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Send reservation reminders that cut restaurant no-shows

Quick answer: Text or email each guest a reminder the day before and a few hours before their booking, with one-tap confirm or cancel, and free cancelled tables for the waitlist.

Last updated October 16, 2026

Steps

Check whether your reservation system (OpenTable, Resy, Tock, SevenRooms) already has built-in reminders; turn those on first.
If not, export or trigger on new bookings into a Google Sheet via Zapier, Make or n8n.
Schedule a reminder 24 hours before and a second about 3 hours before, with confirm/cancel links.
When a guest cancels, mark the table open and notify the host stand so the waitlist can be offered the slot.
Track no-show rate weekly to see if the reminders help.

What you need

Tools: reservation system + Zapier/Make/n8n + SMS or email. Costs: see each vendor's current pricing page.

What to watch

Text only guests who gave their number for the booking, include the restaurant name, and honor STOP (TCPA and 10DLC rules in the US).

Don't send duplicate reminders if your booking platform already sends its own.

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FAQ

Do I need to code?

No. These recipes use no-code tools like Zapier, Make or n8n. If you'd rather not set it up yourself, StorenTech AI can build it for you.

Want this built for you?

StorenTech AI can set up this automation for your business.

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