Booking confirmation text message templates
A good confirmation text is short, sounds like your restaurant, and makes replying easier than ignoring it. Below are twelve you can copy, in three tones, plus advice on timing and what every message needs.
What every message needs
- Your venue’s name, near the start. Guests get texts from all sorts of numbers, so they need to see straight away who it’s from.
- The booking details: day, time and party size, so they can spot a mistake.
- A one-word reply: “Reply YES to confirm or NO to cancel.” It’s the easiest thing you can ask of anyone.
- A way to cancel or change, whether that’s a reply, a link or a phone number someone answers during service.
- A way to stop messages if you send more than one per booking. A short “Reply STOP to opt out” is courteous, and it keeps guests from blocking your number.
Keep it a booking message, not a promotion
The ICO says messages to “confirm or remind [people] about appointments” are service messages, not direct marketing. But “If your service message has elements that are direct marketing, even if that is not the main purpose of your message, then it will count as direct marketing” (ICO, updated Aug 2025).
So leave out the “and don’t miss our new brunch menu!” line. Once it’s there, the marketing consent rules apply to the whole text. Your name and logo on their own are fine.
When to send
- 24–48 hours before suits most bookings. Plans are fairly settled, and there’s still time to fill a table if someone says NO.
- The morning of suits lunch, early sittings and walk-in-heavy venues, where people book a day or two ahead.
- A few days out, then the day before suits big parties, set menus and peak dates.
- A follow-up after no reply, sent a few hours later, is worth it for bookings that matter, before you pick up the phone.
Guests differ. In Zonal and CGA’s 2021 research, 38% preferred a reminder a few days before and 28% on the day (Zonal/CGA, Sept 2021). Pick what suits your bookings, and keep it to one or two messages.
Templates
Character counts assume a 12-letter venue name and are all under 160. Stick to plain characters: emoji and some symbols, including curly quotes, can cut how much fits in a single text.
Warm, for neighbourhood restaurants
Hi [Name], it's [Venue]. Looking forward to seeing you [Fri] at [7pm], table for [4]. Still on? Reply YES to confirm or NO to cancel. Thanks!
Morning [Name]! Your table at [Venue] is set for [7pm] tonight. Running late or can't make it? Reply NO or call [phone] and we'll sort it.
Hi [Name], [Venue] again. We'd love to keep your table for [4] tonight at [7pm]. Could you reply YES or NO so we know? Thanks
No problem, [Name] - your table's cancelled. Thanks for telling us, and we hope to see you another time. [Venue]
Polished, for fine dining
Good afternoon [Title Surname]. We look forward to welcoming you to [Venue] on [Sat 14 June] at [8pm]. Please reply YES to confirm or NO to cancel.
[Title Surname], a reminder of your table at [Venue] this evening at [8pm]. Should your plans change, reply NO or call [phone]. Reply STOP to opt out
[Venue]: your table for [6] on [Sat 14 June], [8pm] is confirmed. Free to cancel until [Thu 12 June], [8pm]. Change or cancel: [link]
Thank you, [Title Surname]. Your table is confirmed and we look forward to seeing you this evening. [Venue]
Brisk, for busy brasseries
[Venue]: table for [3], today [6:30pm]. Reply YES to keep it or NO to release it. Thanks!
[Venue]: [2] at [1pm] tomorrow. Still coming? Reply YES or NO. To change: [link]
[Venue]: no reply yet for your [7pm] table for [4]. Reply YES by [5pm] to keep it, or NO to let it go.
[Venue]: done - your [7pm] table is cancelled. Thanks for letting us know.
Getting the most from them
Make a NO feel welcome. Template 4 and template 12 thank the guest. That’s deliberate: in takepayments’ 2025 survey, 15% of people who’d missed a booking said they’d felt too embarrassed to get in touch (takepayments, Sept 2025).
Only release a table if your policy says you will. Template 11 sets a reply deadline. If you use it, put that rule in your booking policy too, so the guest isn’t surprised.
Make sure someone sees the replies. A NO that sits unread in an inbox until 9pm is no use to you. Send replies somewhere the host will see them during service.
Match the deadline in the text to your policy. If your booking terms say 48 hours’ notice, the text shouldn’t say 24.
Watch what comes back. Count how many guests reply, how many say NO, and how many of those tables you refill. That tells you whether your timing is right.
Sources
Every figure above links to where it was published. We read each one on 1 October 2026.
- ICO · updated Aug 2025ico.org.uk
- Zonal/CGA · Sept 2021info.cgastrategy.com
- takepayments · Sept 2025takepayments.com