Changing your guest numbers

Most bookings are made well before you know exactly how many people are coming. Some businesses let you settle your final numbers yourself, on your booking page, up to a date they choose. You change the number, the page shows the new total, and your booking follows.

This article covers where the guest numbers box is, the range you can pick from, what a change does to your pricing and payments, when the box closes, and what to do after that.

Where it is

Open your booking page from the link the business sent you. If they allow changes, a Guest numbers box sits near the top, under the date and time of your booking.

It only appears when all of these are true:

The quote you accepted let you set a guest count.
You have agreed to the terms. Until then, see agreeing to the terms.
The business has set a date for final numbers, and that date has not passed.

The box says when it closes: "You can change your guest numbers until" followed by the date. You can still make changes on that date itself. The date follows the business's own time zone.

The range you can pick from

Under the box, a line prints your limits: From the number you booked, and up to the most your quote allows. Where the quote set no maximum, only the lower figure is printed.

Final numbers can go up, or come back down, anywhere inside that range. They cannot go below the number you booked when you accepted the quote.

Changing the number

Type the new number of guests into the Guests box.
Wait a moment. A line appears under the box with what your total would be at that number, beside what it is now.
Click Update my booking.

Nothing changes until you click the button. The preview is worked out exactly the way the change itself is, so the total you see is the total you get.

If you type a number outside your limits, the line under the box tells you why. "Final numbers can't go below" the number you booked, or "This booking can take at most" a set number of guests. If you type the number you already have, it says your booking is already for that many guests.

Once you click Update my booking, the page reloads with a green message confirming the new number and that the business has been told. You can change it again, as often as you need, until the closing date.

What a change does

Only the per-person lines move. Anything on your quote priced per guest (a menu, a drinks package, chair hire per head) is re-counted at its original price and tax. Everything else stays as it was, including anything the business added to your booking themselves after you accepted.

Your total updates straight away. The document on your booking page shows the new lines and the new total as soon as the page reloads. So does the guest count on the booking.

What you still owe follows the new total. The amount outstanding on your booking page is the new total less what you have already paid. A deposit set as a percentage of the total moves with it, and a deposit set as a fixed amount stays the same.

Invoices already issued to you keep their amounts. A deposit or progress payment invoice you have already been sent does not change. The difference is picked up when your balance is billed.

When the box closes

The Guest numbers box disappears from your booking page when any of these happens:

The final-numbers date passes.
An invoice for your balance, or one invoice for the whole booking, is issued to you. That invoice is the final bill, so the numbers on it are settled. If you pay the whole booking or ask for an invoice for the full amount, that invoice closes the box too.
The booking is cancelled.
The booking is completed.

If the box closes while you have the page open, the line under the box says "Guest numbers can't be changed online any more. Contact the venue to make a change." Clicking Update my booking at that point changes nothing.

After it closes

Contact the business directly. They can still change your numbers for you, and in some cases move the date so you can make the change yourself. Tell them the new number, and anything that comes with it, such as extra dietary requirements.

The business is told every time

You do not need to email them as well. Each change you make sends the business a notification and an email with the old and new guest numbers and the total before and after. It is also recorded against your booking, so there is a record of every change you made and when.

If you cannot see the box

You have not agreed to the terms yet. The box appears once you have.
Your quote had a fixed guest count. There is nothing to change online. Contact the business.
The date has passed, or the booking is settled. See when the box closes above.
The business does not offer it. Not every business lets clients set their own final numbers. Send them the number instead.