Tables and seating records help your team manage banquet-style events. They connect event tables, hosts, guests, capacity, RSVP details, and seating assignments.
Turning on tables for an event
Tables are turned on per event. Open the event, go to Seating & host options in the left menu (under Guests & seating), and check Tables & Seating. Save, and Tables & seating and Table hosts appear in the menu.
Adding tables
You add tables in the room layout, so each new table gets a spot on the floor plan.
1. Open the event and click Tables & seating in the left menu.
2. Click Floor at the top right.
3. Click Arrange room.
4. Fill in the line that reads Add [20] [round] tables of [10] seats, numbered from [1]: how many tables, the shape, seats per table, and the first table number. The first number fills in after your last table, so adding more tables later just keeps counting. Click Add.
5. Drag the new tables where they sit in your room, then click Done to save the layout.
Need number ranges like 101–117 and 201–215, or tables laid out in rows and columns? Click More options… next to Add. To change one table's name, number, or seats, click it while you're in Arrange room and edit it in the panel that opens. You can add up to 200 tables at a time.
Tables
A table represents a physical table at an event. It usually includes:
Event.
Table number or name.
Capacity.
Type.
Status.
Host or captain.
Active/inactive state.
Table type
Type describes the purpose of the table. It is a fixed set of options:
Open - available for general seating.
Host - assigned to a table host or captain.
Sponsor - reserved for a sponsor placement.
Reserved - held for a specific guest, group, or purpose.
Table status
Status describes the current availability of a table. It is a fixed set of options:
Open - seats are still available.
Full - all seats are filled.
Closed - not available for seating.
Available - available, used for example when duplicating an event.
Type and status are fixed lists that can't be customized or added to; choose the option that best matches the table.
Table hosts
A table host record tracks a person or organization assigned to a table, separate from the individual attendee (guest) records. Table hosts are managed from a table's Hosts tab rather than from a standalone list on the module menu.
Each table host has a role, shown as a color-coded badge:
Host - the table host or captain.
Sponsor - a sponsor placement for the table.
Underwriter - underwrote the table.
Volunteer - volunteering in connection with the table.
Table host detail header
When you open a table host record, a context header appears at the top of the page in place of the standard sidebar. The header shows at a glance:
Host name - the person or organization assigned to the table.
Role badge - Host, Sponsor, Underwriter, or Volunteer.
Table - a link to the parent table. Named tables display as "Table N - Name"; numbered-only tables display as "Table N".
Event - a link to the parent event record.
Attributed - the attribution date, if one was recorded.
Guests added through a host's invitation link
Table hosts can be sent an invitation link that lets them add their own guests without staff involvement. Any guest added this way is now permanently attributed to that host on the guest record, not just recorded at the moment of entry. This attribution stays with the guest even if staff later add more guests to the same table directly, so you can always see which guests came from the host versus from staff.
Inviting a host to manage their own table
Once a host is assigned to a table (on the table's Hosts tab), staff can invite that host to add guests, send RSVP invitations, and manage the table themselves, with no CoolFocus login required.
Sending the invitation
1. Open the table and go to its Overview tab, which shows the assigned host and an invitation status badge.
2. Confirm a host is assigned. If none is, the tab shows "No host assigned. Add a host on the Hosts tab before sending an invitation." and the invitation button does not appear until a host is added.
3. Click Send host invitation. CoolFocus emails the host a secure link. This is available before an invitation has been sent, and again if the host previously declined.
4. The Overview tab's invitation badge tracks progress: Not sent, Invitation sent (covers both a freshly sent invite and one the host has opened but not answered), Accepted, or Declined. Sending or resending an invitation refreshes this status.
5. While an invitation is pending (sent but not yet answered), the button changes to Resend invitation. Use it to send the host the invitation email again, for example if the host hasn't responded or needs a new link.
What the host sees and can do
The invitation email includes Accept and Decline links. Once the host accepts, the email also holds a lasting Open Host Dashboard link they can bookmark and reuse any time, so they don't have to dig up the original email every time.
The accept link is passwordless: it opens the host straight into their table's dashboard on your organization's donor portal (at a URL like https://{donor-portal}/{portalSlug}/events/table-host/{invitationToken}), no account, password, or staff login needed. Before accepting, opening the link shows an Accept invitation prompt instead of guest-management tools; if the host declined, it shows a message telling them to contact the event organizer instead. Add-guest and add-a-party forms stay hidden until the invitation shows as Accepted.
Once accepted, the host dashboard lets them:
See the event name, table name, capacity, and open seats.
Add a guest (an individual) or a party (a couple or family grouped together).
Edit or remove guests they've added.
Send an email RSVP invitation to a guest, or an SMS invitation if the organization has SMS configured. Delivery failures are flagged in red on the guest.
Share the table via a sign-up link or QR code so guests can RSVP themselves.
Guests the host adds, edits, or gets RSVPs from show up immediately on the table's Guests tab in CoolFocus, so staff and hosts always see the same guest list. Staff don't need to re-enter anything the host has already done.
Table guests
A table guest represents an individual person seated at a table. Guest records can track meal choice, RSVP status, dietary notes, and other event-specific details. Meal choice is entered as free text rather than picked from a fixed list, since the meal options offered vary by event.
Adding a guest from a table
When you add a new guest starting from a table (rather than from the event's overall guest list), the guest's Event and Table fields are filled in for you automatically based on the table you started from. The Event field is shown as read-only context so you can confirm you're adding the guest to the right event before saving.
Adding several guests at once as a party
Staff can add a group of guests to a table in one step instead of creating each guest record individually. When adding a batch of guests to a table, give the batch a party name (for example, "The Smith Family") and every guest in that batch is linked together as one party. This mirrors the grouping a table host can already do when adding guests through their invitation link.
A few things to know about bulk-adding guests:
The batch is rejected if it would put the table over capacity; no guests are added unless the whole batch fits.
Grouping guests as a party is optional. Leave the party name blank to add the guests as individuals.
Guests already grouped into a party display and move together, for example a shared chip on the seating chart.
Guest detail header
When you open a table guest record, a context header appears at the top of the page in place of the standard sidebar. The header shows at a glance:
Guest name - the guest or linked contact name.
RSVP status badge - one of six fixed statuses, color-coded by response:
Green: Accepted or Attended.
Blue: Invited or Pending.
Amber: Maybe.
Red: Declined.
Checked In badge - displayed when the guest has been checked in at the event. Checking in a guest also sets their RSVP status to Attended.
Event - a link to the parent event record.
Table - a link to the parent table. Named tables display as "Table N - Name"; numbered-only tables display as "Table N".
Party - the party or household name, if set.
Meal choice - the guest's selected meal option, if recorded. Since meal choice is free text, use consistent spelling and capitalization for the same event so reports and exports group choices correctly.
Seating requests
Ticket buyers can tell you who they would like to sit with when they register online, so your team has that context before assigning tables.
Turn on Collect Seating Requests in the event's Event basics to add a seating request box to that event's public ticket purchase page. See Tickets and Ticket Types for what buyers see at checkout.
Requests are optional and are not guaranteed. A request only collects a preference: it does not reserve a seat or a table by itself, and staff still choose the final table assignment. Use it as a reference when you seat guests, the same way you would honor a request a guest emailed in.
A submitted request shows as "Sit with: [request]" under the guest or party name in the Waiting to be seated list, on the guest roster, and on the Board, whether the guest is seated or still unassigned.
Seating requests also print in the event packet, in a Seating request column on the Unseated guests table.
Seating guests at tables
In Tables & seating, the Waiting to be seated list shows every party without a table. Seat them from the Board (tables as cards) or the Floor (your room layout). Both work the same way: select or drag a party, then pick a table.
Parties sit together. A couple or family that registered together moves as one party, so you seat everyone in one step.
Each table shows whether the party fits. When a party is selected, every table shows Seat N here if there's room, or says why not, like not enough open seats or a locked table. A table with capacity 0 has no seat limit.
All or nothing. Either the whole party is seated or nobody moves, so you never end up with half a family at one table. If something goes wrong, the message offers Retry.
Undo. Seated someone at the wrong table? Click Undo.
Meal Count Report
The Meal Count Report gives caterers a per-meal and per-table headcount for an event. It is available from the event's Tables section and can be exported as CSV or as an Excel workbook.
The report counts two groups of attendees as eligible:
Seated guests - table guests whose RSVP status is Accepted or Attended, and who are not marked inactive. Declined, Pending, Invited, and Maybe guests are left out, and inactive guest records never count.
Unassigned ticket-holders - active tickets that have a meal choice recorded but have not yet been assigned to a table. If the same contact has both a seated guest record and a ticket, only the seated guest is counted so no one is double-counted.
The report shows:
Total eligible guests, along with a breakdown of how many are seated versus unassigned once there is at least one unassigned attendee.
Per-meal totals across every eligible attendee.
Dietary restriction tallies, with comma-separated preferences on a single guest split and counted individually.
A per-table breakdown for plating, with an Unassigned row added whenever there are unassigned ticket-holders with a meal choice.
Because the report only reflects guests and tickets for the event you are viewing, seating or ticket data from other events is never mixed in.
Common tasks
Add tables for an event.
Assign or change table hosts.
Invite a table host to self-manage their table.
Send or resend a table host invitation.
Turn on Collect Seating Requests so buyers can tell you who they'd like to sit with.
Seat guests at tables, individually or as a party.
Move guests between tables.
Review seats remaining.
Review seating requests before assigning tables.
Export guest manifests or event reports, including the Meal Count Report for caterers.
Best practices
Confirm capacity before seating guests.
Keep hosts and guests separate: a host is connected to the table, while each attendee should have a guest record.
Assign a host on the Hosts tab before trying to send an invitation from the Overview tab.
Use seating tools and reports rather than manually maintaining a separate spreadsheet when possible.
Before finalizing catering counts, seat as many confirmed guests as possible; unassigned ticket-holders with a meal choice are still included in the Meal Count Report, but seating them lets you plan tables for them too.