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Managing Guests: A Complete Host Guide

Managing Guests: A Complete Host Guide

This guide covers every action available to a host when managing guests in BarSight — from the moment a guest arrives to the moment they leave. Whether you're handling walk-ins, reservations, or a busy waitlist, here's what every button does and when to use it.

Understanding Guest Status

Every guest moves through a series of statuses. Knowing what each one means helps you act quickly during a busy service.

  • Pending — A reservation that hasn't arrived yet, or a walk-in just added to the system.
  • Waiting — The guest is on-site and on the waitlist. They are actively waiting for a table.
  • Ready — You've flagged this guest as next up. A text can be sent automatically to let them know their table is almost ready.
  • Seated — The guest has been assigned to one or more tables and is currently occupying them.
  • Closed — The guest's visit has ended. Tables are freed and the visit is recorded.

[SCREENSHOT: The guest dashboard showing cards in different status states — Waiting, Ready, and Seated]

Checking In a Reservation Guest

When a guest with a reservation arrives, use Check In to confirm their arrival and move them onto the active waitlist.

  1. Find the guest on the dashboard — reservation guests appear in the Pending section before they arrive.
  2. Tap the guest card to open their details.
  3. Tap Check In.

This stamps the guest's arrival time and moves them to Waiting status. No SMS is sent at this step. The guest is now in the queue alongside any walk-ins.

Adding a Walk-In Guest

Walk-in guests aren't in the system yet — you add them on the spot.

  1. Tap the + button on the dashboard.
  2. Enter the guest's name, party size, and phone number (phone is required for SMS features).
  3. Tap Save.

The guest is immediately added to the waitlist with Waiting status and a position in the queue.

Marking a Guest as Ready

Use Mark as Ready when a table is about to become available and you want to give the guest a heads-up before you seat them.

  1. Tap the guest card to open their details.
  2. Tap Mark as Ready.

This flags the guest visually on the dashboard with a teal indicator so hosts know who is next. If the SMS add-on is enabled, the guest automatically receives a text — something like: "Hi Sarah, your table at The Taproom is almost ready! Please make your way to the host stand."

If you need to undo this (for example, the table fell through), tap Cancel Ready to remove the flag without any further notification.

[SCREENSHOT: A guest card showing the teal Ready indicator on the dashboard]

Seating a Guest at a Table

When a table is available, seat the guest to mark them as actively occupying it.

  1. Tap the guest card to open their details.
  2. Tap Seat at Tables.
  3. Select the table or tables you want to assign. You can select multiple tables at once for large parties.
  4. Tap Confirm.

The guest moves to Seated status, the table shows as occupied on the floor plan, and if the Auto-SMS When Table Ready setting is on, the guest automatically receives a text letting them know their table is ready.

What Happens When a Table Is Already Occupied

If you select a table that already has another guest seated at it, BarSight will warn you before making any changes. A message will appear identifying the current occupant and asking you to confirm.

  • If you confirm, the current guest at that table is closed out and the new guest is seated in their place.
  • If you cancel, nothing changes — pick a different table instead.

There is no hard block on party size vs. table capacity. BarSight trusts you to make the right call for your floor — the confirmation prompt is there to prevent accidental displacements, not to enforce seating rules.

Seating Across Multiple Tables

For large parties that need more than one table, select all the tables in the same seating step. The guest will be shown as occupying all of them simultaneously. You can also add more tables later using Add Tables from the guest's options menu.

If you need to move a seated guest to a different table, use Change Table from the options menu — this closes the old table and opens the new one in a single step.

How the Queue Works

The queue in BarSight is not just a numbered waitlist — it also includes a pre-assignment system that lets you plan ahead before a table opens up.

The Waiting Queue (Position in Line)

Every guest on the waitlist has a queue position. Position #1 is the next guest to be seated. When a guest is seated or closed, everyone behind them moves up automatically. If you have automatic queue SMS enabled, waiting guests will receive a text with their updated position whenever the queue moves.

Queuing a Guest at a Specific Table

If you know a table will be free soon, you can pre-assign a waiting guest to it without seating them yet — this is called queueing.

  1. Tap the guest card to open their details.
  2. Tap Queue at Tables.
  3. Select the table you expect to open up.
  4. Tap Confirm.

The guest remains in Waiting status — they haven't been seated, and the table doesn't show as occupied. The assignment is just a plan. When the table actually frees up, a Seat Guest button appears on the guest card, letting you activate the seat in one tap.

If the table is still occupied when you try to seat the queued guest, BarSight will again ask for confirmation before displacing the current guest.

[SCREENSHOT: A guest card showing the "Seat Guest" button that appears after pre-assignment]

Unseating a Guest

If a guest needs to move — for example, they stepped out and you need the table back temporarily — you can unseat them without closing their visit.

  1. Tap the guest card to open their details.
  2. Open the options menu.
  3. Tap Unseat Guest.

The guest returns to Waiting status and their tables are freed. Their visit is still open — you can reseat them when ready.

Extending a Guest's Stay

If a seated guest is lingering past their expected turn time, you can flag them as a camper using Extend Stay. This updates the estimated wait times shown to other waiting guests so they don't get false expectations.

  1. Tap the guest card to open their details.
  2. Open the options menu.
  3. Tap Extend Stay.

A blue banner appears on the guest card indicating they've been extended. You can extend multiple times — each extension adds another estimated turn-time to their total. To remove the extension, tap Reset Extended Stay.

Closing a Guest

When a guest's visit is over, close them out to free their tables and record the visit.

  1. Tap the guest card to open their details.
  2. Tap Close Guest (or Remove Guest if they're still waiting and haven't been seated).
  3. Confirm when prompted.

The guest moves to Closed status, all their tables are freed, and their turn time is recorded. The queue automatically updates and any waiting guests with SMS enabled will receive a position update.

Closing a Guest at One Table but Not Another

If a guest is spread across multiple tables and you only want to release one, the close prompt will give you options:

  • Close at all tables — ends the visit entirely.
  • Remove from [Table Name] — releases just that one table; the guest stays seated at the others.

Bringing a Closed Guest Back

Made a mistake, or a guest returned unexpectedly? You can reopen a closed visit.

  • Bring Back to Waiting — Returns the guest to the waitlist as if they just arrived. Use this if they need to wait for a table again.
  • Seat at Table (from a closed guest) — Lets you pick a table and seat them directly, skipping the waiting step.
  • Reseat Here — Available when you open a closed guest from a specific table's context. Seats them back at that exact table. If another guest is currently there, that guest is moved to the queue rather than being closed.

Editing Guest Information

You can update a guest's details at any point during their visit.

  1. Tap the guest card to open their details.
  2. Open the options menu.
  3. Tap Edit Guest.

Editable fields include: name, phone number, email, party size, dietary restrictions, tags, special occasions, preferred area, and visit notes. Changes take effect immediately.

Sending Messages to Guests

From any guest's options menu you can:

  • Send SMS — Type and send a custom text message directly to the guest's phone.
  • Send Email — Send a custom email if the guest has an email address on file.
  • Send Portal Link — Texts or emails the guest a link to their personal guest portal (useful for online check-in or self-service updates).
  • Send Position SMS — Manually sends the guest their current queue position right now, regardless of the automatic interval setting. Only visible for waiting guests with a phone number.
  • View Message History — Opens the full SMS/email conversation log for this guest's visit.

SMS features require the SMS add-on to be active on your account.

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