Until now the guest count reached you the same way it reaches most venues: the organiser collected replies however they liked, kept a spreadsheet, and sent you a number a week before the event. You were third in a chain you couldn't see, and the number was usually a little wrong by the time it arrived.
You can now generate an RSVP link against a booking and hand that to the organiser. Guests respond directly, and every response is recorded on the booking rather than in somebody's inbox.
What guests are asked
The form collects what actually changes what you do on the night — name, whether they're attending, their guest type, their meal choice where the package offers one, and any dietary requirements or allergies. Nothing else, because every additional field lowers the completion rate and the count is the thing you need.
Because guests enter their own dietary requirements, that list is far better than the one an organiser assembles from memory a week out. It also arrives attached to a named guest, so the kitchen knows which table the nut allergy is on.
Where the numbers go
Submissions accumulate against the booking, so the guest list, the dietaries and the headcount all sit with the event rather than in three places. The confirmed count reads from the responses, which means the figure on the invoice and the figure the kitchen works to are the same number by construction, not because someone reconciled them.
You can view submissions as they come in, so you can see whether the count is settling or still moving before the cut-off arrives.
Getting the most out of it
RSVP collection works best when the deadline has consequences. Put the final-numbers cut-off on the same date as the balance payment so the client has one date to remember, and allow the count to rise after it but never fall.
We wrote up the whole approach — where to place the cut-off, what to ask, and the chase cadence that actually recovers numbers — in getting an accurate headcount.
RSVP is available on Pro and Enterprise. See pricing for what each plan includes.