

You have turned on **Settings › Reservations › Let guests join today's
waitlist online**, and the guest picked today, which has no open time. The
offer appears only for today at the venue, never on a future date, never on
a day closed by a blackout period, and never once today's last booking time
has passed — then the day is over, not full, and the window says only that
the experience isn't available that day. Turn the setting off to stop
offering it.

**See also:** [What guests see, end to end](/guest-experience/what-guests-see)

### Why is today clickable on the calendar when it has no open times?

With the storefront waitlist on, a sold-out today stays clickable so the guest
can reach "Join the waitlist" behind it. Other full days stay unclickable.

### What does the guest fill in to join the waitlist?

A **Name** and an **Email**, then **Add me to the list**. The party size is the
one already chosen in the window. The party appears on the same waitlist your
host stand and POS use.

**See also:** [Host view](/daily-operations/host-view)

### What does "You're on the list — we'll email you if a spot opens up today." mean?

The guest joined today's waitlist. They hear from you only when a host presses
**Notify** on their entry, which sends the "Your table is ready" email.
Joining twice with the same email at the same property does not create a
second entry.

### What does "Please enter your name and a valid email." mean?

The name is blank or the email does not look like an email address. The guest
fixes the field and presses **Add me to the list** again.

### What does "Sorry, we couldn't add you to the waitlist. Please try again." mean?

The join was refused. That happens when the day is no longer today at the
venue, the day is closed by a blackout, the setting was just turned off, or
the same visitor tried more than six times in 10 minutes. It can also be a
passing connection error.

## Your online store › Booking window, step 2 (details)

### What is "Change time" at the top of step 2?

It takes the guest back to the calendar and times to choose differently.
Answers already typed in step 2 are kept. The chosen date and time are shown
under it.

### What is "Add to your visit"?

It is the heading over your add-ons for this experience, such as a cheese
board or a bottle to take home. It only appears when the experience has
add-ons that are not hidden from guests.

**See also:** [What guests see, end to end](/guest-experience/what-guests-see)

### What does the "Add" button on an add-on do, and what is "Added ✓"?

**Add** adds an add-on priced per party or per guest; the button fills in and
reads "Added ✓", and tapping again removes it. Tapping anywhere on the card
does the same. The running total in the footer updates straight away.

### Why does one add-on have a minus/plus counter instead of "Add"?

Add-ons priced "each" let the guest choose how many, up to the maximum
quantity you set on the add-on (one, if none is set). The plus button greys
out at that maximum.

### What do "\$12 per guest", "\$40 per party" and "\$25 each" on an add-on mean?

"Per guest" adds one for every guest in the party automatically. "Per party"
adds one for the whole group. "Each" is priced per item and the guest picks
the quantity.

### What is the dropdown on an add-on card?

The add-on is linked to a product with several variants, and the dropdown
lists only the variants you chose, each with its own price. The **Add** button
or counter applies to the variant showing in the dropdown.

### What are the small labels with an "×" under an add-on's dropdown?

They are other variants of the same add-on the guest has already added, with
the quantity when more than one. The "×" removes that variant.

### What is the grey text under an add-on's price, and what do "More" and "Less" do?

It is the add-on's description, as you wrote it on the add-on in Riserva. The
card shows the first two lines; when there is more, a **More** button opens
the rest in place and **Less** folds it back. Tapping **More** never adds the
add-on. An add-on with no description shows nothing here. The widget's "Show
descriptions" setting does not hide it.

**See also:** [Add-ons](/core-concepts/add-ons)

### Why does an add-on card show a small photo?

The add-on's Shopify product has a photo, so the card shows a thumbnail of it.
An add-on without a photo shows no image.

### Why is a question marked with a red asterisk?

You marked that guest question as **Required**. The guest cannot reserve until
it is answered.

**See also:** [Intake questions](/guest-experience/intake-questions)

### What does "Please fill in “\[question]” to continue." mean?

The guest pressed **Reserve** without answering a required question. Nothing is
held until they answer it and press **Reserve** again.

**See also:** [Intake questions](/guest-experience/intake-questions)

### What do "Choose…", "Yes" and "No" in the questions mean?

"Choose…" is the empty starting value of a single-choice question's dropdown.
"Yes" and "No" are the two answers of a yes-or-no question.

**See also:** [Intake questions](/guest-experience/intake-questions)

### What is the "Special requests" box and the "0/500" under it?

A free-text box for anything the guest wants you to know, with "Allergies,
celebrations, accessibility needs…" as the example inside it. The counter
shows how many of the 500 allowed characters are used. What they write appears
on the reservation and in their emails.

### What is the small print about contact details and the "Privacy policy" link?

It reads "Contact details you share at checkout are used only to manage your
reservation." with a link to Riserva's privacy policy. It is a required notice
at the point a guest is about to hand over contact details.

### What does "Nothing is charged today. Your card is saved and charged \$X about 48 hours before your visit." mean?

The experience's payment policy saves the guest's card at checkout and charges
it later, here 48 hours before the visit. The amount is everything that will be
charged then, including add-ons that are charged with the reservation. For an
"At check-in" policy it reads "…charged \$X when you arrive."; for "At the
visit" it reads "…charged \$X at the end of your visit, unless you settle it at
the counter."

**See also:** [Payment policies](/core-concepts/payment-policies)

### What does "Some add-ons are charged today." mean?

On a charge-later experience, at least one chosen add-on is paid at checkout
instead of with the reservation's later charge. The amount in the sentence
before it covers only what is charged later. It means the add-on could not
join the later charge; retry the add-on's setup from the experience editor to
put it back.

**See also:** [Payment policies](/core-concepts/payment-policies)

### What does "Your visit is less than 24 hours away, so your card is charged today at checkout." mean?

The guest is booking inside the experience's charge window, so there is
nothing to wait for: they pay at checkout like an ordinary order and no card is
saved. If you would rather every reservation went through the later charge, set
**Advanced › Bookings made inside the window** to *Charge on the usual
schedule* in the experience's Pricing card.

### What does "Nothing is charged at checkout. Your visit is less than 48 hours away, so your saved card is charged \$X within about an hour of booking." mean?

The experience is set to *Charge on the usual schedule* for reservations made inside its charge window, and this reservation is inside it. The card is saved at checkout as always, and because the "N hours before" moment has already passed, the next hourly collection charges it — so the guest is told "within about an hour" rather than a date that is already behind them.

**See also:** [Payment policies](/core-concepts/payment-policies)

### What is the amount next to "Reserve"?

It is the total for this reservation: the price times the party size (or the
flat price for a whole-venue buyout), plus chosen add-ons. It reads "Free" when
the total is zero. On a charge-later experience it is still the full total,
even though nothing is charged today.

### What does "You have a reservation waiting in your cart that's billed later (…). Finish that checkout first, or remove it, then book this one." mean?

The guest pressed **Reserve** on a reservation that is billed later while their
cart already holds another billed-later reservation (the brackets name its date
and party). A saved card belongs to the whole order and is charged for the
whole order at once, so the two would be charged together on the first one's
date — Riserva asks for one billed-later reservation per checkout instead.
Nothing was added to the cart. Reservations paid at checkout and bottles never
trigger this.

**See also:** [What guests see, end to end](/guest-experience/what-guests-see)

### What do "Finish checkout" and "Remove it and continue" do?

**Finish checkout** takes the guest to checkout for the reservation already in
the cart, and gives back the time they had just picked. **Remove it and
continue** removes the reservation waiting in the cart — with its add-ons —
frees its time on your calendar, and adds the new one. If the removal fails the
window says "We couldn't remove it from your cart. Please try again, or open
your cart to remove it." and nothing changes. While this notice shows, the
window's **Reserve** button is hidden — these two choices are the only ways
forward — and it comes back once the guest has done one of them.

### What happens when the guest presses "Reserve"?

The button reads "Reserving…" while Riserva holds the time for them, then
"Adding to your cart…", and the guest lands on your cart page to check out.
The time is held for 12 minutes so nobody else can take it while they pay.

**See also:** [What guests see, end to end](/guest-experience/what-guests-see)

## Your online store › The hold and its 12 minutes

### Does my guest see a countdown while their time is held?

No. The time is held for 12 minutes after **Reserve**, but no timer is shown
anywhere, so nobody is rushed.

### What happens if a guest takes longer than 12 minutes to check out?

The hold lapses and the time goes back on sale, but the guest's checkout keeps
working. When they pay, the reservation is still created. If someone else took
the last places in the meantime, the reservation is marked **Overbooked** in
your admin for you to sort out, rather than being dropped.

### Why does the time my guest just put in their cart look unavailable when they come back to the widget?

Their cart now holds that time, so it counts as taken. To change it, the guest
removes the reservation from the cart and books again. Booking a second time
without removing the first puts two reservations in the cart.

### What does "Sorry, that time was just taken — here's what's still open." mean?

Between seeing the time and pressing **Reserve**, someone else booked or is
checking out for the last places (or the whole venue). The window goes back to
the calendar with fresh times so the guest can pick again.

### What does "That time can no longer be booked online. Please pick a later time or contact us." mean?

The time passed your **Online booking cutoff** while the guest was deciding (by
default, online booking closes 60 minutes before the start). Staff can still
book it by phone or at the register.

### What does "That party size can't be booked online for this time. Try a different party size or contact us." mean?

The party size is outside the experience's minimum or maximum. The guest can
change the guest count, or call you.

**See also:** [Party size and visibility](/core-concepts/party-size-and-visibility)

### What does "Sorry, we couldn't reserve that time. Please try again." mean?

The hold could not be made for a reason other than the time being taken. The
usual causes are a passing connection problem or a required question that did
not save. A guest who reserved too many times in a row sees a different
message: "That's a lot of reservations in a short time — give it a few minutes
and try again."

### What does "That's a lot of reservations in a short time — give it a few minutes and try again." mean?

The same visitor pressed **Reserve** more than 20 times in 10 minutes, so
Riserva stopped holding new times for them for a few minutes. It keeps one
visitor from tying up your calendar with holds; a guest booking normally never
meets it. Nothing was held or added to the cart, and the guest can try again
after a few minutes.

### What does "We reserved your time but couldn't add it to the cart. Please try again." mean?

Your store's cart refused the reservation or an add-on, and Riserva gave the
held time back straight away. A common cause is an add-on product that is a
draft or not on the Online Store sales channel; the add-on's card in the
experience editor shows a warning when that is the case.

## Cart and checkout

### What does my guest see on the reservation line in the cart?

The experience's product with these details under it: **Experience**,
**Location** (property — venue), **Date**, **Time**, **Party size**, and
**Special requests** when they wrote some. Riserva also attaches hidden
details guests never see, which is how the order becomes a reservation.

**See also:** [What guests see, end to end](/guest-experience/what-guests-see)

### Why is the reservation line's quantity 4 for a party of 4?

A priced, per-person experience is one item per guest, so Shopify prices it as
price times party size. A whole-venue buyout and a free experience are always
quantity 1.

### What are the extra lines with "Add-on:" under them?

Each chosen add-on is its own cart line, labelled "Add-on" with its name. A
per-person add-on has the party size as its quantity.

### What is "Billed 48 hours before your visit" next to a cart line?

It is the name of the charge-later option Riserva put on the line. It says
when the saved card will be charged: "Billed N hours before your visit",
"Billed when you check in", "Billed at the end of your visit", or "Billed
before your visit" if no lead time is set. It never says "deposit", because nothing is taken at checkout.

**See also:** [Payment policies](/core-concepts/payment-policies)

### Why doesn't checkout ask my guest for a shipping address?

Riserva marks reservation products as services that do not ship, so Shopify
skips shipping for them. An add-on that is one of your shippable products
still asks for shipping as usual.

### Why does checkout offer fewer payment methods for some experiences?

When a reservation saves the card to charge later, checkout does not offer
Shop Pay, Apple Pay or local payment methods, because those cannot be saved
for a later charge. Experiences charged at booking, and charge-later reservations
made inside the charge window, pay normally with every method.

**See also:** [Payment policies](/core-concepts/payment-policies)

### What does "Your reservation for \[date] had already passed, so we removed it from your cart." mean?

Shopify keeps cart lines for days, so a guest can come back to a reservation
whose visit has already started. When a page with a Riserva block loads, the
booking window checks the cart once and removes any such reservation, with its
add-ons, then shows this note at the bottom of the screen for about ten
seconds (the guest can close it with "×"). Nothing was charged for the removed
reservation; the guest books a new date if they still want to come. It never
happens inside the theme editor.

### What does "Your reservation for \[date] has passed — remove it from your cart to continue." at checkout mean?

The guest's cart still holds a reservation for a day that is already over,
and your store's checkout rule "Check reservations at checkout" stops
the checkout until it is removed. The guest removes that line from the cart
and checks out the rest. The rule looks at the visit's date in your store's
time zone, so a visit later today still checks out, and payment links you send
for money owed after a visit are never blocked. Riserva turns the rule on by
itself; you find it, and can switch it off, at the bottom of Shopify's
Settings › Checkout under Checkout rules.

## The manage-reservation page

### What does "Quantity is set by the reservation (4 guests). Change the party size by booking again." mean?

The guest changed the quantity of a reservation in their cart. A reservation's
quantity always matches its party (1 for a whole-venue price or free entry),
so the booking window sets it back, on page load or right after a cart-drawer
change, and shows this note for about ten seconds. To change the party size,
the guest books again. It never happens inside the theme editor, and bottles
and add-ons are never touched. On a page without a Riserva block, the checkout
rule catches it instead.

### What does "This reservation is for 4 guests — set its quantity back to 4, or book again for a different party." at checkout mean?

The guest's cart holds a reservation whose quantity was changed. Your checkout
rule "Check reservations at checkout" stops the checkout until the
quantity matches the party again. Payment links are never stopped.

### Where is the page my guests use to manage a reservation?

It is built into your store at `/apps/bookings/manage`, shown inside your
theme, from the day you install. Every guest email's **Manage your
reservation** link opens it on that guest's own reservation, with nothing to
type.

**See also:** [Guests managing their own reservations](/guest-experience/guest-self-serve)

### What does "Manage your reservation" with code and email fields mean?

The guest arrived without their personal link, so the page asks for the
**Reservation code** and the **Email address** the reservation was booked
with, both from their confirmation email. Both must match.

**See also:** [Guests managing their own reservations](/guest-experience/guest-self-serve)

### What does "That link has expired. Enter your reservation code and email instead." mean?

The personal link in the email stops working 14 days after the visit (or was
damaged in copying). The guest can still get in with their code and email.

### What does "We couldn't find a reservation with that code and email." mean?

The code and email do not match one reservation together. The page gives the
same answer for a wrong code and a wrong email, on purpose, so nobody can probe
for other guests' reservations. A reservation with no email on file cannot be
found this way at all.

### What does "Too many attempts — please wait a minute and try again." mean?

The same visitor tried more than 15 times in 10 minutes. It protects your
guests' codes from being guessed; the guest waits and tries again.

### What is on the "Your reservation" page?

The experience photo, the reservation code, the experience name, the date and
time, **Where** (venue — property), **Party**, and **Paid** when money was
paid. Under that is the refund policy in one sentence (left out on a free
reservation, where nothing was paid), then whichever of **Change date or
time** and **Cancel this reservation** your policy allows.

**See also:** [Guests managing their own reservations](/guest-experience/guest-self-serve)

### What is the sentence like "Full refund until 2 days before your visit; no refund after that."?

It is your cancellation policy's refund schedule, written for guests. Other
forms are "All sales final — no refunds." and "No refunds when cancelling." It
is the same sentence shown in Settings › Policies and in the confirmation
email.

**See also:** [Set your cancellation policy](/getting-started/cancellation-policies)

### What does "Cancel this reservation — refund 50% (\$42.50)" mean?

It is the cancel link, with the refund the guest would get if they cancelled
right now under your policy: the percentage, and that share of what they paid
(add-ons included). It only appears when your policy lets guests cancel online
and any online cancel cutoff has not passed. When the guest paid but the
policy refunds nothing today, the link reads just "Cancel this reservation"
with "No refund applies under the cancellation policy." under it; on a free
reservation it is the plain link with nothing about refunds. It never reads
"refund 0% (\$0.00)".

**See also:** [Cancellations and refunds](/daily-operations/cancellations-and-refunds)

### What does "No refund applies under the cancellation policy." under the cancel link mean?

The guest paid for this reservation, but your refund schedule gives nothing
back if they cancel today, so the cancel link shows no amount and this line
explains why. A free reservation never shows it, because nothing was paid.
To refund anyway, cancel from the reservation page in Riserva, where staff can
override the policy.

**See also:** [Cancellations and refunds](/daily-operations/cancellations-and-refunds)

### Why do my guests not see a cancel or change option?

Your policy does not allow it right now, and the page says so instead:
"Online changes are closed for this reservation. Please contact the winery.",
"The time can no longer be changed online. Please contact the winery to move
it.", or "Cancellation is handled by the winery — please get in touch." The
causes are self-service being off in the policy, an online cutoff having
passed, or, for a change of time, the refund window having closed.

**See also:** [Set your cancellation policy](/getting-started/cancellation-policies)

### Why can't a guest change the time once their refund window has closed?

Otherwise a guest past the refund deadline could move the visit far out and
cancel from there for a refund. On refundable policies, changing the time
online is allowed only while a refund is still available. A policy that never
refunds lets guests move until your reschedule cutoff, or right up to the
visit.

**See also:** [Guests managing their own reservations](/guest-experience/guest-self-serve)

### What does the guest see when they press "Change date or time"?

A page headed "Change date or time" showing "Currently \[date and time] · party
of N", a month calendar, and "Pick a day with open times, then a time. Your
party size stays the same." Days with an outlined border have open times, the
current reservation's day is bold and underlined, and the picked day is
filled. After choosing a time, **Move my reservation** applies it.

### What does "No times are open that day for a party of 4." mean?

The day the guest picked has no time open for their party size. They cannot
change the party size online, so they pick another day or contact you. The
guest's own reservation is not counted against the times, and a guest who
booked as a member is treated as one, so this is not caused by their own
booking or a members-only setting.

### Can a guest change their party size or experience online?

No. Online, a guest can move only the date and time of the same experience,
for the same party size. Staff can change all three from the reservation's
Edit page.

**See also:** [Edit a reservation](/daily-operations/edit-a-reservation)

### What does "Your reservation has been moved. A confirmation is on its way." mean?

The move worked. The reservation keeps its code, details and order, and the
guest is sent the "Reservation rescheduled" email with an updated calendar
file.

### What do "That time just sold out." and "Pick a time first." mean on the change page?

"That time just sold out." means the time filled up while the guest was
choosing; they pick another. When the time is refused for another reason the
message names it, for example "Online reservations have closed for that
time." (the online cutoff passed) or "That experience is for members only.",
and "That time is not available." covers anything else. "Pick a time first."
means they pressed **Move my reservation** without choosing a time.

### What does "This reservation can no longer be changed online." mean?

By the time the guest pressed move, your policy no longer allowed an online
change, for example because a cutoff or the refund window had just passed.
They need to contact you; staff can still move it.

### What does "The reservation changed while moving it — refresh and retry." mean?

Someone, often staff, changed the same reservation at the same moment. The
guest reloads the page and tries again.

### What does the guest see when they cancel?

A confirmation page that states the refund first ("Under the cancellation
policy you'll be refunded 100% (\$150.00).", or "No refund applies under the
cancellation policy." when the guest paid and nothing is refundable; a free
reservation gets no refund line at all), then "Why are you cancelling?" with your reasons, an
optional note, and two buttons: **Cancel reservation** and **Keep
reservation**.

### Where do the cancellation reasons my guests pick from come from?

From **Settings › Policies › Cancellation reasons**. Out of the box they are
"Change of plans", "Travel or weather", "Found another option", "Booked by
mistake" and "Other". Guests must pick one; empty the list and the question is
not asked.

### What does "Please pick a reason." mean?

The guest pressed **Cancel reservation** without choosing a reason. Nothing was
cancelled; they choose one and press it again.

### What does the guest see after cancelling?

"Your reservation has been cancelled." with one money line: "Your refund of \$X
is on its way to your original payment method." when the refund went through,
"Your refund of \$X will be processed by the winery." when it could not be made
automatically, or "Under the cancellation policy, no refund is due for this
reservation." when they paid and the policy refunds nothing. A free
reservation shows no money line. They are also sent the "Reservation
cancelled" email.

### My guest's page says "Your refund … will be processed by the winery." What do I do?

The refund could not be sent automatically, for example because there is no
order to refund or Shopify refused it. Open the reservation in Riserva: the
Payment card shows the refund still owed, with **Retry** and **Mark handled**.

**See also:** [Cancellations and refunds](/daily-operations/cancellations-and-refunds)

### What do the messages like "This reservation has been cancelled." on the manage page mean?

Only a Pending payment or Confirmed reservation can be changed online, so any
other reservation shows one line instead: "This reservation has been
cancelled.", "This visit has already happened — thank you for coming." (checked
in, seated or completed), or "This reservation was marked as a no-show."

### Can I send guests to my own page instead of the built-in one?

Not from Riserva's settings: every guest email's **Manage your reservation**
button opens the built-in page at `/apps/bookings/manage`, with the guest's
personal link. There is no setting in Settings › Emails that points it
somewhere else. To add your own contact details, write them in the email's
wording under Settings › Emails or in the experience's "Good to know" note.

**See also:** [Email settings](/guest-experience/email-settings)

## Guest emails

### Which emails does Riserva send my guests?

Reservation confirmed, Pre-visit reminder, Reservation rescheduled,
Reservation cancelled, Payment failed (charge-later only), and "Your table is
ready" for the waitlist. Each can be switched off or re-worded in Settings ›
Emails. Payment due is listed there with "Not sending yet" and is not sent.
New reservation alert goes to your team, not guests, when a reservation is
made online.

**See also:** [Customer emails](/guest-experience/customer-emails)

### Why did my guest get the "Reservation confirmed" email?

It is sent when an online checkout becomes a confirmed reservation, including a
charge-later checkout that took \$0, and when your team books a Phone
reservation in the admin or books on the POS register with the guest's email
on it. Paying a payment link sends nothing extra. The subject reads "Reservation confirmed — \[experience], \[date and
time]".

**See also:** [Customer emails](/guest-experience/customer-emails)

### Why didn't a reservation I booked by phone or at the register send a confirmation?

It sends only when the reservation has an email address, and in the admin
only when the channel is Phone: a Walk-in gets none, and neither does a party
seated from the waitlist. Check too that "Reservation confirmed" is switched on
in Settings › Emails. Paying a payment link later sends nothing extra. When no
confirmation goes out, give the guest the date, time and reservation code
yourself.

### Why didn't my guest get a confirmation for an order paid after the visit?

When an online order arrives after the visit it was for has already ended —
for example a reservation left in a cart for days and paid later — Riserva
still creates the reservation, so the money is never lost, but it does not
send the guest a confirmation for a date that is gone. The reservation wears a
red "Booked after its time" badge and sits in the **Needs attention** tab.
Move it to a new date with **Edit reservation**, which sends the guest the
"Reservation rescheduled" email, or cancel it to refund them.

### What is in the confirmation email?

A greeting by first name, a one-line summary, and a details card with
**Date**, **Time** (with time zone), **Party**, **Confirmation code** and
**Location**. Below it, when they apply: your experience's "Good to know"
note, "Added to your visit" (add-ons), "Your notes" (special requests),
"Payment" (charge-later line) and "Cancellation policy". It ends with a
**Manage your reservation** button and a calendar file attached.

**See also:** [Customer emails](/guest-experience/customer-emails)

### What does "Nothing was charged today. Your card is saved and will be charged \$119.99 on Sun, Sep 20 at 9:00 AM PDT." mean?

The reservation saved the guest's card at checkout. The line names the amount,
add-ons included, and the moment collection starts, in the venue's time zone;
the charge itself can land up to an hour later. For an "At check-in" policy it
ends "…when you check in."; for "At the visit" it ends "…at the end of your
visit (the entry fee can be settled at the counter instead)." — or, once the
fee was settled at the counter or waived, it names only the add-ons still on
the card. The line appears only while the card really is saved and unpaid.

**See also:** [Payment policies](/core-concepts/payment-policies)

### Why did my guest's confirmation arrive about a minute after checkout?

For a reservation that saves the card to charge later, Shopify confirms the
order about a minute after checkout and only then tells Riserva. Ordinary paid
orders arrive within seconds. Nothing is wrong.

### What is the "Pre-visit reminder" and when does it go out?

A short "a quick note before your visit" email with the same details card,
sent once in the 24 hours before the visit to Confirmed reservations with an
email address. It goes out within about an hour of entering that window, so a
reservation made for tomorrow morning can get its reminder soon after the
confirmation. Its subject reads "Reminder — \[experience], \[date and time]".

**See also:** [Customer emails](/guest-experience/customer-emails)

### Why did my guest get a reminder I didn't expect?

Either the visit entered its 24-hour window, or a staff member chose **Send
reminder email** on the reservation page. A staff-sent reminder counts as the
reminder, so the automatic one is not sent again.

### Why did my guest not get a reminder?

The automatic reminder needs a Confirmed reservation with an email address, and
is sent only once. It is skipped when the reservation was cancelled first,
has no email, is still Pending payment, already got a reminder, or when the
Pre-visit reminder is switched off in Settings › Emails. The reservation's
timeline shows a skipped or failed email.

**See also:** [Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/troubleshooting)

### Why did my guest get the "Reservation rescheduled" email?

The reservation moved to a new date, time or experience, whether the guest
moved it online or staff moved it. The card shows the new details with a
greyed **Previously** row, and an updated calendar file replaces the old
event. It closes with "Your confirmation code hasn't changed."

**See also:** [Customer emails](/guest-experience/customer-emails)

### What do "Amount due", "Balance", and "Refund" in a rescheduled email mean?

They appear only when the move changed the money. "Amount due" and "Balance"
mean the reservation now costs more and the difference is owed. "Refund" means
money is going back to the guest's original payment method.

### What does "Your card is still saved and will now be charged \$X on…" mean?

The reservation charges its saved card later, and the move changed when. The
line gives the new amount and the new moment collection starts.

### Why didn't my guest get a rescheduled email when they arrived early?

When staff check in an early party with **Move to now and check in**, no email
is sent, because the guest is standing in front of you. The timeline records
the email as skipped.

### Why did my guest get the "Reservation cancelled" email?

The reservation was cancelled: by the guest online, by staff in Riserva, or by
cancelling its order in Shopify. A **Refund** row and note appear only when
money is actually going back, with "Most banks post it within 5–10 business
days."

**See also:** [Cancellations and refunds](/daily-operations/cancellations-and-refunds)

### Does cancelling remove the visit from my guest's calendar?

No. The cancellation email carries no calendar file, so the event the guest
added from their confirmation stays until they delete it.

### Why did my guest get "Payment issue with your reservation"?

This is the "Payment failed" email. Riserva tried to charge the guest's saved
card and the card was declined, expired or removed. It tells the guest
"your reservation is still held" and states the amount owed (also in an
"Amount due" row). When the email carries a payment link it has a **Pay now**
button; otherwise it closes with "We'll be in touch to arrange payment, or
contact us by replying to this email." — so plan to reach out, or send a
payment link from the reservation page. The reservation shows
**Payment due** in your admin, where you can retry, send a payment link, or
collect at the visit.

**See also:** [Payment policies](/core-concepts/payment-policies)

### A charge failed but my guest got no email. Why?

Riserva emails only when it knows the card was refused. When Shopify never
reported the outcome, the reservation still becomes **Payment due** for you,
but the guest is not told their card failed, since it may in fact have worked.

### Why did my guest get "Your table is ready"?

A host pressed **Notify** on their waitlist entry. The email gives the party
size, where to go, and a "Held for" row reading "10 minutes", and asks them to
make their way to the host stand. Pressing **Notify** twice sends it only once.

**See also:** [Host view](/daily-operations/host-view)

### Why does an email greet my guest as "Hi there"?

The reservation has no guest name, so the greeting falls back to "there".
Otherwise it uses the first word of the guest's name.

### Why does an email's banner show my experience's photo?

Each experience's photo is used as the banner of its own emails automatically.
You can switch that off, or set one banner for all emails, in Settings ›
Emails. The waitlist email uses only the shared banner.

**See also:** [Email settings](/guest-experience/email-settings)

### What is the "Good to know" section in my guest's email?

It is the note you wrote in the experience's "Good to know" email field, such
as parking or dress code. It appears in the confirmation, reminder and
rescheduled emails for that experience.

### Why didn't my guest receive an email at all?

There is no email on the reservation, the email is switched off in Settings ›
Emails, or delivery failed. Every attempt is recorded on the reservation's
timeline as sent, skipped or failed, so check there first.

**See also:** [Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/troubleshooting)

### What is the winery name at the bottom of my emails?

It is the reservation's property (location) name, or a tidied version of your
store address when there is none. It also names the calendar event.

**See also:** [Customer emails](/guest-experience/customer-emails)

## The calendar file (reservation.ics)

### What is the "reservation.ics" file attached to my guest's email?

It is an add-to-calendar file. Opening it adds the visit to the guest's
calendar as "\[experience] — \[winery]", with the reservation code and party
size in the notes, the venue, property and street address as the location, and
the manage link. It comes with the confirmation and rescheduled emails only.

### How long is the calendar event?

As long as the experience's duration, or one hour if no duration is set. It
starts at the reservation time, shown in the guest's own calendar time zone.

### Why doesn't a reschedule create a second calendar event?

The rescheduled email's file is marked as an update of the same event, so most
calendar apps move the existing event instead of adding another.

## Your Shopify admin › Order page card

### What is the "Riserva reservation" card on an order?

It shows the reservation this order created or paid for (a payment link's
order, or a register sale that settled a balance): the reservation code (a link
into Riserva), a status badge, the experience, date, time, party size, venue
and property, and the guest's name. It appears once you add the Riserva block
to your order page.

**See also:** [Reservation page](/daily-operations/reservation-page)

### What does "No reservation is linked to this order." mean?

This order neither created a reservation nor paid towards one, which is
normal for wine orders. An order that paid for an existing reservation later,
such as a payment link's order or a balance settled at the register, shows
that reservation instead.

### What do the coloured status badges on the order and customer cards mean?

They are the reservation's status, in the same colours as inside Riserva:
"Pending payment" (yellow), "Confirmed" (grey — the ordinary state of an
upcoming reservation wears no colour), "Checked in" (blue), "Seated" (green),
"Completed" (grey), "No-show" (orange) and "Cancelled" (red).

**See also:** [Reservation page](/daily-operations/reservation-page)

### What does "Couldn't load reservation details. Refresh to try again." mean?

The card could not reach Riserva. Refresh the page; if it persists, open the
reservation from Riserva directly.

### What are "Riserva billing" and "Riserva reservation" under an order's additional details?

They appear on orders that saved the card to charge later. "Riserva billing"
says when, such as "Saved card is charged from Sun, Sep 20, 2026 at 9:00 AM PDT
(within the hour)", "Saved card is charged when the party checks in" or, for
an "At the visit" experience, "Saved card is charged when the visit is closed
out (or it is settled at the register)". Once the register settles that fee
or it is waived, it reads "Entry fee settled at the register or waived — DO
NOT collect the remaining balance; the saved card is not charged".
"Riserva reservation" links to the reservation in Riserva. Both are rewritten
when the reservation moves.

When one checkout carried several billed-later reservations, there is one
"Riserva reservation RES-…" line per reservation, each linking to its own, and
"Riserva billing" reads "Saved card is charged once for RES-… and RES-…
together, from …" — the card belongs to the order, so it is charged once, at
the first reservation's moment, for all of them.

### Why is my reservation order tagged "riserva-booking" and "RES-…"?

Riserva tags every order tied to a reservation with "riserva-booking" and the
reservation code, so you can filter and search for them in Shopify.

## Your Shopify admin › Customer page card

### What is the "Riserva reservations" card on a customer?

It lists that customer's upcoming reservations, soonest first, up to five,
each with its code (a link into Riserva), status badge, experience, date, time,
party size and place. "Upcoming" means a future visit that is not cancelled or
a no-show.

### What does "No upcoming reservations." mean?

This customer has no future reservation linked to their customer record. Past
visits are not listed here, and a reservation booked under a typed-in name
without linking the Shopify customer will not show.

### What does "More upcoming reservations are in Riserva." mean?

The customer has more than five upcoming reservations; the card shows the first
five. Search for the customer in Riserva's Reservations list to see them all.

**See also:** [Reservations list](/daily-operations/reservations-list)

### What does "Book reservation" on the customer card do?

It opens Riserva's availability search to book a new reservation. It does not
fill the customer in for you; choose them at the last step.

**See also:** [Book a reservation](/daily-operations/book-a-reservation)

## Private (Unlisted) experiences

### Why can't guests find or book my Unlisted experience online?

That is what Unlisted means: the experience is for private events and staff
reservations. It never appears in the Experiences list, and its product page shows
"This product isn't set up for reservations yet…". Book these guests from the
admin or POS.

**See also:** [Party size and visibility](/core-concepts/party-size-and-visibility)


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