For restaurant owners · Bookings and no-shows

Reply to a large-party reservation request

A reply to a big-table request that offers only the times your large-party rules allow and says what the guest needs to do to hold the table.

By Aaron Byrne, KeenHand

The prompt

Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and fill in each part in [BRACKETS]. Restaurant owners, managers and whoever handles reservations.

I run a restaurant. Someone wants a table for a big group, and my reservation system will not book a party that size online. I have rules for large parties, and I want a reply that offers only what those rules allow.

What I have:
- The guest's request, word for word: [LARGE PARTY REQUEST]
- My rules for large parties: the times we seat them, the most we seat together, set menu or not, and what holds the table: [LARGE PARTY RULES]
- What I have open on the date they asked for: [OPEN TIMES]
- How I sound with guests: [MY TONE]

What I want:
1. Pull out the date, the time, the headcount and the occasion.
2. Check the request against my rules and my open times. Say plainly what fits and what does not.
3. Write a reply in my tone that offers the times that fit, explains the rule that applies to a group their size in one sentence, and says what they need to do to hold the table.
4. If nothing fits, offer the closest open times I gave you and nothing else.

Rules:
- Write a draft for me to read. Do not send anything.
- Use only what I gave you. If something is missing, ask me instead of guessing.
- Never quote a price, promise a table or claim anything I did not give you.
- Use my deposit and no-show wording exactly as I wrote it. Do not add, change or waive anything.
- Leave out guests' card details and anything about their health.

Give me back:
- The reply, ready for me to edit
- One line on what fits and what does not
- Anything they asked that I need to answer myself

When to use it

Someone asks for a table for ten or more, often for a birthday or a team dinner, and your reservation system will not take a party that size online.

When not to

Do not use it to agree to a deposit you have not set, to move other reservations or to promise a private room. Those are your call.

What to paste in

[LARGE PARTY REQUEST]: The request as the guest sent it, without their last name or phone number.
[LARGE PARTY RULES]: Your standing rules for big tables in plain words, including your deposit or no-show wording as you use it.
[OPEN TIMES]: What your reservation system shows open on that date, and the largest party each time can take.
[MY TONE]: Three or four words for how you sound, or a reply you have sent before that you liked.

Never paste

The guest's last name, phone number or card details
Anything a guest told you about their health or an allergy

A filled-in example

Sample. Fictional business, fictional client.

LARGE PARTY REQUEST: Hi! Looking to book for my dad's 70th on Saturday the 18th, 14 of us, ideally around 7. Is it OK to bring balloons?
LARGE PARTY RULES: Parties of 9 to 16 seat at 5:00 or 8:15 on Fri and Sat; one check per table; the table is held with a card through our reservation link and our large-party no-show policy applies; balloons are fine, no confetti.
OPEN TIMES: Saturday the 18th: 5:00 open for up to 16; 8:15 open for up to 10; nothing at 7.
MY TONE: Warm, upbeat, clear.

What you should get back

A reply that offers only the times your rules and your book allow
One plain sentence on the large-party rule that applies
What the guest needs to do to hold the table
No new deposit, fee or private room you did not offer

What stays with you

The prompt writes a draft. You decide what happens to it, and nothing should reach a guest until you have read it. Decisions about money stay with a person every time, and so do health questions and complaints. When KeenHand builds a routine like this, every message carries the same four decisions: Automate, Approve, Revise, Reject.

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