How to Open Seats for Standby
As a Group Leader, you can open seats for waitlisted subscribers who are in the Standby Room. This article explains when to open seats, how to do it, and what subscribers see when you do.
🔴Note: A meeting must have the waitlist turned on for the standby room to work. See the Meeting Standby: How it Works instructions on how to activate the Standby Room for a meeting.
When You Should Open Seats
Opening seats is optional. You can choose to open seats if you want to allow waitlisted subscribers to join when registered participants do not show up.
You can open or increase seats any time during the 20‑minute Standby window, which runs from:
Once the Standby Room closes, you can no longer offer seats and subscribers can no longer access the Standby Room.
You can open or increase seats any time during the 20‑minute Standby window, which runs from:
- 10 minutes before the meeting start time, through
- 10 minutes after the meeting begins
Once the Standby Room closes, you can no longer offer seats and subscribers can no longer access the Standby Room.
How to Open Seats
Join your meeting by clicking on the Join button on any of the meeting calendars. For this example, we will use the Join button on the My Meetings page.
This brings you to the Join Meeting page. On the top‑right corner of the Join Meeting page, you’ll see a Settings menu.
Click Standby Room in the Settings menu.
Click Standby Room in the Settings menu.
🔴Note on HeyPeers Meetings
You can also access the Standby Room from within a HeyPeers meeting. Select Settings on the top‑right corner of the meeting page. On the drop-down menu, select Standby Room.
You can also access the Standby Room from within a HeyPeers meeting. Select Settings on the top‑right corner of the meeting page. On the drop-down menu, select Standby Room.
Clicking on the Standby Room option in Settings brings you to your Manage Standby Room page. This opens in a new window.
On this page, you can see:
- How many members are currently waiting in the Standby Room
- The field where you enter the number of seats to offer
In the field labeled Seats for the Standby Room, enter the total number of seats you want to offer. This number should reflect how many registered participants are no‑shows or how many additional seats you want to make available.
Click Save to open the seats.
Click Save to open the seats.
Once you click Save:
- The system immediately begins offering seats
- Subscribers in the Standby Room receive a real‑time notification
- Seats are offered in waitlist order
- Only subscribers currently in the Standby Room can accept them
Exiting the Manage Standby Room Page
- If you open the Manage Standby Room page while you’re already in the meeting, you will not be removed from the meeting. Your meeting stays open in a separate tab or window. To return, simply click back into the meeting’s tab.
- If you opened the Manage Standby Room page before entering the meeting, click Back to return to the Join Meeting page. From there, enter your meeting as usual.
🔴Important Note:
Once the Standby Room closes (10 minutes after the meeting starts), you can no longer offer seats and members can no longer access the Standby Room.
Once the Standby Room closes (10 minutes after the meeting starts), you can no longer offer seats and members can no longer access the Standby Room.
What Subscribers See When You Open Seats
Subscribers only see the Standby Room if they were already on the meeting’s waitlist. Ten minutes before the meeting starts, they will see a Join Standby button on their My Meetings page.
When they click Join Standby, they enter the Meeting Standby Room. This page updates in real time based on your actions as the group leader.
Standby Status Bar
At the center of the Standby Room, subscribers see a status bar that tells them what is happening.
If no seats have been offered yet
🟡A yellow status bar appears with a message indicating that the system is monitoring for open seats.
If no seats have been offered yet
🟡A yellow status bar appears with a message indicating that the system is monitoring for open seats.
If seats are being offered
🟢A green status bar appears, letting members know that seats are currently available.
🟢A green status bar appears, letting members know that seats are currently available.
Seat Offering Area
Below the status bar is the seat offering area. This is where subscribers see whether a seat has been offered to them.
Before seats are offered
When a seat is offered to the subscriber
Before seats are offered
- Subscribers see the message "We are monitoring for open seats."
When a seat is offered to the subscriber
- The message changes to "You are Invited", and a Join button appears.
The subscriber must click Join to accept the seat. Once they do, they will be registered for the meeting, and if payment is required, will be brought to the payment screen. Once completed, they will be brought into the meeting.
Seat Hold Time (2‑Minute Window)
When a subscriber is offered a seat, that seat is held for 2 minutes. During this time, only that subscriber can accept it.
If the subscriber does not click Join within the 2‑minute window:
If the subscriber does not click Join within the 2‑minute window:
- The seat is released
- It is automatically offered to the next person in waitlist order
- This continues until either someone accepts the seat or no one else is in the Standby Room
When the Standby Room Closes
The Standby Room remains open until 10 minutes after the meeting’s start time. After that:
- Subscribers can no longer enter the Standby Room
- Subscribers already in the Standby Room can no longer accept seats
- Group leaders can no longer offer seats.