Groups and Private Events: Turn Inquiries Into Confirmed Bookings
Company dinners, birthdays, weddings: how to handle large parties without endless emails and phone calls, with approval, the right room, deposits and clear details up front.
Large parties are some of the most valuable bookings you get, and some of the most work. Here is how to win them without losing your evenings to email.
A company dinner for 30, a birthday for 18, a wedding reception: these bookings bring revenue on a single evening. But they usually start as a message such as "Do you have space for 25 on the 14th?", followed by days of back and forth. Every day of delay is a chance for the guest to ask the next restaurant.
1. Request Instead of Instant Booking
You do not want a party of 25 to be confirmed automatically. With Gustaio you set a group size from which bookings arrive as a request. Smaller parties are confirmed right away, larger ones wait for your approval. The guest knows immediately that the request was received, and you decide in your own time whether the evening works.
2. The Right Room for the Right Group
A private party needs the right space. Define your rooms and areas once, such as the Stube, the terrace or the cellar, and let guests choose a zone when they book. You see at a glance which area is taken, and the seating plan shows where the group sits.
3. Ask for the Details Up Front
Instead of collecting information by phone, build it into the booking. Ask for the occasion, allergies, a preferred menu or the name of the company. The answers are shown clearly in the reservation details, so your kitchen and service team see them without searching through emails.
4. Secure the Booking
Large groups that cancel late cost real money. Ask for a prepayment or a card guarantee, so the booking is binding from the start and a no-show does not leave a hole in your evening. You decide the terms for each Experience.
5. Offer Alternatives, Do Not Say No
If the requested evening is full, propose another date or time instead of declining. The guest receives your suggestion and accepts or declines with one tap. A lost group becomes a confirmed one on a different day.
6. For Closed Events: Invitations
If a company or a host organises the evening, an invitation with a personal link or QR code lets each guest sign up on their own, with a fixed date and a guest list that builds itself. No more collecting names in a spreadsheet.
What It Means for You
- Faster answers: Guests get a clear response in minutes, not days.
- Less back and forth: The key details arrive with the booking.
- More security: Deposits and approval keep large bookings reliable.
- A better impression: An organised, professional process wins repeat events.
Create a group Experience in your dashboard, set your group size for requests, and your next company dinner books itself.
