Events & tickets

With events you sell seats for special occasions — a wine tasting, cooking class, menu night or live music. Guests book their spot online, and you keep an eye on attendees and capacity at all times.

Create an event

In the sidebar, open Events and click New event.

1. Enter a title and choose the type. Available are course, workshop, seminar and talk as well as tasting, cooking class, menu night, live music, special and other. Pure event providers see course, workshop, seminar and talk first.
2. No type fits exactly? Enter your own term under Custom label (e.g. “Woodturning course”). It replaces the type wherever guests see it — on the event page, in the widget and in the overview. Use the translation button to add the English version as well.
3. Set the date, start time and, optionally, the end time.
4. Enter the price per person (leave empty for a free event) and the maximum number of participants.
5. Pick a hero image from your media gallery and, if needed, upload a menu PDF and a cancellation policy.

Publish & control

With the scheduled publish date, an event only goes live on a set date — until then you can review it via the preview link. Use the Active & visible switch to release it; pausing temporarily takes it off sale. The status in the list always shows whether an event is Not public, Live, Paused or Inactive. With the booking deadline you close bookings a set number of days before the date.

The filter pills at the top of the list switch between Upcoming, Not public and Past. Not public collects everything your guests cannot see yet — events with a publication time in the future and events that are not active yet. The number on the pill tells you at a glance how much is still queued up. Open preview (the arrow-out icon) shows you such an event exactly as your guests will see it later — the link contains a secret preview key and is therefore only available to accounts with edit permission.

What your guests see depends on the state: above the preview of an event that is not published yet there is a clear note that guests cannot reach the page at all yet. And once a date has passed, the page says exactly that — the event has already taken place — and points to your other dates; it no longer says “sold out”.

Show free spots publicly: you find this switch under the booking settings; it is on by default. The widget on your website, the date picker, the embedded event page, the booking form and your event page on VidiReserve then show how many spots are left. Switch it off and no number appears anywhere, not even “Only 3 spots left” — just “Sold out” once nothing is left. The system still limits how many people can book at once to the free spots. If you flip the switch on the main event of a series and save, that applies to every date of the series; if you save the main event without touching the switch, a date you set on its own keeps its setting.

Recurring dates

If you offer the same event on several days — a course every Tuesday, a tasting once a month — create the main event as usual and attach the other dates to it. Open the event for editing and, under Dates, click Set up a new series of dates. The dialog has two tabs:

• By rhythm — weekly, every two weeks or monthly. For weekly and every two weeks you tick the weekdays, each with its own time (for example Monday 18:00 and Wednesday 19:30); the weekday of the main event is ticked already. With “Monthly” the same day of the month applies; months that do not have that day (the 31st in February) are skipped. Add “From” and either a number — it counts all new dates together, across all weekdays — or an end date.
• Individual dates — for irregular days: one date with its time per row, “Another date” adds rows.

The preview appears by itself as soon as your input is complete, or via the “Preview” button: every row with date, weekday, time and status. Marked are days on which the event already exists (they are skipped), closing days and area blocks (just a note, the date is created anyway) and days that are too far ahead or in the past. Untick single dates you do not want. If the series reaches the limit of your plan, a note says so below.

Create adds at most 20 dates per click. If the preview shows more, the dialog stays open, the created rows are marked “created” and the button then reads Create … more — until every ticked date exists. After closing, the new dates appear in the table, briefly highlighted.

“From” suggests the day after the last date of the series. The rhythm thus continues where the series ends — also after the main event: a series whose main event is already over simply carries on. A series reaches at most twelve months ahead, counted from today or from the main event if it is still to come.

Every date becomes a complete event of its own: its own seats, its own bookings, its own invoice, its own entry in the calendar, in the widget and in the app. Title, texts, price, payment and cancellation rule come from the main event; image and PDF are copied so that one date cannot take anything away from another. Areas, gallery images and tables are kept on the individual date.

The table of dates

Under Dates all dates of the series are listed in a table — for an event without a series, the event itself. Upcoming is preselected; “Past” and “All” switch over. The buttons Mon to Sun filter by weekday (several at once, none means all), the search finds date, time and weekday as text, for example “13/10”, “10/2026”, “18:00” or “Mon”. A click on a column heading (date, time, seats, status) sorts the table, a second click reverses the order.

Change directly: a click on the date, the time or the number of seats turns it into a field. Enter or leaving the field saves, Esc cancels. The same rules as in the large form apply: no new date in the past, no fewer seats than booked. The bookings move along with the date. If guests have booked already, a window asks first, because they get an email with the new date in the language of their booking — emails go out only for upcoming dates, so correcting a past date sends no email. The guests also get the email when you save in the large form; a note below the time fields gives their number.

Several dates at once: tick dates or use Select all shown — only what filter and search currently show counts. Then Delete, Change time or Change seats: a window names the consequences first — how many dates change, which are skipped (when deleting, the main event and dates with bookings; always past dates; for seats, dates that are already fuller than the new number) and how many guests get an email (only for upcoming dates).

Without JavaScript you change each date on its own with the pencil.

In the list a series appears as one row — under Upcoming its next date, under Past its most recent past one. Next to it sits the label Series · n dates, m of them open; one click shows every date of that series. The main event carries the label Main event; the series is managed there and nowhere else. Open a single date and the top of the page tells you which series it belongs to, with a way to the main event.

Changing something: save the main event with the checkbox Apply changes to all future dates of this series and every date from today on takes over title, texts, type, price, seats, cancellation rule and payment. Not applied are date, times, visibility, areas, image and PDF — they stay as they are on each date. Past dates are untouched. Please note: price and payment details are changed on dates that already have bookings as well — only the seat count is protected, a date with more sign-ups than the new number keeps its own.

Removing or deleting a date: in the table of dates the scissors remove a date from the series — it stays as a single event including its bookings. The bin deletes it as long as it has no bookings. If you delete the main event, the next open date takes over its role.

You may also extend a switched-off main event: the new dates are switched off as well, and the plan limit is only checked once you really put a date online. That is how you prepare a whole term as a draft.

And your plan: a series of dates occupies 2 slots of your plan, no matter how many dates it has — even when only one date is left open. Single events still occupy 1 slot. A plan with 12 slots therefore holds 12 single events or 6 series of dates or a mix, for example 8 single events and 2 series of dates. Series of dates get one slot of grace: when you create a series or activate a date of a series, you may stand one slot above your plan (for example 13 of 12). A date you remove from a series becomes a single event and occupies a slot of its own; above your plan limit this only works if the count does not rise.

Change a single date

Every date of a series is a complete event: its own seats, its own bookings, its own address. You may change it on its own — because that one evening starts at a different time, for example.

Open the date from the event overview or from the Dates list in the form of the main event. A note sits at the top, and the fields are locked at first so that nobody types in the wrong place by accident. One click on Edit this date only releases them; what you save then applies to this date only.

If the change should apply to all future dates, open the main event instead and tick Apply changes to all future dates when saving.

A series of dates on your own website

In the configurator under Widget → Events widget a series appears as one entry in the list — not as twelve. Pick it, and the embed code carries the whole series.

Your guests then get the date picker at the top — by default a drop-down list with every date of the series and its free seats, one date per entry, the one on show preselected. Sold out dates stay visible but cannot be selected; the entry says why (“sold out”, “paused”, “deadline passed”). A click on Open date switches to the selected date; if no date of the series can be booked at the moment, a line below the list says so and the button stays disabled. If the date the code points at has passed or is full, the widget shows the next free one by itself — you never have to update the code on your website.

Instead of the drop-down list you can choose date cards under Settings → Appearance at Date picker layout — each date a card with a colored hint at the free spots (green from four free spots, orange below) —, the date list with the same cards one below the other, or links grouped by month. There a click on a date goes straight to it, without a separate button; dates that cannot be booked stay visible, say why and are not a link.

Above the booking form in the widget your guests find the same date picker — they see right away which dates there are and use Change date (or a click on a card or link) to go straight to the form of another date. Whatever they have already filled in (name, email, phone, number of participants, billing address and requests) comes along; the number of participants only if the new date still offers it. Passwords, voucher codes and ticked boxes do not carry over. On your own event page there is still only a single line with the chosen date above the form — the list is already further up on that page.

In the list (grid or carousel) a series of dates appears as one card: with its next bookable date, below it — if you show them — the free spots and the button + N more dates. A click on it opens the same booking window as “Book now”, with the date picker at the top. With the date filter switched on, the card shows the first bookable date in the chosen period. The maximum number in the embed code counts cards, not dates.

For the widget to run on your domain, allow it once under Widget → Security.

Prepayment & payment methods

On the event you decide with Payment for this event when the money is due. Three options:

• Pay on site: no prepayment. Your guests pay at the event. A pay button or bank details still appear if you offer them under Payment methods for this event — they are then an offer, not an obligation.
• Deposit in advance: you enter the amount and the type (per person or flat). Exactly that part falls due at booking, and your guests see Deposit now and Rest on site everywhere — on the event page, in the booking form, on the payment page, in the confirmation email and in the guest account. VidiReserve automatically issues an open invoice for the deposit and receipts it as soon as the money arrives. You settle the remaining amount outside and deduct the deposit there (§ 14 (5) German VAT Act) — otherwise you owe the VAT twice.
• Full payment in advance: the whole booking amount is due before the event; nothing stays open on site. VidiReserve issues an open invoice for the booking amount — exactly as it does for a deposit — with a due date, a pay button and your bank details, and receipts it as soon as the money arrives.

As soon as you require a deposit or full prepayment, at least one method — bank transfer or online payment — is mandatory: otherwise the money could not reach you at all. With a deposit, “on site” is added automatically, because that is where the rest is paid. What you have stored under Settings → Invoicing decides which methods are available at all; if nothing is set up there, the payment link field and the free text remain. The free-text field is still an additional note and not mandatory.

Guests can pay for chargeable bookings online right away — through your own PayPal, Stripe or SumUp account. And as soon as a booking counts as paid, VidiReserve can issue the attendee an invoice as a PDF automatically. You set both up once in the settings; the chapter Attendee invoices & online payment explains how.

One reminder — no more. If a prepayment invoice is still open, VidiReserve sends your guest exactly one payment reminder: at the earliest one day after the invoice, usually two days before the due date; if the due date has already passed, on the next day — and never again after that. It contains the invoice as a PDF, the pay button and your bank details, but no dunning fee and no threat of cancellation. Nothing changes about the booking itself: whether you leave an unpaid booking standing or cancel it is your decision. When the reminder went out is shown in the invoice list as Reminded on …; you can always follow up yourself from there with Resend invoice.

And if nobody pays anyway? Then nothing happens on its own. VidiReserve cancels nothing, charges no fee and writes to your guests no second time. You are the one who hears about it: once a booking's due date has passed and the date itself is still to come, a red Prepayment overdue label with the number of days appears in the reservation list, a line with the count appears on your dashboard, and once a day an email goes to your notification address listing every affected booking. What happens next is your call: resend the payment link, record the payment, or cancel — all three buttons sit on the booking. The daily email stops as soon as nothing is outstanding; you can turn it off under Settings → Notifications.

Voucher code for an event

The booking form — on your event page and in the widget — has a field for a voucher code. What works there depends on the voucher:

• Event voucher (someone bought a seat for exactly this event): the code covers one seat. After clicking Check the line reads “your seat is paid for” in green and the amount on the submit button drops to €0.00. The booking is created with a total of €0.00 and there is no payment page — the receipt is the invoice from the voucher purchase.
• Value voucher (bought or created by you): it pays part of the price. The check names the amount applied and the remainder straight away; the payment page only collects the remainder. The price of the booking — and with it the invoice — stays at the full amount, with “Paid by voucher” and “Amount due” underneath. If the voucher covers everything, the booking is paid immediately.
• Discount code (fixed or percentage): it reduces the price. Booking and invoice carry the reduced amount, and the invoice line names the code.
• In-kind voucher (“a glass of sparkling wine”): cannot be applied to an event. The check says so immediately, and a booking carrying such a code cannot be submitted — your guest has to remove it. The voucher stays valid and can be redeemed during a visit.

A voucher is applied in full or not at all: if it is worth more than the booking, we decline it — we cannot carry a remaining balance. If someone cancels before the event date, the code becomes valid again automatically.

An event voucher covers exactly one seat. Anyone who wants two seats books one with the voucher and the others separately.

When a booking becomes binding

Without an account your guest confirms their email address first — only then does the booking count as registered. For paid events the full payment makes it binding, even if the confirmation link has not been clicked: as soon as the money arrives the booking moves from “unconfirmed” to “open” or “confirmed” (depending on whether you confirm bookings automatically), appears in your normal list, and your guest receives the booking confirmation. The booking’s change log then shows verified_by_payment.

So that nobody has to wait twice, the payment link is now also included in the address confirmation email — your guest can pay straight away.

The booking button adapts: for a paid event with “online” as a payment method and at least one provider set up it reads Continue to payment, and your guest lands on the payment page directly — on your event page and in the embedded booking widget. Otherwise it stays Book now (binding) and payment runs by bank transfer or on site as described.

If you are a pure event provider, neither the page nor the widget asks for allergies any more — the notes field stays and invites your attendees to ask you questions instead. Nothing changes for restaurants.

Cancellation terms

You maintain your cancellation terms once under Settings → Booking rules → Cancellation. That text is the default and applies to every event whose own cancellation field is left empty — so you never have to copy it into each event. If a single event needs different terms, enter them in the event form; the event text wins there. An Insert suggestion button in the settings fills the German and the English field with a complete example text (deadlines, refunds, substitute participants, cancellation by you) which you then adapt. Your guests see the text on the event page, in the booking confirmation and on the widget's confirmation screen.

Besides the cancellation terms there has been a right of withdrawal since 09/2026: whether it applies to your events is something you decide once in the booking rules. Cancellation and withdrawal are two different routes — your terms govern the one, the law governs the other.

Manage attendees

Use the list icon next to an event to open the attendee list. The progress bar in the overview shows capacity (booked seats / maximum). You can search the list and sort by date or number of participants.

At the top of the attendee list you find the event's key details: type, status, date with weekday, time from–to, price per person (or "Free") and the seats (booked / maximum, plus the free ones). If the date belongs to a recurring series, a note takes you to all dates of the series. Edit Event takes you straight into the form — even if you clicked here from the monthly calendar — and Public page opens the page your guests see in a new tab (once the event has been published).

The event overview itself can be sorted by its column headers — besides event, date and participants now also by Price and by Bookable until. Clicking the preview image takes you straight into the edit form.

If an event comes round regularly, do not create it from scratch: Duplicate (the two-sheets icon) makes a full copy including image, gallery, prices, payment methods, event tables and cancellation terms. The copy carries the suffix (copy) in its title and is not online yet — you land in the form, adjust title and date and only then activate it. Attendees, bookings and the publication time are deliberately not carried over, and while the copy is inactive it does not occupy a slot in your plan either.

You change a single booking on its detail page. The number of participants can be changed there (and in the partner app) as long as nothing has been paid and no invoice has been issued — the booked seat, the amount and any deposit are carried along. If the booking does not belong to this event at all, take it out with Detach from event: the seats go back, amount and deposit are removed, and what remains is an ordinary reservation whose date and table you are free to choose again. The guest is not notified.

If a higher number of participants pushes the amount above 250 EUR, German VAT law requires the invoice recipient's address. The three fields street, postcode and city therefore sit right next to the guest details as soon as an amount is attached to the booking; left empty they change nothing about what is already stored.

If the booking already carries a payment, a valid invoice or a redeemed voucher, both paths are blocked and the page states the reason. The clean way is then to cancel the booking (the invoice gets its cancellation document) and create a new one — documents subject to German bookkeeping rules are never silently rewritten. Bookings from a group request (they have their own billing) and single dates of a series are blocked as well; there the change is made on the group request or the series itself — cancelling does not help.

For event providers

If you are a pure event provider, events are the core of your business — there is no table calendar. You will find the embed code for your own website in the menu under Widget (events widget with layout options, colours and a live preview) and, for quick copying, directly on the Events page; the table reservation widget is hidden for you. Guests book a spot per event instead of a table.

You approve your website's domain yourself: under Settings → Widget, in the Security tab. The list applies to all your widgets; the Events page only shows the approved domains for reference. See the chapter Embedding the widget for details.