Once a guest picks a date, your booking page shows the times they can book. When it can’t, it shows one of these messages instead, word for word, with your own meal’s name in it.
When there are no times to show
No availability on this date
Sorry, we have no availability on this date, please try a different date. Nothing that date can be booked online for their party size, and the message is the same whether you’re full or just not taking online bookings. The usual causes: every suitable table is booked; a guest limit is reached (a time’s Max guests, a meal’s Daily online guest limit, which counts the whole day’s guests rather than one party, or your venue-wide cap); the times or tables aren’t switched on for online booking; a closing date applies; or today’s remaining times fall inside No bookings within. My venue isn’t showing availability online walks through each.
Nothing left for the meal they chose
Sorry, we have no dinner availability on this date, but you can book: That meal is full or closed that day, but another meal has room. Those meals appear as cards underneath.
Online bookings closed for today
Online bookings are now closed for today’s lunch, please call the restaurant directly. The meal’s Online booking cut-off has passed for today. If another meal is still open, the message ends but you can still book: and offers it. In the list of meals, a meal past its cut-off looks faded. See Closing online bookings for the day: the online booking cut-off.
More notice needed
We need more notice than that for afternoon tea on this date — please call the restaurant directly, or try a later date. Every time that meal has that day falls inside its Minimum notice. See Requiring more notice for certain meals.
No room for a dog
Sorry, we can’t take any more dogs on this date. We do still have tables free without a dog — or try a different date. Either your dog-friendly tables are taken, or the dogs already booked have reached your Maximum dogs per sitting, but there are times free without a dog. See times without a dog shows them. See Welcoming guests with dogs.
When a time can’t be held
Tapping a time holds a table for the guest while they fill in their details. If the hold fails, the page refreshes the times and shows a message above them.
That time has just been taken
That time has just been taken — we’ve refreshed the available times, so please pick another or call the restaurant. Between the times appearing and the tap, the last suitable table or places went to someone else, or a cut-off passed while the page sat open. The time is gone from the list; there’s nothing to fix.
That time is no longer available
Sorry, that time is no longer available. Please pick another time. The guest left your booking page part-way through, which gave their table back, then returned to it (with the browser’s Back and Forward, say) after someone else had taken it. They’re taken back to the times to pick again.
Too many booking attempts
Too many booking attempts - please wait a few minutes and try again. This attempt limit stops automated programs tying up your tables. It starts after 15 attempts to hold a time at your venue from one internet connection within 10 minutes (reaching the card step counts too), and clears on its own within 10 minutes. Everyone on the same Wi-Fi shares the allowance — including your team, if you test your booking page over and over at the venue.
Connection problems
We couldn’t reach the restaurant’s system. Please check your connection and try again. and We couldn’t load times for this date. Please try again. mean the guest’s connection dropped. The rarer We couldn’t hold this table — please refresh the page and try again. is fixed by refreshing.
Good to know
- Times can vanish for a few minutes. While another guest is part-way through booking a table, or someone on your team has it picked in a new booking they haven’t saved, it isn’t offered online. If they leave the page, it comes back straight away; otherwise within about 15 minutes.
- Only one time left? The page picks it for the guest and goes straight to their details. It doesn’t do this for events.
- Your team isn’t limited. Cut-offs, notice, online limits and the attempt limit only apply online, so you can still take the booking yourself — see Taking a booking over the phone.
- More detail. See How NomNom decides which times to offer online.