How waitlists work when a class is full

A waitlist is a queue for a full class. When someone cancels, the system offers the empty place to the people in the queue, either automatically or after they confirm. How it does that varies, and the differences matter to your clients.

This page leans on Momence's help centre, which spells out its options clearly, plus feature lists from Mindbody and Glofox. All were checked on 5 November 2026.¹

Three ways to fill the place

Momence says that when a customer cancels from a full class, there are three options for the waitlist.¹

Momence adds some details for each.¹

• With first come, first served and double opt-in, people can see their place in line in their account. With fast fingers first they can't.
• In double opt-in, someone who takes more than 10 minutes to reply loses their chance and the next person is asked. The studio can change that time.¹
• If someone has no phone number on file, they're emailed instead.

If nobody in a double opt-in queue replies, the process doesn't loop back to the start. Momence says it "ends without looping back to the initial person" and stays idle until the next booking is cancelled.¹

The cut-off time

A last-minute offer isn't much use to someone who lives across town. So systems let you set a cut-off. Momence gives the example of an hour before class, after which nobody is added from the waitlist or asked.¹

That has a side effect. Momence says that if a cancellation happens after the cut-off, "this will result in no-one being added". An empty place just stays empty.¹

Mindbody's blog lists "configurable cutoff times that pause promotions close to class start" as something to look for.²

Questions for your own system

Mindbody's blog gives a short list of what strong waitlist features include.²

• Automatic promotion of the next client as soon as a spot opens
• Notifications by email, text or push notification
• Cut-off times that pause promotions close to class start
• Visible waitlist positions

Glofox's pages mention dynamic waitlists and automated waitlist confirmations, without saying exactly how the offers work. Ask the maker which model it uses.³

Staff controls

Staff can add a person to a waitlist from the point of sale or from the class page. Momence also lets staff drag waitlist sign-ups into a new order. It gives two reasons: someone is waiting at the studio, or a person asked to be added earlier and was missed.¹

When a class ends up overbooked

Waitlists can sit alongside a class that's too full. Momence says classes can end up overbooked if staff override the waitlist capacity or move a customer in from another class, which skips the usual limit.¹

Waitlists and late cancellations

A waitlist and a cancellation policy are separate settings, and each studio decides how they interact. Check your maker's help pages before you promise clients anything. The next page, on late cancels and no-shows, covers the fee side.

If you're a client rather than an owner, your studio's booking page or terms should say how its waitlist works.