How does the waitlist work?

The waitlist lets members queue for a class that's already full. Octiv promotes people from the waitlist automatically — but only within the class's booking threshold. Here's exactly how it behaves.

Joining the waitlist
When a class reaches capacity, a member trying to book is offered the waitlist instead; staff can also add someone manually. Members are placed in the order they join — first in, first out (FIFO). Members can join via the Octiv app, or a coach can waitlist them from the calendar. Leads and non-members can't be added to the waitlist.

When members are promoted — the booking threshold
Once someone is on the waitlist, Octiv watches for a booked member to cancel. Whether it promotes someone depends on the class's booking threshold, which sets how close to the start time automatic promotions are allowed:

• Example: an 18:00 class with a 2-hour threshold stops automatic movement at 16:00.
• If no threshold is configured, Octiv applies a 30-minute default cut-off (an 18:00 class stops at 17:30) — this prevents members being booked in moments before class starts.

What happens when someone cancels

• Before the cut-off: the first person on the waitlist is automatically booked in, receives a notification, and the booking appears in their calendar like normal. Everyone else moves up one place.
• After the cut-off: nothing happens automatically — even though a space now exists, no one is promoted. The space stays open, and staff can still book someone in manually.
• Nobody cancels: if no space opens before the cut-off, no one is promoted — the member isn't booked into the class, and their waitlist entry simply remains in the class's history.

Managing the waitlist (admin)
Go to Scheduling >> [Class] >> Waitlist >> View / Manage to see who's on the waitlist and, if a space opens, manually book someone in.

Why a member can't see their waitlist position
It depends on the "Show member names in class" setting: enabled — members see their position; disabled (often for privacy) — they can't. Members are still notified if they're moved into the class.

Key things to remember

• Automatic promotion only happens before the booking threshold (or the 30-minute default).
• Members are promoted first-in, first-out.
• A member is only notified if successfully moved in.
• If no space opens before the cut-off, the member is not booked in and their waitlist entry remains in the class history.
• A class can still have empty spots after the cut-off if cancellations happen too late — those aren't offered automatically, but staff can fill them manually.