Large-party and private-event bookings: deposits, minimums and confirmations

Pick the party size your restaurant treats as large, then decide what each size needs: whether guests can book it online, whether you take a deposit or hold a card, whether they order from a set menu, whether a spending minimum applies, and what the written confirmation says. Reservation systems handle the first two. Private rooms and buyouts also need a contract and an event sheet, which is the job of event software.

Our reservation system guide compares the systems and their prices. This page covers the policy for big tables and events, and how to set it up in the tools you already use. For catering orders that leave the building, see our catering calls guide.

What counts as a large party?

You decide. In OpenTable, you choose the party size it treats as large; those bookings are then called out in shift notes and table availability. The same page lets you set the smallest and largest party that can book online, anywhere from 1 to 50. A guest outside that range sees a message to contact the restaurant.

To take a party of 50 online, OpenTable says you need at least one table or table combination that seats 50, and flow controls set to 50 or higher at those times. Its availability setup guide also shows how to block a party size at certain times: enter 0 for that size in a time slot's flow controls.

Here is an example policy for a 90-seat restaurant. It is our example, so change the sizes to fit your floor plan.

Party size	How it books	Money up front	Menu	Confirmation
6 to 7	Online	Card hold for no-shows	Full menu	Standard reminder text
8 to 12	Online at off-peak times, by phone at peak	Deposit per person	Full menu	Text with the deposit and cancellation terms
13 to 30	Phone or event inquiry only	Deposit	Set menu with two or three choices per course	Written agreement, signed or accepted by email
Private room or buyout	Event inquiry, then a manager	Deposit plus a food-and-beverage minimum	Set menu, chosen by a deadline	Contract and an event sheet for the kitchen and floor

Deposit, card hold or prepayment: which should you use?

Toast's Toast Tables payment guide sets out four payment types.

Type	Charged at booking?	What Toast says it suits
Deposit	Yes; collected before tax and applied to the final bill	Securing large-party tables and busy services
Card hold (cancellation fee)	No; the card is charged only for a no-show or a cancellation after the window, and Toast offers this in the United States only	Protection without charging at booking
Prepayment	Yes; the full item price plus tax and fees	Ticketed events and fixed-price menus
Add-on	Yes; sold inside a prepayment	Extras such as wine pairings or a champagne toast

Toast Tables can charge a deposit per booking or per person, with separate rules for different party-size ranges. Toast also warns that times requiring a deposit do not show as available on Google. If parties of six need a deposit, Google will not show availability for six.

OpenTable's booking policy help says Stripe is required for card holds and deposits. You set the amount per guest, choose which party sizes the policy covers, and set how long guests can change or cancel without losing the deposit. Note two details. Staff apply a deposit to the guest's bill by hand. And changing a reservation does not refund anything on its own: in OpenTable's example, a party of eight that paid a deposit and later drops to four gets no automatic refund.

How do spending minimums work?

A food-and-beverage minimum is the least a group must spend to have the room. SevenRooms' event management page says it shows minimum spends, room fees, service charges and required deposits up front, and can vary minimums by day, time, season, space and party size. Tripleseat's restaurant page says it tracks payment schedules, minimums and add-ons, and builds proposals, banquet event orders (BEOs) and contracts from the event details.

Here is a worked example. Every figure is made up, and tax is left out because it depends on your state.

Line	Amount and working
Room minimum, Saturday	$2,000, set by the restaurant
Set menu, 20 guests	20 × $65 = $1,300
Drinks on consumption	$480, from the bar tab
Food and drink total	$1,300 + $480 = $1,780
Shortfall, billed as a room charge	$2,000 − $1,780 = $220
Service charge, per the contract	20% of the $2,000 minimum = $400
Total before tax	$2,000 + $400 = $2,400
Deposit paid at booking	25% of the $2,000 minimum = $500
Due on the night, before tax	$2,400 − $500 = $1,900

Put the rules behind each line in the contract: what counts toward the minimum (food, drinks, the cake-cutting fee), whether the service charge counts, and whether it applies to the minimum or to actual spend. Ask your accountant how sales tax applies to the room charge and the service charge in your state.

Is an automatic gratuity for a large party a tip?

For federal tax purposes, generally no. The IRS page on tip recordkeeping and reporting says a payment is a tip only if the customer chooses to pay it and decides the amount. It gives "a mandatory 18% charge for large parties" as an example of a service charge. Service charges paid out to employees are generally wages, and all service charges are income to the employer. If the guest adds more on top, only the extra is a tip.

In Toast, you can add a service charge automatically by service area once a table reaches a minimum party size. Toast's help page says to check the charge after splitting or transferring a check, since it may not carry over.

State law can add rules. California's SB 1524, approved in June 2024, requires a restaurant's mandatory fee to be shown clearly and conspicuously, with its purpose, on any menu, advertisement or display that shows the price. Banquet and catering menus or contracts must fully disclose the terms. This is not legal advice; check the rules in your state.

What should the confirmation include?

Send it in writing when the booking is made, and again a few days before.

1. Date and time: arrival time, how long you hold the table or room, and when the group must leave.
2. Guest count: the number you are preparing for, the deadline to change it, and what happens to the deposit if fewer people come.
3. Menu: set menu or full menu, the deadline for choices, and a list of allergies and diets by guest name.
4. Money: the deposit paid, how you apply it, any minimum, the service charge rate and whether it goes to staff.
5. Cancellation: the refund window, in the same words your booking system shows the guest.
6. Space: private, semi-private or joined tables, plus any decorations, cake or audio-visual needs.
7. Paying on the night: one check or several, and who signs.
8. Contact: the manager on duty that night, by name.

Who should take large-party calls?

Pick the size above which a person takes over. Hosts and phone tools can book below it and collect the caller's details above it. The staff handoff checklist covers what to write down and who calls back.

Maple Pro books, changes and cancels reservations on OpenTable, for $350 a month billed monthly or $220 a month billed annually. Maple's published plans do not list event minimums or an events integration, and the Maple OpenTable page asks you to confirm which deposit, waitlist and special-request steps your setup supports. Until you have that answer, route large-party and private-event calls to a manager and test the transfer.

Published by Maple, which sells AI phone answering that books reservations on OpenTable. This AI-assisted guide combines OpenTable, Toast, SevenRooms and Tripleseat's own help and product pages, IRS guidance and California's SB 1524 with an original example policy, cost example and confirmation checklist. The policy and figures are made up. It is not tax or legal advice and does not report a test of any booking system.