Table Hold helps you secure online bookings by temporarily reserving tables while customers complete the booking process. When a customer selects a date, time and promotion, if applicable, the system holds the table for five minutes to prevent availability loss during checkout. If the booking is not completed, the system releases the table automatically, ensuring availability remains accurate for other customers.
Test your new online booking process
Follow the steps below to view Table Hold in action:
Click Promote, then click Widget Configurator.
Click the Edit
icon next to your widget name.From the right pane, select your covers, date and time then click Next.
Select your promotion if applicable, then click Next.
? Note: A timer with information about how long your table is being held for will appear at the top of your widget window.
Once the timer starts it will behave as follows:
Table is held: Your table is currently being held as temporary reserved until you complete the reservation as normal.
Table hold is expired: Once the timer expires your customers won't be able to complete the reservation and will be advised to start a new booking.
⚠️ Important: The wording on the Table Hold message is not customisable, we recommend testing the flow following the instructions above to get familiar with those messages.
Review your held tables
Below you can find a list of actions you can take within our system to review your tables while they are being held:
You can identify table being held as they are in orange and called Table Hold.
Click Table Hold to see a list of information about that booking.
The table hold converts into a confirmed reservation once the customer completes the booking.
Review the reservation history for additional insight.
? Note: Customer information updates in real time as the reservation progresses. Date, time and promotion appear immediately, while customer details such as name, email and phone appear only after submission.
Report on your expired table hold
Complete the steps below to generate a report on expired table holds:
Click Reports, then click Expired Table Hold Report.
Complete the following options from the right pane:
Venue: Choose the diary from the list.
Date type: Report by booking date or visit date.
Date range: Select a range of dates.
Add filter then select it from the list to refine your report.
Click Run Report.
? Note: Click Edit columns you see and their order to choose the columns that appear on your report and organise their order. You can also click Export, then Export as CSV to download your report.