A reminder text has one job: to turn a booking into one of two useful outcomes while there's still time to act on it. Either the client comes, or they tell you they can't, early enough for you to fill the slot. A reminder nobody answers leaves you finding out which it was when the chair is empty, or isn't.
Here is wording to copy, when to send it, and the rules that apply when a salon or restaurant texts its clients.
Appointment reminder text templates
The confirmation, right after they book:
[Salon name]: Hi Maya, you're booked for a gel manicure with Kim on Thursday at 2:30 PM. Need to change it? Reply here or call (555) 010-2233.
The reminder, the day before:
[Salon name]: Hi Maya, see you tomorrow at 2:30 PM for your gel manicure with Kim. Reply C to confirm, or R to reschedule.
The answer to their answer, the same day, whether it's automatic or from a person:
Thanks, Maya — you're all set for tomorrow at 2:30.
No problem. Kim has Friday at 11:00 AM or Saturday at 3:30 PM. Reply with the one that works, or tell us a better day.
A restaurant booking:
[Restaurant name]: Hi Daniel, your table for 6 is booked for Saturday at 7:30 PM. Reply C to confirm, or X if your plans change, so we can offer the table to someone on the waitlist.
For long or valuable appointments, a same-day note:
[Salon name]: Hi Maya, looking forward to seeing you at 2:30 today. There's free parking behind the building.
What makes a reminder get a reply
Ask for something. "This is a courtesy reminder of your appointment" is probably the most common opening line there is. It asks for nothing, so it gets nothing. "Reply C to confirm" is a question with a one-letter answer.
Make the other answer just as easy. People who can't make it often don't reply at all, because they'd rather avoid the conversation. "R to reschedule" turns a silent no-show into a slot you can refill, which is also why your answer to that reply should offer times rather than ask questions.
Don't make CANCEL the word for cancelling. Under the federal texting rules, a reply of "cancel" counts as the client opting out of your texts altogether — so do stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out and unsubscribe. Use a letter like X for the appointment, and let "cancel" mean what the rules say it means.
Say who you are first. A text from an unfamiliar number that begins "Reminder:" looks like spam. Your business name in the first few words doesn't.
Include the details that catch mistakes. The service, the person and the time are what make a client realize they booked Thursday when they meant Friday.
Leave the promotion out. A reminder with "and 20% off retail this week" added to it isn't a reminder in the eyes of the rules, as the next sections explain.
When to send it
The evidence that reminders work is solid, although almost all of it comes from healthcare. In a Cochrane review of trials, attendance was about 68% with no reminder and 79% with a text message. Another review found that more than one reminder did better than a single one.
What the research doesn't give you is a magic hour. Studies comparing reminders sent 24, 48 and 72 hours ahead found no clear difference. So choose the timing for your business rather than for a statistic: close enough that the appointment is on the client's mind, and far enough ahead that a slot released in reply can still be filled. For most salons, that's the day before. For a large restaurant booking on a busy night, a day or two ahead is safer.
The reminder is also the natural place for your cancellation policy, in a sentence — "Changes within 24 hours are charged 50% of the service." Salon cancellation policy: wording and fees has the rest of that wording.
The rules, in plain terms
This is general information rather than legal advice, but the shape of it is simpler than most owners fear.
Reminders and marketing are different categories. Under the federal rules for automated texts, an informational message such as an appointment reminder needs the client's prior express consent, and a marketing message needs prior express written consent. A client who gives you their mobile number when they book has generally consented to texts about that booking. That consent doesn't stretch to promotions.
A reminder with an offer in it is marketing. The FCC has said that messages with a dual purpose are, in most instances, advertisements regardless of the customer-service part, and the wireless industry's guidelines warn that adding a coupon code to an informational text can make it promotional. Keep reminders about the appointment.
Opting out has to be easy, and it has to stick. Since April 2025, clients can opt out by any reasonable means, and replies such as stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe count automatically. You have up to ten business days to honor it, and you may send one confirmation text that contains nothing else. A further change, making an opt-out from one kind of message apply to all of your messages, has been postponed until January 2027.
Quiet hours are for sales messages. The federal 8am–9pm window, and the 8pm cut-offs in Florida and Oklahoma, apply to solicitations rather than to purely informational reminders. Texting at 11pm is still a bad idea.
The sending number has to be registered. US carriers block business texts sent through software from ordinary local numbers unless the business and its use of texting are registered, or the toll-free number is verified. If you text through a booking system, it's worth asking how its number is set up.
Name yourself and offer a way out. No federal rule requires a reminder to include your business name or an opt-out line, but the wireless industry's messaging guidelines expect both, and carriers look for them.
In Sonorch
Booking confirmations, reschedule and cancellation notices, and appointment reminders all go out automatically, with each reminder sent 24 hours before the appointment. When an earlier slot opens, the waitlist can text the next person waiting, who replies YES to take it. Reminder texts and the waitlist shows the settings.
If your no-show rate still looks high once reminders are running, check how many of those clients tried to reach you first. Cutting salon no-shows without deposits explains why that number is usually bigger than owners expect.