Pre-Arrival Reminders (X Hours Before)

Most no-shows aren't bad faith. A Monday booking made on Thursday is forgotten by Saturday — life got busy, a calendar conflict slipped, someone meant to cancel and didn't. A well-timed reminder fixes most of them before they happen.

Pre-Arrival Reminders send a reminder SMS, email, or both — a number of hours before the reservation you choose. Three hours feels right for same-day bookings. Twenty-four hours catches most advance bookings. Some venues send both: a day-before email and a morning-of SMS. The message itself is template-driven, localized, and includes the reservation details and a cancel link.

The cancel link matters more than the reminder itself. A guest who remembers but can't make it uses the link instead of ghosting — your table gets freed for a walk-in, not wasted. Over a quarter, the reminder-plus-cancel-link combo typically cuts no-shows by 30-60% depending on venue type.

Reminders respect the reservation status — confirmed bookings get them, canceled or already-seated ones don't. Delivery is tracked (see: notification delivery tracking), so when a number is dead or an inbox bounces, you know.