Hen do bookings and deadlines: keep the important details together

Separate an idea from a confirmed booking

A restaurant suggested in a group chat is still an idea. Even a tentative time on the schedule does not mean a table is held. Mark a booking confirmed only when the provider has accepted it, and save the supplier name, address, date, time, headcount and reference.

Name the guest responsible for contacting the supplier. She can own the restaurant task while a co-organiser retains oversight of the group plan. That makes it clear who checks a changed menu, sends final numbers or asks about a refund.

Track each kind of deadline

A deposit date, a final-number date and a cancellation deadline are different. The deposit is when money must be paid; final numbers determine the seats or places reserved; the cancellation date determines what can still be changed without a charge.

Record all three where relevant. An example restaurant might need a £100 deposit on 1 May, final numbers on 15 May and free cancellation until 10 May. Those are illustrative dates, not a recommendation. The actual provider's terms always govern the booking.

Keep payments and attendance linked

Note who actually paid the deposit and which guests will share it. A booking for twelve may eventually have ten attendees. Update the participation before dividing the final amount, and avoid counting the deposit twice when the balance is paid.

If a guest pays for dinner on behalf of the group, keep that payment with the booking or expense so others can see what is still owed. For a trip abroad, preserve the original currency and the conversion used for the shared balance.

Cancel clearly when plans change

A cancelled booking should remain understandable in the record. Mark whether the deposit was refunded, partly refunded or lost. If a refund has been promised but not received, keep it pending rather than treating it as money already back in the group pot.

Tell attendees that the plan has changed and remove the cancelled activity from the active schedule. If you replace it with something else, create a separate confirmed booking so guests do not confuse old and new addresses.

Check the plan before the celebration

A few days out, review the address, meeting point, supplier contact, payment balance and headcount for every confirmed activity. Make sure an important booking has an owner and its next action is clear. A short final check is more useful than an elaborate timetable nobody trusts.

Reveli keeps booking details and deadlines with the shared party plan, while each person's travel and hotel stay can stay in her own plan. That separation helps the group find the details that affect everyone.

Handover check

Save the supplier contact and next action so another organiser can follow up if the person who made the booking is unavailable.