Automated reminders to customers about upcoming reservations

Purpose

1.1. Automate sending timely reminders to customers about their upcoming reservations to reduce no-shows, improve dining experience, and efficiently manage bookings.
1.2. Enables restaurant staff to focus on service by automating manual communication typically required to confirm or remind reservations.
1.3. Supports omni-channel communication (SMS, email, WhatsApp, push notifications) to ensure message delivery per customer preference.
1.4. Automates follow-ups for customer responses (e.g., confirmations, cancellations, rescheduling) to optimize table allocation and reduce lost revenue.
1.5. Integrates with restaurant POS and reservation systems to automate information synchronization and updates.

Trigger Conditions

2.1. Automated trigger X hours/days before reservation time, configurable per venue's preference.
2.2. Automated trigger upon any reservation change (creation, time change, cancellation).
2.3. Recurring automator to send reminders at custom intervals (e.g., 24 hours and 2 hours before reservation).
2.4. Trigger automatedly based on customer’s preferred contact channel.
2.5. Trigger includes automation for extracting relevant reservation details and personalized customer information.

Platform Variants

3.1. Twilio (SMS, WhatsApp)
- Feature/Setting: Twilio Messaging API; automate "Create Message" endpoint with scheduled flow using customer phone numbers and dynamic reservation data.
3.2. SendGrid (Email)
- Feature/Setting: SendGrid Mail Send API; automate email templates with merge tags for reservation info, scheduling with a “Send Later” automation function.
3.3. Mailgun
- Feature/Setting: Messages API; automate batch sending with scheduling and dynamic personalizations for reservation reminders.
3.4. Slack
- Feature/Setting: Slack Incoming Webhooks; automate reservation notifications to customer service or internal staff for follow-up.
3.5. Telegram
- Feature/Setting: Telegram Bot API sendMessage function; automate sending reservation reminders directly to customers’ Telegram accounts.
3.6. WhatsApp Business API
- Feature/Setting: Automated templates and scheduled message flows for sending reservation reminders and confirmations.
3.7. Facebook Messenger API
- Feature/Setting: Send API with automated trigger flows to send reminder messages to customers’ Facebook Messenger.
3.8. HubSpot
- Feature/Setting: Automated Workflows + Email/SMS; schedule and automate sending reminders based on reservation properties.
3.9. Salesforce Marketing Cloud
- Feature/Setting: Journey Builder + SMS/Email activities; automate drip campaigns for reservation confirmations and reminders.
3.10. Google Calendar API
- Feature/Setting: Automated event reminder creation and notification triggers for customers added to reservation-specific Google Calendars.
3.11. Zoho CRM
- Feature/Setting: Automated Workflow Rules to trigger email/SMS reminders based on reservation date fields.
3.12. Microsoft Outlook 365
- Feature/Setting: Automated Email Reminder Rules and Calendar event reminders via Microsoft Graph API.
3.13. ActiveCampaign
- Feature/Setting: Automation Sequences with conditional triggers for SMS/email reservation reminders.
3.14. Pipedrive
- Feature/Setting: Workflow Automations for timed email reminders using Activities/Deals module.
3.15. Freshdesk
- Feature/Setting: Automator for ticket notifications and follow-ups related to reservations.
3.16. Zendesk
- Feature/Setting: Automated Triggers and email/SMS integrations for reservation reminders.
3.17. Aircall
- Feature/Setting: Automated call reminders or voicemail drops ahead of reservations using Aircall API.
3.18. ClickSend
- Feature/Setting: SMS API; automate sending timed reservation reminders via SMS.
3.19. Plivo
- Feature/Setting: Automated SMS reminder flows via Plivo Messaging API; schedule outbound messages using templates.
3.20. Viber Business Messages
- Feature/Setting: Automated message send API for customer reservation reminders to Viber accounts.
3.21. Intercom
- Feature/Setting: Automated in-app or email message triggers to remind users of upcoming reservations.
3.22. Shopify
- Feature/Setting: Automated customer notification feature via Shopify Flow for confirming and reminding reservation orders.
3.23. Calendly
- Feature/Setting: Automated email/text reminders for events booked through Calendly Reservation Integration.
3.24. Zapier
- Feature/Setting: Multi-platform automate integration for scheduled reminders across email, SMS, chat channels.
3.25. Google Chat API
- Feature/Setting: Automation bots to send reminder messages to customers using Google Chat platform.
3.26. MessageBird
- Feature/Setting: Omnichannel Messaging API; automate sending SMS/WhatsApp/Viber reservation reminders.

Benefits

4.1. Automates manual communication and increases reservation confirmation rates.
4.2. Reduces staff time spent on repetitive customer follow-ups.
4.3. Minimizes no-shows with reliable, multi-channel automated reminders.
4.4. Improves customer service and satisfaction with timely, personalized communication.
4.5. Automates data capture and tracking for future marketing automation efforts.
4.6. Supports business growth by automating reminders for high-volume reservation environments.
4.7. Easily scalable and automatable for multi-location or franchise restaurant operations.