Tickets Waitlist: Setup & Usage Guide

This documentation covers the setup, configuration, and usage of the EventON Tickets Waitlist addon. The addon enables waitlist functionality for sold-out event tickets, allowing customers to join a queue and receive automatic notifications when spaces become available (e.g., via refunds or admin stock adjustments).

Prerequisites

• EventON Plugin (version 4.9+)
• EventON Tickets Addon (for ticket integration)
• WooCommerce (for stock management)
• WordPress 6.4+
• PHP 8.2+

Installation

1. Download the addon ZIP from MyEventON.
2. Upload via WordPress Admin → Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
3. Activate the plugin.
4. Verify – Go to Plugins → look for “EventON – Tickets Waitlist” (active).

See How to install addons for more information.

Initial Setup

1. Enable Waitlist in EventON Settings

• Go to EventON → Settings → Tickets tab → Waitlist sub-tab.
• Set “Waitlist ticket hold time (hours)” (default: 24) – time reserved tickets stay locked.

2. Configure Settings

• Direct Checkout: Enable “Auto-add to cart and redirect to checkout” for faster purchases.
• Email Templates (optional):
  • Confirmation Email: Customize from Custom Waitlist Confirmation Email Template (uses {{name}}, {{email}}, etc.).
  • (Advanced) Template Override: You can copy email templates into {your-theme}/eventon/evotxw/ folder and customize the HTML structure of the emails.
• Preview Emails: Get a quick glance at how each email looks like with dummy content.

Per-Event Configuration

1. Create/Edit Event

• Go to Events → Add New or edit existing.
• In Event Tickets section:
  • Add a Simple Ticket (waitlist only supports simple products).
  • Set Stock Quantity (e.g., 10).
  • Save the ticket.

2. Enable Waitlist

• In the Waitlist section (below tickets):
  • Toggle “Enable Waitlist for this ticket” ON.
  • Set “Waitlist Size” (X for unlimited).
• Save Event.

Note: Waitlist is only available for simple, non-repeating events. Repeating events show a note: “Waitlist does not support repeating events.”

Frontend Usage (Customer Side)

1. Sold-Out Event

• Customers see “Sold Out” on the event card.
• Below: “Join the Waitlist” button (if enabled).

2. Join Waitlist

• Click button → Lightbox form opens:
  • First/Last Name (required)
  • Email (required)
  • Phone (optional)
  • Party Size (default: 1)
• Submit → Confirmation message + position (e.g., “#3”).
• Email sent automatically (customizable template).

3. Receive Offer

• When space opens (refund/admin stock increase):
  • First-come-first-served: First matching party size gets reserved.
  • 24-hour hold (configurable).
  • Email with “Tickets Available!” + purchase link.

4. Purchase Reserved Ticket

• Guests who received Space reserved email will be able to click special buy ticket link from the email.
• This link will unlock the reserved ticket for the guest, and they will be able to checkout.

Note: Once the reserved time is expired, the link will no longer allow guests to purchase tickets, and the tickets will be offered to another guest on waitlist or open to public.

Admin Usage

1. View Waitlist Entries

• Go to Events → Ticket Waitlist Entried (submenu).

2. Edit Entry

• Click entry → Meta Box: Guest info + status dropdown.
• Reserved Status:
  • Reserved At/Expiries: Timestamps.
  • Purchase Link: Opens event/ticket.
  • Buttons: Preview Email, Resend, Resend to New Email.
• Manage Reservation Emails
  • Preview: See email in lightbox.
  • Resend: Re-sends offer to original email.
  • Resend to New: Updates email + sends.

4. Waitlist Stats (Event Edit)

• In Waitlist Settings (event edit) click View Waitlist this will open a sidepanel with waitlist guests information.
  • Waitlist Entries: You can find guest name, edit waitlist entry post, party size and other guest information.
  • Email Waitlist: (Email Icon) will allow you to email the entire waitlist.
  • CSV Download: (file download icon) will let you download the waitlist guest data as CSV file.

5. Logs

• In Waitlist Settings (Event Edit) → (File Icon) View Log: Shows timeline of offers, expirations, resends.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Waitlist not showing	Enable in event → Waitlist → “Enable Waitlist for this ticket” ON.
No offers sent	Check cron (wp cron test) + settings → “Waitlist ticket hold time”.
Stock not unlocking	Validate token/email in query params.
Email not arriving	Check spam; test with wp_mail() debug.
Cron not running	Use WP Crontrol plugin to test evotxw_cleanup_reservations.