Host Station
Host Station is the single screen a host works from all night — it combines tonight's reservations, the walk-in queue and a live, colour-coded table grid so a party can be seated in one click without jumping between separate reservation, waitlist and table screens.
Overview
The left column shows two lists: "Tonight's Reservations" (all of today's bookings that are not yet SEATED, sorted by time, with Confirmed/Pending/Late badges and a one-click "Seat" button) and the "Walk-in Queue" below it (parties waiting without a booking).
The right column is a live table grid grouped by section; a pax filter (All / 2+ / 4+ / 6+ / 8+ / 10+) narrows the grid to tables that fit a given party size.
Clicking "Seat" on a reservation or walk-in, or the "+ Seat" button on a free table, opens a Seat Party dialog that splits available tables into "Best fit" (capacity within 2 seats of the party size) and "Larger tables" so you naturally pick an appropriately sized table first.
Adding a walk-in only requires a party size — if you leave the name blank it is saved as "Walk-in (N)" where N is the party size; a note field is available for things like "high chair" or "outdoor".
An estimated average wait time is shown above the Walk-in Queue, calculated from how much longer currently-occupied tables are expected to be busy (based on a 75-minute average dining time) plus the length of the walk-in queue itself.
Releasing an occupied table sets it to "Cleaning" (not directly back to Available) and records a cleared time in the seating log at the bottom of the page.
The bottom "Today's Seating Log" table lists every seat/release pairing for the day — party, pax, table, seated time, and either a running "still dining" duration or the total duration once cleared.
The whole page auto-refreshes its data every 30 seconds.
Before You Start
- You must have the Billing feature enabled on your plan.
- Table Management must have tables set up (with sections and capacities) for the table grid and pax filter to be useful.
Step-by-Step Guide
1 Seat a reservation on arrival
- Open Host Station — the guest's reservation appears in "Tonight's Reservations", possibly flagged "Arrived" or "in Xm" as their slot approaches.
- Click "Seat" on their row.
- Pick a table from "Best fit" (or "Larger tables" if none fit exactly) in the Seat Party dialog and confirm.
- The table turns Occupied, the reservation is marked SEATED with its table number, and a new row is added to today's Seating Log.
2 Add and seat a walk-in
- Under "Walk-in Queue", click "+ Add Walk-in".
- Enter a name (optional), party size and any note, then "Add to Queue".
- When a suitable table frees up, click "Seat" next to the party in the queue and choose a table in the dialog.
3 Release a table after the bill is paid
- Find the occupied table in the grid on the right and click "Release".
- Confirm the prompt — the table moves to "Cleaning" status and the seating log entry for that party is closed with a cleared time.
- Once the table is physically reset, change its status onward from Table Management or the table grid on another screen.
Every Field & Button, Explained
| Field / Button | What it does |
|---|---|
Reservation status badges | Seated (green), Late (red, shown when the reservation's status is explicitly LATE), Arrived (amber, when the booked time has passed), "in Xm" (amber, within 15 minutes of arrival) or the plain booked time otherwise. |
Pax filter | Filters the visible table grid to tables whose capacity is at least the selected number; does not affect the reservation or walk-in lists. |
Best fit vs Larger tables | In the Seat Party dialog, "Best fit" shows available tables with capacity within 2 seats of the party size; "Larger tables" shows everything else that still fits, so oversized tables aren't hidden but are visually deprioritised. |
Walk-in Note | Free text carried with the walk-in queue entry (e.g. seating or accessibility needs) — shown alongside their wait time in the queue. |
Seating Log duration | While a table is still occupied, shows elapsed time with a live-dot marker; once released, shows the final total duration from seated to cleared. |
Tips & Best Practices
- Use the pax filter before opening the Seat Party dialog for a large party — it narrows the visible grid so you don't have to scan every section for a big enough table.
- Leaving the walk-in name blank is fine for a quick add during a rush — "Walk-in (4)" style names are perfectly usable and can be corrected later if needed.
- Release a table as soon as the party leaves, even before it's physically reset — this keeps the Cleaning/Available status accurate for whoever seats the next party.