Payment Links for Reservations: Hold the Table, Guest Pays in Seconds

A guest calls and wants a table for six on Saturday. You want a deposit so the evening is safe. Until now that meant dictating card details over the phone, waiting for a bank transfer, or taking the reservation with nothing behind it.

Not anymore. With the payment link you create the reservation in Gustaio Studio, switch one toggle on, and your guest gets a link to pay. Their table stays held while they do.

How it works

1. Create the reservation. As always in Gustaio Studio, by phone, at the bar or after a message.
2. Switch on "Send payment link to guest". You choose how long the table is held and what the guest has to do.
3. The guest receives the link. By email and WhatsApp, in their language: English, German or Italian.
4. They pay. The page shows the amount, a live countdown ("Your place is held for …") and card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
5. The reservation confirms itself. As soon as the payment goes through, it counts. Guest and house get the confirmation like for any other booking.

Nothing to chase, nothing to reconcile.

Three ways to commit a guest

Option	For	What happens
Full payment	Priced Experiences, menus, events	The guest pays the full amount
Deposit	Reservations without a fixed price	You enter the amount the guest pays up front
No-show fee (store a card)	When you don't want to charge in advance	The guest saves their card, the amount is reserved on it and only charged on a no-show

You can adjust the amount each time. Leave it empty and Gustaio uses the full price or your no-show fee.

The table stays held, but not forever

While the link is open the table is reserved for that guest and cannot be booked by anyone else. You set the deadline. If the guest doesn't pay in time, Gustaio releases the table automatically and tells the guest. No table stays blocked for days because someone missed an email.

And if the guest still wants it, no problem: send a new link with a new deadline and the table is held again.

For the cases that always come up

• Resend the link if the guest can't find it.
• Copy the link to drop it into a chat or any other message yourself.
• Mark as paid if the guest paid in cash or by transfer on site. Gustaio shows what amount and kind of payment you had actually requested.
• Too short notice? If the date is too close, Gustaio doesn't offer a link. You confirm directly.

As simple as possible for the guest

One message, one tap, one page. No account, no app, no form. Guests with the Gustaio app pay right there with Apple Pay or Google Pay. Everyone else opens the page in their browser. The reservation and its cancellation terms stay available through the link in the confirmation.

Why it matters

A reservation with nothing behind it is a promise. One with a deposit or a saved card is an evening that happens. The payment link gives you that commitment without taking card details over the phone or chasing transfers. The money goes straight to your restaurant's Stripe account.

Get started

1. Open a new reservation for an Experience in Gustaio Studio.
2. Switch on "Send payment link to guest" and pick deadline and option.
3. Enter the guest's email or phone number. Either one is enough for the link to arrive.
4. Save. Gustaio does the rest.

For more on protecting your tables, read Preventing No-Shows. And for requests guests send that you approve yourself, see the reservation approval flow.