Enable and Customize SMS Messages

Vendion sends automatic SMS at key moments in the booking process. The same SMS flow handles all three booking types – table booking, event and resource.

SMS types:

Message reply is sent when you answer in the message thread. It is on by default and can be turned off under the same setting – without it the guest does not know you replied, and is billed under your SMS tariff per SMS part and recipient.

Default confirmation (sent in Swedish): "Hej {name}! Din bokning på {restaurant} {date} kl {time} för {party_size} pers är bekräftad. Ändra/avboka: {manage_link}"

Default reminder (sent in Swedish): "Påminnelse: Du har bord på {restaurant} {when} kl {time} för {party_size} pers. Välkommen! Ändra: {manage_link}"

Confirmation and reminder templates are shared by the booking types. They do not automatically insert the event or resource name, price or end time. Write general wording that suits your bookings and retain the link where the guest can read the details.

Enable and customize:

1. Go to Bordsbokning → Inställningar → No-show & SMS
2. Turn on Bekräftelse-SMS (Skicka ett SMS direkt när bokningen görs, send an SMS as soon as the booking is made) and/or Påminnelse-SMS (Skicka en påminnelse före besöket, send a reminder before the visit)
3. Under Skicka påminnelsen, set how many hours before the booking the reminder should be sent (default: 3 hours)
4. Write under Bekräftelse-SMS, egen text and Påminnelse-SMS, egen text, or leave them empty for the defaults. Settings save automatically

Writing your own text:

• When the field is empty, the default text is shown in grey. That is exactly the text the guest receives.
• Press Utgå från standardtexten to fill it in, so you can edit it instead of starting from scratch.
• Add variables with the buttons under the field (Namn, Datum, När, Tid, Antal gäster, Restaurang, Ändra-länk, Kommande event). The variable is inserted at the cursor, so the spelling is always right.
• Below the field you see the SMS with example values, the character count and how many SMS parts it becomes.
• Återställ standardtext removes your own text. If you change your mind, press Ångra in the notice that appears.
• If you leave the default text unchanged, it does not count as your own text. It then follows along when we improve the default.

Keep Ändra-länk in the text, otherwise the guest cannot change or cancel on their own.

Variables in custom templates (all booking types):

The variables have the same names when you write an English message. If you type a variable that does not exist, such as {namn}, the field warns you: otherwise it is sent to the guest exactly as written. Longer text, emoji and event suggestions can increase the number of billable SMS parts, and the preview shows how many.

{when} instead of writing "today": {when} automatically becomes the Swedish "idag", "imorgon" or the date, depending on when the message actually goes out. Use it in the reminder template instead of the word "today" – otherwise it reads wrong as soon as the reminder is sent the day before. With 3 hours' lead time you rarely notice, but raise it to 24 or 48 hours and "today" is untrue every time.

No reminder for someone who just booked: A booking made when less than the reminder time plus one hour remains before the visit gets no reminder. The guest has just received the confirmation with the same date and time, and a reminder a few minutes later would only be an extra SMS to pay for. With a 3-hour reminder, a guest who books 2 hours before the visit therefore only gets the confirmation.

Waitlist confirmation: A guest who joins the waitlist gets their own SMS saying they're in the queue and do not have a table. That template can't be rewritten – the text has to answer "do I have a table?" with a no, and a custom confirmation text would risk promising the opposite. Only when you offer them a table and they accept do they get the regular confirmation.

Reminders for events and resources: Vendion sends reminders automatically based on your setting – whether for tables, events or resources. No extra configuration is needed for event or resource bookings – enable Påminnelse-SMS. The timing applies to all types, not separately per type.

Cost: SMS is billed per SMS part and recipient according to your price list. A long message can require several parts.

Notifications to the restaurant for bookings (email): Want an email the moment a guest books, cancels or modifies a table booking online? On the same tab you can turn on Notiser vid bokningar – an email to the restaurant (not to the guest).

1. Go to Bordsbokning → Inställningar → No-show & SMS
2. Under Notiser vid bokningar, turn on Notiser (Skicka mejl vid bokningshändelser, send email on booking events)
3. Under Mejla vid, choose which events to email about: Ny bokning, Avbokning and/or Ändrad bokning
4. Under Mottagare, enter an address and click Lägg till. Add one or more addresses (e.g. owner and maître d'). Leave the list empty and the notification goes to the restaurant's administrators.
5. Click Skicka testmejl for an example sent to your own logged-in email address

Notifications are sent only for guests' own online bookings – bookings that staff enter in the POS or admin are not emailed (you already see those). Unlike SMS, email notifications are free.

Tips: Choose one reminder timing that suits your business and check guest mobile numbers. If an event needs specific information, include it in the event description and refer guests to their booking link.