Digital waitlist for restaurants Nobody leaves just because they don't know how long it'll be
Guests sign up with a QR code, see an estimated wait that moves with real occupancy and get a WhatsApp when their table is ready. You serve; the queue orders itself.
- 1~3 min
García
2 guests
- 2~7 min
Rossi
4 guests
- 3~12 min
Pérez
3 guests
- 4~18 min
López
5 guests
Demo queue with fictional data. In your restaurant, the times come from real occupancy.
How the digital waitlist works: from QR code to a seated table
Plattio's waitlist is restaurant waitlist software, a virtual queue for the guests who turn up without a booking. They sign up by scanning a QR code, with no app to download. Your staff can add them from the dashboard too. Either way they get an estimated wait, worked out from the real occupancy of your dining room, plus a WhatsApp or SMS alert when their table is about to free up. It works on the same tables as the reservation book, so nothing gets promised twice, and it records how every wait ends.
Your table is ready 🎉 We're waiting for you
Table 8 · 4 guests · high chair ready
21:12Nobody had to shout a name across the terrace.
- 1~6 min
García
2Terrace
- 2~12 min
Rossi
6Dining room
- 3~20 min
Almeida
3Terrace
Meanwhile, on the host panel: García, Rossi and Almeida are already waiting.
Demo with fictional data. In your restaurant, times and alerts come from real occupancy.
This exact flow, with your tables and your peak hours, is what you'll see in the demo.
Priorities, timing and reservations: the host's judgment
The queue doesn't decide for you: it puts everything you need in front of you, so the call takes two seconds.
Priorities a notepad can't see
Every party carries its own notes in Plattio. A family with a high chair, an allergy, a regular. When a table frees up, your team decides with all of that in front of them, instead of following the order on a sheet of paper. The rule Plattio recommends: table compatibility first, then the time you quoted, then order of arrival.
An estimated wait that moves with your dining room
Plattio works out the estimated wait from the real occupancy of your dining room and recalculates it as service goes on. It's a range that keeps moving. Guests can go for a drink nearby, because they know the alert will reach their phone.
How to estimate wait times with judgmentOn the same board as your reservations
Plattio's waitlist and reservation book work on the same tables. Every opening is checked before it is assigned, and overbooking stays under control. No more promising the same table to the party in the queue and to the 9.30 pm booking.
A notepad by the door, or a virtual queue
The difference isn't in taking names: it's in what happens when a table frees up.
| Aspect | Notepad by the door | With Plattio |
|---|---|---|
| Signing up | A name on a sheet of paper and a wait on your feet by the door | QR code or your team's dashboard; guests wait where they like, with their place in the queue on their phone |
| The alert | Stepping outside to shout names, if the party is still around | Automatic WhatsApp or SMS when a table is about to free up |
| The table that frees up | It sits empty while you hunt for the next party | It goes to the right party, checked against your reservations |
Still on paper? Start with the waitlist template in CSV (in Spanish).
Every wait ends in data
Every wait closes with an outcome, and the Plattio dashboard turns those outcomes into real wait times and waitlist-to-table conversion. You stop quoting times from memory. The Plattio guide sets out the four closing states (seated, cancelled, no reply and walk-off) and how to record them.
Picture a 60-cover dining room on a Friday at 9.30 pm. Four tables for two are on dessert and a booking for four is due in 20 minutes. That is the range you would quote a couple, using the Plattio method: time left on the compatible table + clearing and setting + safety margin − recoverable gaps.
The 5 metrics and their formulas
What does every party that walks away cost you?
Rough revenue estimate: parties per week × 4.33 weeks × average spend. It assumes every one of those parties would have stayed; in practice you recover a share of them. Adjust it with your own figures.
Work out what unanswered calls cost you tooFrequently asked questions about the digital waitlist
Yes, with Plattio the guest scans a QR code at the door and signs up in their phone's browser, with no app to download. Your staff can add them from the dashboard too. They see an estimated wait straight away. When the table is nearly free, the alert arrives by WhatsApp or SMS.
A digital waitlist like Plattio's alerts the guest on its own, by WhatsApp or SMS. It also works out the estimated wait from real occupancy and keeps a record of how every wait ends. Paper does none of that. And because the list and the bookings sit in the same dashboard, people can wait outside without worrying about losing their place.
Plattio sends the alert by WhatsApp or SMS on its own, without anyone having to ring round. It goes out when the table is nearly free. No more stepping outside to shout names. Your team sees in the dashboard who was alerted and when. Bear in mind that SMS and WhatsApp messages are charged per message on top of your plan.
In Plattio the waitlist is integrated with the reservation book. The system knows which tables are committed and at what time. Overbooking stays under control, and you get a warning before you hand out a table that is already promised. A reservation guarantees a table at a set time; the waitlist orders everyone who turns up without one. Both live in the same floor dashboard.
See reservation managementPlattio works out the estimated wait from your restaurant's real occupancy, looking at which tables are taken and how long they have left. It recalculates as service goes on. If you would rather do the sums by hand, the Plattio guide publishes the full formula. There is a worked example for a 60-cover dining room.
See the formula in the guideA reservation guarantees a table at a set time; Plattio's waitlist orders the guests who turn up without one. It alerts them when their turn comes. The two don't compete. Most dining rooms run both at once, and in Plattio they share a dashboard without double-booking. The Plattio guide explains which one matters more, depending on the kind of venue.
Read the full guidePlattio records how every wait ends and turns it into real wait times, walk-offs and waitlist-to-table conversion. With those numbers you can tune the times you quote for each service. It all comes from your own venue.
See the metrics and their formulasThere is no universal figure for how long a guest will wait for a table, which is why Plattio doesn't publish walk-off benchmarks. It depends on the kind of venue, the time of day and whether the guest knows how much longer it will be. It does publish the formulas, so you can measure your own.
How to measure yoursPlattio's waitlist can be bought on its own from €29 a month billed annually, or it comes included from the Silver plan upwards. Alerts go out by WhatsApp, SMS or email. SMS and WhatsApp messages are charged per message on top. The 30-day trial doesn't include them.
See all plansUnlike a standalone queue app, Plattio's waitlist can see your reservations. It works on the same tables as the reservation book and warns you before you offer one that is already committed. A standalone app takes names and sends alerts. It has no idea which tables you've got promised for 9.30 pm, and it keeps no record of how each wait ends.
For a venue that only takes walk-ins, Plattio suggests looking at four things. Sign-up by QR code, with nothing for the guest to install. Automatic WhatsApp alerts. A wait estimate that recalculates with occupancy. And statistics on how each wait ends. Plattio's waitlist covers all four.
And if you start taking reservations, they slot into the same dashboardThe queue is one piece of Plattio. Connect it with:
Make the next rush work in your favour
Show us how people come through your door and we'll set the waitlist up on your real tables.