There are many factors to consider when determining how to manage Camp & Class Manager waitlists in conjunction with high demand programs that are likely to sell out quickly. In this article, we will review frequently asked questions around the various waitlist options available in CCM and what to consider based on unique business needs.
I’m considering using Auto-waitlists for one or more programs
- The Auto-waitlist feature is a great way to reduce staff overhead, specifically if you have high demand programs. Once a program has reached maximum capacity and the waitlist is enabled, the system will automatically send out invitations to waitlisted participants based on the criteria you select.
- If you have a high demand program, you may run into a situation where the waitlist is enabled before all spots are sold. This is to ensure you do not oversell your programs. For example: if you have 3 spots open for your program, and 3 users have the program added to the shopping cart, the inventory seen by others will be 0 and the waitlist will be enabled. Those registering on the waitlist will be captured in order based on the time the registration took place and email invitations will be sent automatically. The system automatically sends out the invites for this scenario twice per day (5am CT and 5pm CT).
- If opting for Auto-waitlists, it is recommended that participants are educated to understand that as spots open, email invitation to register will be sent, and they only have a specified number of hours, based on your unique configuration, to accept the invitation and register/make payment or decline the invitation.
I’m considering using standard Waitlists for one or more programs
- Standard waitlists may be beneficial if you would like more control over who will be transferred into the program when spots open.
- This involves a more manual process in which you will monitor programs for open spots, transfer participants into the program, and then communicate that payment is due.
- We recommend reaching out to your participants on the waitlist prior to transferring to ensure they still want to be moved into the program and remind them that they will need to make payment.
I’m considering turning the Waitlist option off for our initial launch and then turn it on once the program capacity is full
- This is an option to ensure your program is completely full prior to offering any waitlists.
- We recommend considering the parent experience before making this decision. For example, there is a chance a customer may try to register, but the session will show the program is full because other parents have the available inventory in their carts. If the parents with inventory in their cart ends up not registering, the inventory will be released, and the program will show spots available. This may result in the loss of a potential registration from the parent that saw the program is already full, and/or a parent that is registering after the inventory from the abandoned carts is released, may be able to register.
- The benefit is you will be able to fill every spot in your program prior to turning on the waitlist function, but you may have lost some eager and disappointed parents in the process.
Note: If you expect more than 500 people to come to your registration page at the time of launch, please contact our Support Team at least two weeks in advance so we can schedule to monitor your launch