Reservations, deposits and the waitlist
Reservations with deposits and a waitlist that stops no-shows costing you a table
Mosey takes bookings from the app, your website and the phone, asks for a deposit when it matters and sends the reminders that get people through the door. Deposits go to your own Stripe account, and Mosey takes no cut of them.
Free to list: your menu, replies and photos.
What does a no-show on a Friday really cost?
A party of six that does not appear is an empty table, walk-ins turned away and a kitchen that prepped for covers that never came. Most no-shows are forgetting. A few are people who book three restaurants and decide at six.
What changes behavior is a small commitment at the moment of booking, a reminder the day before and an easy way to cancel that frees the table for someone else.
How do you set the rules once?
In reservation settings you choose the hours bookings are open, the smallest and largest party, the gaps between sittings and the days you are closed. You hold back a walk-in reserve so the phone never fills the room.
You decide when a deposit applies: every booking, large parties, peak nights or particular slots. The amount is per person or a flat sum, and the guest sees it, with your cancellation window, before they pay.
You also say what a deposit is for. A deposit that holds the table is one thing; a deposit that prepays a set menu or a ticket is another, and its tax is shown inside the amount at payment.
What happens when a guest cancels or does not come?
Inside the free window, the guest is refunded. Later, your rule applies, and the guest was shown it before paying. A cancellation, however late, never counts as a no-show against the guest. Only a booking you mark as a no-show does.
Before you mark one, the screen tells you what will happen to the money. You can undo it for 48 hours.
A card hold, where the guest's card is saved and charged only if they do not arrive, is part of the higher reservation plan. If a fee cannot be taken, Mosey tells you instead of dropping it quietly.
Can a group split the deposit?
Yes. The organizer makes the booking and each guest pays their part. If the booking does not go ahead, everyone gets a full refund. The deposit never falls below your rule, so any gap becomes the organizer's share, and the organizer can remove a guest who has not paid.
How does the waitlist handle walk-ins?
Put a QR code on the door and guests join the line from their phone with no app and no account. You see the line live, call the next party and pause when the kitchen is under. The estimated wait comes from your own typical times.
When a date is fully booked, a waitlist takes names. When a table opens, the guest is offered it and has 24 hours to claim it.
A guest who cannot come can offer their table to someone else through Last-Minute Tables. If another guest claims it, the first guest's deposit is refunded in full.
Where the rules differ
Reservations work the same way in every state, with these exceptions.
- New York and Illinois
- A guest may offer their own booking on Last-Minute Tables only after your restaurant turns that on, because both states bar a third party from listing a restaurant's bookings without its agreement. Elsewhere it is on unless you switch it off.
- Kept deposits and fees
- A kept hold deposit or a no-show fee at a US restaurant carries no sales tax. A deposit that fully prepays a set menu or a ticket shows its tax at payment.
- Card holds
- A held fee that cannot be taken, because the bank wants another check or sales tax registration is missing, is reported to you with the guest and the time. Nothing is charged.
Rules change. Check any rule that matters to you with your accountant or adviser.
What Mosey is about
Affordable tools for food businesses
Tools priced for independents and small chains, not for the big groups.
A full suite, in one login
The tools a restaurant, café or bar needs sit together, so you are not paying for a stack of separate subscriptions.
You keep more of your revenue
Mosey is built so that more of every sale stays with the business that made it.
Free to list and claim
Your menu, your replies to guests and your photos cost nothing to put on Mosey.
No hidden fees
What Mosey charges is published, in full, so nothing arrives as a surprise on a statement.
Made for local food businesses
Mosey helps diners find independent food businesses by dish and mood, and lets people rate what they actually ate.
Questions owners ask
Does Mosey take a cut of deposits?
No. A reservation deposit carries no Mosey fee. It goes to your Stripe account, and Stripe's card fee applies as usual.
Can guests book without a Mosey account?
Yes, through the booking widget on your own website. They pick a time, leave a name and number, pay a deposit if you ask for one, and are booked.
What reminders go out?
Every booking gets a reminder a day ahead. The paid plans add a two-hour reminder, a two-week reminder and attendance confirmation.
Can I add a phone booking myself?
Yes. Add the guest and the source, so your numbers show where bookings come from.
Is the walk-in line free?
The walk-in line works with or without bookings, and a diner who joins it needs no account.
What if the party is too big for my rules?
A party outside your size range is sent to a large-group request, where you quote it and take a deposit before the date is held.
Does a guest who cancels in time lose anything?
No. Inside your free window the deposit comes back, and the cancellation is not recorded as a no-show.
More for your business
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Ticketed tasting nights and supper clubs, with capacity, a waitlist, door scan and tax at purchase.
Loyalty and Mosey Tap
A stamp card or points program your regulars join in the app, with a tap at the counter.
Marketing and your customer list
Customer groups, win-back offers and member letters, sent only to people who agreed.
Put your menu, your replies and your photos in front of diners
Claim your free listing and decide how your business looks to the people searching for a good dish near them.
Free to list: your menu, replies and photos.