DM templates · Instagram
Take table bookings in Instagram DMs
To book a table from a DM, ask for the date, time, number of guests and a name in one message, then confirm all four back so the guest can screenshot it. The 14 replies below cover that and the requests that need more care, from a fully booked Saturday to a party of 20 or a nut allergy, and each fits Meta's rules on when a restaurant can reply.
Updated 6 October 2026 · 14 templates
14 messages to copy
Tap a card to copy the message. Swap anything in braces, like {name}, for your own words before you send it.
Asking for the booking details
We'd love to have you! To book, I need four things: the date, the time, how many of you there'll be, and a name for the table. Send them over and I'll check straight away.
Ask for all four at once. Gathered one question at a time, a simple booking turns into an evening of back-and-forth.
Table confirmed
You're booked, {name}: a table for 4 on {time}. We hold tables for 15 minutes, so message us here if you're running behind. See you then!
Repeat every detail back. If there's a mix-up at the door, the guest has it in writing, and so do you.
Full at that time
Sorry, we're fully booked at 8 that night. I could do 6:15 or 9:30 instead, or put your name down for 8 and ring you if a table frees up. Which would you like?
Always offer something. A waitlist needs a phone number, because by the time a table frees up, an automated DM may no longer be allowed.
Walk-ins only
We don't take bookings, sorry: every table is first come, first served. Weeknights before 6:30 are the quietest. On busy nights, leave your number at the door and we'll text you when a table's ready.
Put “walk-ins only” in your bio as well, so fewer people need to ask.
Large group
A table for 18, how lovely! For groups over 10 we serve a set menu, which you can see here: {link}. We also take a deposit to hold the date. Shall I check {time} for you?
Share the group rules before you check dates. Hearing about the set menu after the table is held is how big bookings fall apart.
Deposit to hold the table
To confirm the booking, we take a deposit, which comes off your bill on the night. Here's the payment link: {link}. Cancel at least 48 hours ahead and you'll get all of it back.
State the refund rule in the same message as the payment link, before anyone pays.
Allergy or dietary need
Thank you for telling us. I've added the nut allergy to your booking so the kitchen sees it. Please remind your server when you sit down too, so it gets checked twice.
Allergy questions should always reach a person, never an automatic or AI answer. Only the kitchen knows what's in today's dishes.
Birthday or special occasion
Happy early birthday to the guest of honour! I've noted it on the booking. Would you like a candle on a dessert, or are you bringing a cake of your own?
Ask about cakes now. Some restaurants charge for serving an outside cake, and that's better said before the night than at the table.
Menu request
Here's our menu: {link}. The specials change daily, and we post them in our Stories by 5pm. Is there a dish you'd like to know more about?
Send a link, not the whole menu as text. A long menu is hard to read in a chat bubble, and a text message sent through Instagram's API can't go over 1,000 bytes.
Moving a booking
No problem at all. I've moved your table from 7pm to 8:30pm on the same day, still for 4 under {name}. Anything else I can help with?
Confirm the new time in full rather than replying “done”. The old one is still in their head, and in their calendar.
Cancellation received
Thanks for letting us know, {name}, it really helps. Your table for {time} is cancelled, and we hope to see you another time.
Thank people for cancelling. A guest who felt fine telling you once is more likely to tell you again instead of not turning up.
Guest running late
Thanks for the heads-up! We'll keep your table until {time}. If you'll be later than that, message us and we'll do what we can.
Give the exact time you'll hold it until. “No worries” leaves them guessing whether the table will still be there.
Private dining or event enquiry
Thanks for thinking of us for your event! Could you tell me the date, roughly how many guests, and whether you'd like a sit-down meal or something more relaxed? Our events team will reply with options by {time}.
Pass event enquiries to whoever plans events, and give a reply time. These need a person, ideally the same day.
Reminder on the day
Hi {name}, just confirming your table for 4 tonight at {time}. Still all good? Reply here if anything has changed.
Bookings made days ahead fall outside the 24 hours in which an automated DM can go out. Send this one by hand from the Instagram app, or as a text.
Set it up in DMFast
Comment TABLE under a menu post, get the booking link
Someone comments on your post
TABLEPublic reply under their comment
Sent you a DM with the booking link 🍽️First DM (plain text)
Hi! This is an automatic message because you commented TABLE on our post. Would you like the link to book a table? Reply YES and I'll send it straight over.Yes pleaseBook a tablePick a timeUnder a food photo, words like YUM or WANT get typed anyway, so TABLE makes a cleaner trigger. Instagram allows one message per comment until the person replies, so the first DM asks a yes-or-no question, and the booking link follows their YES.
Pick a post
Connect your Instagram account, then choose the post or Reel it runs on, or every post.
Set the word: TABLE
Anyone who comments TABLE gets a reply under their comment and a DM. Capitals don't matter.
Paste the message
Add the public reply and the first DM shown here. Once they answer, your link follows as a card.
Free plan, no card. Instagram professional accounts and Facebook Pages.
Rules to know
- Each comment can get one private reply, sent within 7 days of the comment. Until the guest answers it, that reply is the only message you can send them.
- Automated messages must go out within 24 hours of the guest's last message. A reminder for a booking made days ago is outside that window, so send it by hand or by text.
- With Meta's human agent tag, a staff member can answer a guest's question by hand for up to 7 days after their last message. It isn't for promotions such as a new menu.
- Automated replies have to tell guests they're automated, under Meta's policy for automated chats.
- Instagram's messaging API caps a text message at 1,000 bytes. Plain English letters take one byte each and most emoji take four, so a long menu belongs behind a link.
- Meta's API can't message people who only follow or like your restaurant. They have to send a DM, comment, or reply to a Story first.
Sources
Get the whole booking in one message
Every reservation needs the same core details, and a few extras change how you seat people. Ask for the core in your first reply and for the extras only when they matter.
| Detail | Why you need it |
|---|---|
| Date and time | Ask for a date as well as a day: “Friday” sent just after midnight can mean two different nights. |
| Number of guests | Decides the table, and whether you need a high chair or a bigger space. |
| Name | Lets the host find the booking at the door. A surname avoids mixing up two bookings under the same first name. |
| Phone number | Lets you reach them later by call or text, once an automated DM may no longer be allowed. |
| Allergies and access needs | Pass them to the kitchen and floor staff, and note them on the booking. |
| Occasion | Optional, but a birthday note lets staff bring the candle without being asked. |
Tip: Copy each confirmed booking into your reservation system straight away. A DM thread is a poor place to keep the book, and two staff answering at once can give the same table away twice.
Which replies can run on their own
Questions with one right answer for everyone can be answered automatically. Anything that depends on tonight's book or on the kitchen needs a person.
| Request | Automatic? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “Can I book?” | Yes | Send the booking link, or ask for the details if you take bookings by hand. |
| “What's on the menu?” | Yes | A link to the current menu answers it fully. |
| Opening hours | Yes, if you keep them updated | A wrong holiday answer sends people to a locked door. |
| Groups over 10 | No | Set menus, deposits and space need someone who knows the book. |
| Allergies | Never | Only the kitchen can confirm what's in a dish. |
| Complaints about a visit | No | These need a manager, and quickly. |
In DMFast, the first three can each be a DM keyword reply, such as BOOK, MENU and HOURS, and a comment keyword can start the same flow from a post. Keywords match whole words, so list every form people type: ALLERGY, ALLERGIES and ALLERGIC. A reply to those should only say that a person will answer, and by when. Then a person has to.
Reminders, waitlists and the 24-hour rule
Most tables are booked days before the meal, and that matters on Instagram. Automated messages through Meta's API must go out within 24 hours of the guest's last message. Someone who booked on Monday for Saturday hasn't written for five days by Saturday, so no automated reminder can reach them.
There are three ways around it: take a phone number and send reminders by text, ask guests to message you on the day if plans change, or type the reminder yourself in the Instagram app, which doesn't go through the API. Waitlists work the same way. “We'll let you know if 8 frees up” is a promise you keep by phone, not by automated DM.
Instagram's own booking tools
Some bookings never need to reach your DMs. If your booking service is one Instagram supports, your professional profile can show a Reserve button that opens it, so guests book without messaging at all. A link sticker in a Story and the link in your bio can point to the same booking page.
DMs still handle what a booking page can't: a group of 20, a nut allergy, a proposal that needs the corner table. That's where the replies above come in.
Questions people ask
Can restaurants take reservations through Instagram DMs?
Yes. Ask for the date, time, number of guests and a name, confirm them back, and enter the booking in your reservation system straight away. If your booking service is one Instagram supports, a Reserve button on your profile lets guests book without sending a DM at all.
Can I send automatic booking reminders by Instagram DM?
Only within 24 hours of the guest's last message, which rules out most bookings made in advance. Ask for a phone number and send reminders by text, or send the reminder yourself from the Instagram app on the day.
Should an automatic reply answer allergy questions?
No. The answer depends on today's dishes and suppliers, which only the kitchen can confirm. Let automation acknowledge the message and say when a person will reply, then have someone who can check with the kitchen answer it.
What keyword should a restaurant use for comment-to-DM?
One that names the action and that nobody types by chance under a food photo: TABLE or BOOK for reservations, MENU for the menu. Avoid YUM, WANT or LOVE, which turn up in ordinary comments and would set the reply off.
How do I keep up with DMs during a busy service?
Set an automatic reply that sends the booking link and says when a person will answer, for example after 10pm. For same-night tables, ask guests to call, since nobody on the floor can watch DMs mid-service.
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