Your Booking Policy communicates essential house rules, reservation terms, and structural details to your guests before they finalize their booking. Setting a clear policy helps manage guest expectations and reduces no-shows.
To customize your policy, log in to your dashboard and navigate to Online Reservations > Booking Policy.
1. Description Language & Custom Policy Text
At the top of the page, use the text editor to write your full booking and cancellation policy.
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Multilingual Support: If your widget supports multiple languages, select the language from the dropdown menu and input the translated text for each active language.
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Managing Languages: If you need to enable or disable specific languages on your widget, go to Account Setup > Time and language.
2. Configuring Key Features
Below the text editor, you can toggle specific house rules. To ensure your widget functions correctly, some core operational fields are required, while others remain completely optional.
Required Fields (Mandatory Selection)
You must select one option for each of these core operational rules:
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Keep table for being late: Choose how long you will hold a table for late arrivals (e.g., a 10, 15, or 20-minute grace period).
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Children: Specify your restaurant’s family policy (Children allowed, Restricted, or Not allowed).
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Pets: Define your pet policy (Pet friendly, Restricted, or Not allowed).
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Wheelchair access: Disclose your venue's accessibility level (No access, Elevator, Wheelchair ramp, or Level access).
Optional Fields (Disabled by Default)
You can choose to enable and configure these additional fields if they apply to your restaurant:
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Dress Code: Communicate your dress standard (e.g., Smart Casual, Formal / Black Tie, No swimwear).
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Secure reservation: Manage card-authorization requirements (e.g., Saving card details, Prepayment required, or Required for group bookings).
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Group reservations: Set rules for large parties (e.g., Please call/email us for group reservations).
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Service fee: Disclose automatically added gratuities (e.g., 10% service fee applied to groups).
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Bill: Clarify accepted payment methods at your venue (e.g., Cash only, Only card, or Cash and card).
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Kitchen is open until: Let guests know when the kitchen stops taking orders relative to your closing time.
💡 Need a custom option? If your restaurant has a unique house rule not listed here, contact us at support@tablein.com and our team will gladly add it for you.
3. How the Policy Appears to Guests
Once your booking policy is saved, it will automatically seamlessly integrate into the guest booking flow. Depending on how your widget is installed, it will display in one of two ways:
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Inside the Integrated Widget: The policy will automatically appear as a dedicated step during the final stage of the booking process. Guests must actively check a box confirming they agree to your terms before their reservation can be submitted.
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On the Widget Sidebar: If you use a direct reservation link with the sidebar view enabled, the policy text will render clearly in the sidebar panel next to the form.
If you use a direct reservation link rather than an embedded widget, you can display your policy prominently in the sidebar panel.
To enable this view:
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Go to Online Reservations > Widget integration.
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Click on the specific widget layout you would like to edit.
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Scroll to the bottom of the settings page and switch the toggle ON for "Show booking policy".
⚠️ Please Note: If your widget is embedded directly into your website (integrated widget), the booking policy will display inside the booking steps by default, overriding the sidebar setting.
