Sold-out waitlist and guest list guide
When an event reaches capacity, open the event in your Eventually dashboard and go to the Guests section to review registered attendees and manage waitlisted people. The Guests tab is the authoritative per-attendee list, while Squarespace Commerce stores order-level data only.
How sold-out status works
We show Sold out at two levels:
Event-level sold out: the total event capacity is reached and no tickets are available. Visitors see Event is at capacity.
Ticket-type sold out: a specific ticket tier reaches its limit while other tickets remain available. Visitors see This ticket type is sold out for that tier only.
Incomplete checkout hold: a visitor started checkout but did not finish. The seat is held for your team's seat hold time, 60 minutes by default (see Set seat holds during checkout). If the hold expires before checkout completes, the seat returns to inventory and the event may become available again.
Shared-room sold out is a separate case: when Total Event Capacity is blank but every Standard seat ticket type has its own Ticket Limit, those limits together form a shared room, and active seats without a ticket type, such as redeemed show passes, host comps added without a tier, store-order lines that did not map to a ticket type, or moves with no destination ticket type, count against it. When those seats have filled the room, the event-level waitlist can open even though individual ticket types still have seats under their own limits. Cancelling or refunding one of those seats reopens the room.
Find your guest list and waitlist
All attendee management happens in the Guests tab. Waitlisted people are managed in a separate Waitlist section below Guests.
Open the event in your Eventually dashboard.
Go to the Guests tab to review registered attendees and checked-in guests.
Open the Waitlist section below Guests to review waitlisted people.
When a spot opens up, use Promote in the Waitlist section. Promote changes the waiting entry to offered status and sends the attendee an offer. The attendee must then register to claim the spot.
Guest status badges in the drawer
The Guests tab shows a status badge for every guest. These labels help you choose the right management action:
Incomplete: a pending registration that was started but not finished.
Refunded: a registration that was refunded.
Registered: a completed active registration.
Cancelled: a registration that was cancelled.
Checked in: the guest has already been checked in at the door.
Over capacity: an active registration created from a paid Squarespace order that arrived after the event filled. Resolve it by refunding, cancelling, or moving the seat.
Removing an Incomplete or Refunded row is operational cleanup that any team member can do. Removing an active Registered row requires owner or admin access and an email confirmation, and this applies only to registrations not backed by a Squarespace order. Seats backed by a Squarespace order cannot be removed this way, even by an owner or admin. Cancel or refund those orders instead. See Remove a guest from your roster for the full steps.
Why a sold-out event can still show registration options
Two verified behaviors explain why visitors might still see a registration path:
Ticket-type sold out blocks only one tier. If the VIP tier is full but General Admission is not, visitors can still register for General Admission.
Organizer manual override: from the dashboard, you cannot add a guest once the event or ticket capacity is exhausted. The dashboard displays the warning This event is at capacity. Adding an attendee will exceed the limit. and the add is refused when you submit it, so you cannot oversell through this workflow.
Paid orders over capacity
A paid Squarespace order can complete after an event or ticket type fills. Instead of rejecting the order, we register the seat and mark it Over capacity. The buyer keeps their paid ticket, and you refund, cancel, or move the seat from the guest list. See When a paid Squarespace order exceeds capacity for the full workflow.
Compare your guest list with Squarespace Commerce
Squarespace Commerce is built around the order, not the individual attendee. If someone buys four tickets, Squarespace stores one set of buyer information for the entire order, and the other attendees are not visible per-ticket.
The Guests tab gives you a per-attendee record for every ticket holder. Use Guests as the authoritative list for check-in, capacity tracking, and name badges. Use Squarespace Commerce orders for payment and refund records only.
Promote a waitlisted attendee
When a spot opens in a sold-out event, open the event’s Waitlist section and use Promote to send the waitlisted person an offer. The attendee must then register to complete their spot. See Promoting attendees off the waitlist for the full steps.