Pubs and bars
Business texting for pubs and bars
Confirm bookings by text, and tell your regulars when the quiz is back or the new menu starts. Send from a UK number they can reply to, or under your pub's own name once it's approved.
How do pubs and bars use business texting?
Pubs and bars text customers to confirm and remind table bookings, announce quiz nights, live music and big matches, share new menus and offers, and round up staff when a shift needs covering. Booking texts are service messages. Event and offer texts are marketing, so they go only to people who've agreed and carry an opt-out line.
What pubs text about
Most of it falls into two piles. The first is service texts about something a customer has already arranged, like a table for Sunday lunch, a function room deposit or a change to the time of their booking. Those don't need marketing consent. The second is everything that sells: quiz nights, live music, match days, a new menu, the Christmas party package. That's marketing, and it needs the customer's say-so first.
Then there's your own team. When someone calls in sick on a Friday, or the cellar floods and you're shut for the night, a text to a staff list reaches everyone at once and the replies come back to one inbox.
Building a list you're allowed to text
The easiest time to ask is when someone's giving you their number anyway, for a table booking, a function room enquiry or a WiFi sign-in. Ask a plain question ('Can we text you about events and offers?'), make it easy to say no, and keep a record of the answer with the date.
A number taken for a booking can be used for that booking. If someone gave you their number only so you could confirm their table, texting them about Friday's band breaks PECR, unless they agreed to marketing at the time or the soft opt-in applies and they were given the chance to say no.
Licensing and drinks promotions
Drinks offers need more care than most. In England and Wales the mandatory licensing conditions ban irresponsible promotions, which include offering unlimited or unspecified amounts of alcohol free or for a fixed or discounted price, and rewarding people for drinking within 24 hours or less, where that carries a significant risk to the licensing objectives. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own licensing law. Check a drinks offer against the rules for your premises before you text it to a few hundred people.
Marketing texts also come under the CAP Code, which the ASA enforces. Its alcohol rules say marketing shouldn't encourage excessive drinking or be aimed at under-18s, so leave anyone you know is under 18 off the list, and let the band, the food or the quiz do the selling.
If you already use CaptiFi guest WiFi
CaptiFi Connect is run by a sister company of CaptiFi, the guest WiFi marketing platform for venues. The two aren't linked up at the moment, so contacts come into CaptiFi Connect by CSV import like any other list. Only import guests who agreed to texts when they signed in, and keep that record.
Features that suit pubs
The parts of CaptiFi Connect pubs and bars tend to use:
- Campaigns to a list, now or scheduled, with the opt-out line added for you.
- An approved sender name, so offers show your pub's name.
- A UK mobile number for booking texts, so customers can reply.
- The two-way inbox for booking changes and function room questions.
- Templates with {first_name} for the texts you send every week.
Sample texts
Merge fields in braces are filled from each contact. The part count is worked out the way the platform bills it.
Booking confirmation(service)
Hi {first_name}, your table for 6 at The Red Lion is booked for Sun 1 Nov at 1pm. Numbers changed? Just reply to this text.
123 characters, 1 part
Quiz night(marketing)
Quiz night is back at The Red Lion this Thursday, 8pm start. Teams of up to 6, prize for the winners. Call 01632 960789 to book a table. Reply STOP to opt out
158 characters, 1 part
Match day(marketing)
Hi {first_name}, the derby's on all our screens Saturday, kick-off 12:30. Tables are filling up, so call 01632 960789 to book. Reply STOP to opt out
148 characters, 1 part
Christmas bookings(marketing)
Hi {first_name}, our Christmas menus are out. Book a party of 8 or more by 20 Nov for free mince pies all round. Call 01632 960789. Reply STOP to opt out
153 characters, 1 part
Closure(service)
Sorry {first_name}, The Red Lion is closed tonight because of a burst pipe. We'll call you tomorrow to rebook your table.
121 characters, 1 part
Getting set up
- 1
Create your account
Sign up with your pub's details. We check every new account before it can send.
- 2
Import your contacts
Bring in booking contacts and people who've agreed to marketing from CSV, as separate lists.
- 3
Request your pub's name
Ask for a sender name of up to 11 characters, so 'The Red Lion' might become 'RedLionPub'. Staff check it before it can be used.
- 4
Add credit
Buy a pack by card under Billing. The Starter pack is 500 credits for £25 plus VAT, and credits never expire.
- 5
Send your first campaign
Pick the marketing list, write the text and send it now or schedule it for a sensible time.
Common texts for pubs and bars
| Message | When it goes | Service or marketing | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking confirmation | As soon as the table is booked | Service | Table for 6 confirmed, Sun 1 Nov at 1pm |
| Booking reminder | The day before | Service | See you tomorrow at 1pm, reply if numbers change |
| Quiz or live music night | A few days before | Marketing | Quiz is back Thursday from 8pm |
| Big match on the screens | The day before or that morning | Marketing | Kick-off 12:30, tables filling up |
| New menu | When it launches | Marketing | Our autumn menu starts Friday |
| Unexpected closure | As soon as you know | Service | Closed tonight because of a burst pipe |
| Shift cover | When someone calls in sick | Staff text | Can anyone cover the bar 6pm till close? |
Questions people ask
Can we text customers about events if they only gave us their number for a booking?
Only if they agreed to marketing when they gave it, or the soft opt-in applies and they were offered a simple way to refuse at the time. Otherwise a number given for a booking is for that booking.
Can offers come from our pub's name?
Yes, once your sender name is approved. Names can be 3 to 11 characters, so you may need a shortened version. Nobody can reply to a name, so leave the sender name blank on booking texts and they go from a UK mobile number.
Are drinks promotions by text allowed?
Yes, within the licensing rules for your premises and the CAP Code. In England and Wales the mandatory licensing conditions ban irresponsible promotions, such as unlimited drinks for a fixed price.
Does CaptiFi Connect work with CaptiFi guest WiFi?
They're sister companies, but there's no live link between the two yet. You can import guests who agreed to texts as a CSV.
Send your first text this week
Set up your account and contacts now; we check every new account before it can send.