Reserve tables or keep them empty
Updated
In short
To hold a table back, open it and tick Reserved — keep empty in Table settings, then click Save. Auto-Seat will never put anyone there, so it's perfect for vendors, a kids' table or a table you're saving. You can still seat guests at it by hand. The table shows a Reserved badge on the Table list screen.
Sometimes a table isn’t for the general guest list. Maybe it’s for the band and photographer, the kids, or a group you’re still waiting on. Mark it Reserved — keep empty and Auto-Seat leaves it alone.
Reserve a table
- 1
Open the table
On the Table list screen, click the table. On the Floor plan screen, click it and choose Seat guests in its toolbar. - 2
Tick Reserved — keep empty
It’s under Table settings, below Head table. - 3
Save
Click Save. On the Table list screen the table now shows a Reserved badge.
To undo it, untick the box and save again.
What “reserved” does
- Auto-Seat skips it. Every run leaves the table empty, however many guests are waiting.
- You can still seat people there. Drag guests onto it, or use Add guest in the table’s panel. This is how you fill a vendor or kids’ table exactly the way you want.
- It still counts as a table. It stays on the floor plan and on your exports, with its seats.
Reserved isn’t the same as locked
Good uses for a reserved table
- Vendors: the photographer, videographer and band, so they’re near an exit.
- A kids’ table you’d rather fill by hand.
- A table you’re holding for guests whose RSVP hasn’t come in yet.
- A spare table the venue sets up “just in case”.
Keeping one or two seats free
There’s no setting to reserve single seats. If you’d like spare chairs at a table, lower its Capacity so Auto-Seat stops early, then raise it again later if you need to.
Read more about how Auto-Seat chooses tables in how Auto-Seat works.
Frequently asked questions
Can I seat guests at a reserved table?
Yes. Reserved only stops Auto-Seat. You can drag guests there or add them from the table's panel whenever you like.
Do reserved tables show on the printed chart?
Yes. A reserved table is a normal table on the floor plan and in your exports, with whoever you've seated there.
Why is Auto-Seat leaving a table empty?
Check whether it's marked Reserved — keep empty. Look for the Reserved badge on the Table list screen.
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- Seat guests at tablesEvery way to seat a guest: drag from the guest list, tap an empty chair, use a table's Add guest or the Assign menu, or let Auto-Seat do the first pass.
- Seating tips that make the day easierA calm, practical order of work for your seating chart, plus etiquette tips for the head table, families, kids, vendors and tricky relatives.
- Floor plan editor basicsHow the Floor plan editor works: one view to arrange the room and seat guests, plus adding tables and objects, locking the layout and zooming.
- Table types, shapes and seat countsThe table shapes you can add (round, oval, square, rectangle, banquet, sweetheart, head, ceremony section), their default seats and how to change them.
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