Automate reservation confirmations and reminders via SMS and email

Purpose

1.1. Automate the process of sending reservation confirmations and reminders via SMS and email to reduce manual work, improve guest experience, and minimize no-shows.
1.2. Ensures guests always receive up-to-date reservation statuses and necessary reminders without manual intervention, supporting high-volume, family restaurant operations with scalable automation.
1.3. Enables scheduling, real-time triggers, and logic-based workflows for confirmations, reminders, follow-ups, and waitlist notifications, automatically updating relevant systems and records.

Trigger Conditions

2.1. Reservation created in POS or online booking system.
2.2. Reservation status is updated (confirmed, rescheduled, canceled).
2.3. Scheduled time reached before reservation (e.g., 24 hours prior, 2 hours prior).
2.4. Guest contact (email/phone) is present and validated.
2.5. Manual override or staff-initiated reminder required.

Platform Variants

3.1. Twilio SMS
• Feature: Programmable Messaging API — configure SMS template and automator to trigger on booking; set "From" identity, and schedule via webhook.
3.2. SendGrid
• Feature: Email API — automate transactional email with dynamic templates, scheduling, and event webhooks.
3.3. Mailgun
• Feature: Messages API — use REST API for automated notification delivery, tag messages for tracking.
3.4. Nexmo (Vonage)
• Feature: SMS API — schedule confirmations/reminders, personalize sender, automate via workflow triggers.
3.5. Plivo
• Feature: SMS API — automate sending, set timing logic with reservation timestamps, configure sender details.
3.6. AWS SES
• Feature: SendEmail function — automate triggered transactional emails, template management, DKIM signing.
3.7. AWS SNS
• Feature: Publish — automated SMS or mobile push notifications, triggered from booking event.
3.8. WhatsApp Business API
• Feature: Template Messages — automate structuring and sending reservation confirmations via WhatsApp.
3.9. Slack
• Feature: Incoming Webhooks — automated table status/message to team channels from reservation triggers.
3.10. Google Calendar API
• Feature: Events.insert — automate calendar invites for reservations with reminders for guests.
3.11. Outlook/Microsoft 365
• Feature: Graph API — automate sending calendar events and email reminders for guest reservations.
3.12. Zapier
• Feature: Email/SMS and multi-platform automation — triggers and actions automate cross-system notification flows.
3.13. Pabbly Connect
• Feature: Automation workflows — connect booking system to SMS/email platforms automatedly.
3.14. MessageBird
• Feature: Programmable Conversations API — automate SMS/WhatsApp reminders, multi-channel support.
3.15. HubSpot
• Feature: Workflow automation — use reservations as triggers for automated emails or SMS (via integration).
3.16. ActiveCampaign
• Feature: Automations — automate and segment guest reminders/confirmations through campaign builder.
3.17. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
• Feature: Transactional Email/SMS — automate templated reservation messages, triggered by booking status.
3.18. Infobip
• Feature: SMS/Email API — automate message sending at specific workflow points, journey orchestration.
3.19. ClickSend
• Feature: SMS/Email API — automate confirmation/reminder scheduling, pull details from booking systems.
3.20. MoceanAPI
• Feature: Messaging API — automate SMS delivery across international guest numbers with programmatic triggers.

Benefits

4.1. Automates routine communication, freeing staff for value-added tasks.
4.2. Automation improves message reliability, timeliness, and guest satisfaction.
4.3. Automated reminders help reduce no-shows and optimize table turnover.
4.4. Automator scales across high reservation volumes with consistent execution.
4.5. Enables easy-to-track, automatable records of guest communication history.