Collect and manage guest marketing consent

Included — no add-on needed (used by the Newsletters add-on)BackofficeFor managers

Needs: Any backoffice user with access to the location

Marketing consent records whether a guest agreed to receive marketing emails such as newsletters. 10Seat stores who gave consent, when, how, and the exact wording they agreed to, so you can show it if asked. Only guests with consent and a valid email receive newsletters.

Where to find it

  • On a guest: Backoffice › Guests › open a guest › Marketing consent card.
  • In the booking widget: Backoffice › Settings › Widget Management › Content & Branding › Marketing consent.

What it does

The Marketing consent card on a profile shows Subscribed or Not subscribed, and for subscribed guests:

  • Recorded via: Online booking, Imported list or Staff (back office)
  • Date: when consent was given
  • Agreed to: the consent text the guest saw

Consent can come from:

  • The booking widget — an optional opt-in checkbox on the confirmation step. Guests must actively tick it.
  • Staff — clicking Enable on the profile records consent as collected by staff.
  • Imports — some imports from your previous system bring consent along (see "Import your guest list from another system").
  • Unsubscribing — every newsletter contains an unsubscribe link. A guest who uses it is set to Not subscribed and sees "You're unsubscribed".

How to show the opt-in in your widget

  1. Go to Settings › Widget Management › Content & Branding.
  2. Under Marketing consent, switch on Show marketing consent checkbox.
  3. Optional: write your own Custom consent text (optional) and add a Privacy policy URL (optional).
  4. Save. From now on, guests who tick the box are recorded as subscribed, with your text as "Agreed to".
  1. Open the guest profile.
  2. In Marketing consent, click Enable to record consent, or Withdraw to remove it.
  3. When withdrawing, confirm "Withdraw this guest's newsletter consent? They will be excluded from future sends."

Good to know

  • A guest who books again without ticking the box keeps their earlier consent. Consent is only removed by Withdraw or the unsubscribe link.
  • Only enable consent by hand if the guest really agreed, for example on a paper form.
  • Transactional emails (confirmations, reminders, cancellations) are sent regardless of marketing consent.
  • If you collected opt-ins outside 10Seat (old booking system, paper list), contact 10Seat support. Support can record consent in bulk for a location, together with the wording the guests agreed to. A bulk change applies to all guests with an email at that location, so only ask for it when they all opted in.
  • For bookings made through Reserve with Google, custom email automations are only sent to guests with marketing consent.

Troubleshooting

"No email on file — this guest can't receive newsletters until one is added." The guest is subscribed (or you're about to enable consent) but has no email address. Add one under Edit › Contact information.

My newsletter audience is much smaller than my guest list Only guests who are Subscribed and have a valid email count. Switch on the widget checkbox so new bookers can opt in. For consent collected in your previous system, see the tip under Good to know.

A guest says they unsubscribed but still gets emails Check what they received in Email Activity. Booking emails (confirmation, reminder, review request) are not marketing and continue. If it was a newsletter, check the profile shows Not subscribed.

Imported guests all show "Not subscribed" Opt-ins from a Zenchef guest list are not switched on automatically, because whether consent carries over is a legal decision. You can Enable consent per guest, or contact 10Seat support to discuss a bulk change. (Opt-ins from a Formitable guest export are imported as consent.)