Full sessions and empty places at the same time
Your Saturday under-eights at the main venue are always full. Parents ask to be put on the waiting list, and you write their names in a notebook or add them to a spreadsheet. A family leaves in October. You mean to call the next family on the list, but it is a busy week. By the time you do, they have joined another club. The next family has moved. The third says yes, but it is now November, and the place has been empty for weeks.
Meanwhile, your Tuesday session for the same age has spaces, and none of the waiting families know.
Why waiting lists do not work
- The list is separate from bookings, so a cancellation does not trigger anything.
- Offering a place means a phone call or message, which waits for a free moment.
- The list does not record what else a family would accept, such as another day or venue.
- Old entries are never removed, so the list is full of families who have moved on.
- Nobody can see demand across sessions, so you do not know where to add a group.
What an idle waiting list costs
Every empty place in a full session is income lost for every week it stays empty. Families on the list who are never contacted join other clubs, and some leave a poor review about being forgotten. The real demand for a new group or venue is hidden in a notebook, so you do not act on it.
The owner also spends time on awkward calls to families who waited months and then hear nothing.
A waiting list that offers places for you
- Parents join the waiting list online for a session, and say which other days, times or venues they would also accept.
- When a place opens, through a cancellation or a raised capacity, the next suitable family gets an offer by text and email with a link to accept.
- The offer has a time limit you set; if it lapses or is declined, the next family is offered.
- Families on the list for a full session are also told when a similar session they said they would accept has a space.
- Entries are checked every few months with a quick message asking if the family is still interested, and removed if not.
- You see demand by session, age group and venue, so you can decide where to add a group or a coach.
| Event | What happens | Who is told |
|---|---|---|
| Family joins the list | Preferences recorded | Family gets confirmation |
| Place opens | Offer to the next suitable family | That family |
| Offer accepted | Booking and payment | Family and coach |
| Offer lapses | Next family offered | Next family |
| Demand builds | Shown in your overview | Owner or manager |
The order is yours to set: first come first served, siblings first, or any rule you use now.
Places that fill themselves
A family cancels their Saturday place on Sunday evening. On Monday morning the next family on the list has an offer, accepts it on their phone, pays, and appears on the coach's register for Saturday. You find out from a notification, not a phone call.
At the end of term you look at the overview and see a long waiting list for under-eights at the main venue and a steady list for girls' sessions. You add a Sunday group, and the families on those lists are offered it first.
Is your waiting list working?
- Your waiting list is a notebook or spreadsheet.
- Places stay empty for weeks after someone leaves.
- Waiting families join other clubs before you call.
- You do not know how many families are waiting for each session.
- The list is full of families who have moved on.