Tock Notify vs Table Alert: what each one does
Tock's waitlist for sold-out experiences is called Notify. What Tock's help center says it does, what it does not, and where Table Alert fits.
- Tock help center, 2026-04-21
- Both alert; you book
- Name
- Tock calls it Notify, formerly the Reservations Request Waitlist. Tock also has a separate online walk-in waitlist.
- Who turns it on
- The restaurant. Tock says the business must allow guests to join the Notify list from its page.
- Limits
- An alert holds nothing. Tock notifies a guest up to once an hour, at most twice per request.
What Tock offers
Tock's help center names the feature Notify, and says it was formerly known as the Reservations Request Waitlist. It lets guests join a waitlist and be alerted when availability matching their request opens.
It is the restaurant's choice. Per Tock, the business turns it on in its control panel by allowing guests to join the Notify list from its business page, so a Tock restaurant may not offer it.
A guest's request holds an experience, a party size, one or more dates, a time and optional notes. Guests add it from exploretock.com or the Tock iOS app by tapping Notify next to a sold-out time.
Tock also has an online walk-in waitlist, a separate waitlist guests join online before arriving. Tock notes it has not launched to all customers.
How Tock Notify alerts work
- Auto Notify: when new availability opens, Tock checks the Notify list and alerts matching guests by email and push notification.
- Manual notify: restaurant staff pick which guests to email.
- Priority Auto Notify: staff can tag guests so tagged guests are alerted first. Tock says it is not available on all plans.
- An alert is not a guarantee or a hold: the guest completes the booking on exploretock.com.
- Tock says a guest can be notified up to once per hour, a maximum of two times per request.
- Tock says Auto Notify only covers availability that is publicly bookable, and not after the availability cutoff time.
- A guest cannot edit a Notify request; they can delete it and add another.
Tock Notify and Table Alert side by side
Tock facts are from Tock's help center (article updated 2026-04-21; snapshot 2026-11-12). Table Alert facts are our own.
| Tock Notify | Table Alert | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it works | Tock restaurants that have turned Notify on | Resy, OpenTable, Tock, SevenRooms, DoorDash reservations, TableCheck, OMAKASE, Pocket Concierge, CatchTable, CoverManager and more |
| Cities | Wherever the restaurant is on Tock | New York, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Seoul, London, Paris, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Bangkok, San Francisco and more |
| What you set | Experience, party size, date(s), time, notes | A restaurant, dates, times and party size |
| How you are alerted | Email and push (Tock iOS app), per Tock | Email, SMS, WhatsApp and push |
| How many alerts | Up to once an hour, at most twice per request | Alerts go out as tables appear |
| Does it hold the table | No: you book it on exploretock.com | No: you book it yourself |
| Price | No fee to guests is named in the article | Plans from $5 a month, with a 30-day money-back guarantee |
| How often it looks | When new availability opens, per Tock | Around the clock |
Where Table Alert fits
If your Tock restaurant has Notify switched on and email and push are enough, use it: it comes from the restaurant itself.
Table Alert fits when a Tock restaurant has not turned Notify on, when you want SMS or WhatsApp, or when your list also includes restaurants on Resy, OpenTable, TableCheck, OMAKASE or other platforms.
Tock caps its alerts at two per request; Table Alert alerts go out as tables appear. Both leave the booking to you.
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FAQ
Tock Notify vs Table Alert: what each one does: questions people ask
Tock's help center calls it Notify, and says it was formerly known as the Reservations Request Waitlist. Tock also has a separate online walk-in waitlist that guests join online before arriving.
No. Tock says the restaurant must allow guests to join the Notify list from its business page, so a restaurant that has not turned it on will not offer it on its Tock page.
Tock says Auto Notify sends an email and a push notification to guests whose request matches new availability. Push needs the Tock iOS app with push notifications switched on.
No. Tock says an automatic notification is not a guarantee or hold of the reservation. The guest is prompted to complete the booking on exploretock.com to secure it.
Tock says a guest can be notified up to once per hour, a maximum of two times per request. Tock also says a guest cannot edit a request after submitting it.
Yes. They do not conflict: each alerts you when a table opens and you book yourself, so you can run both on the same restaurant at the same time.
No. Table Alert alerts you by email, SMS, WhatsApp or push when a table opens, and you book it yourself on the restaurant's own booking page. We never book, hold or resell a table.
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Sources and how this page is made
Written by Jacob, founder of Table Alert. Facts checked against the sources below on November 12, 2026 and re-checked every night, last on . The monitoring numbers are Table Alert's own, refreshed every night. Out of date? Tell us.
- Tock help center: Notify (updated 2026-04-21)
- Tock help center: Notify, article text (API copy)
- Tock help center: Online Walk-in Waitlist FAQ
- Table Alert: the restaurants we watch, with measured data
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