Online Ticket Booking for Cafes: Classes, Cuppings and Events

A cafe sells tickets for classes and events online through the same booking system it uses for tables. In TableNest you create the event with its own date, start and end time, set a maximum number of covers so the session can't be oversold, and attach a payment the guest makes before the seat is held. Events, ticketed nights and private functions are included on every plan — there's no per-ticket fee and no events add-on. Taking money for them is the one qualifier: paid events need the Business plan or above plus your own Stripe or Square account connected, while Starter runs free-RSVP events. Guests book through the embeddable widget on your own site or your hosted booking page, pay on a secure checkout page, then get an SMS confirmation carrying a one-tap cancel link. One calendar, one guest list, no per-cover commission.

Can a cafe take ticketed bookings as well as tables?

Yes — and running both on one system is the point. An event in TableNest is a bookable session with rules attached: its own date and time window, a capacity cap that matches your room, and optionally a payment requirement so the seat is only held once money changes hands. Your everyday reservation flow stays exactly as it is; the event sits alongside it on the same calendar and feeds the same run sheet.

That means a Saturday morning cupping and a Saturday evening dinner service coexist without you juggling two logins. Events aren't gated by tier at all — every plan can create them, so the decision you're really making is whether the session takes money at booking or runs as a free RSVP. If you're new to running reservations at all, the fundamentals are covered in our guide to a booking system for cafes, and events build directly on that same foundation.

How do you charge for a cupping, class or supper club?

You charge by attaching a deposit rule to the event, and you choose the amount. Two shapes suit a ticketed session: a flat amount per booking, or a per-head amount multiplied by the party size. Set that per-head figure to the full price of the session and the class is paid for in advance. Worth being straight about the mechanics: there's no separate "ticket price" field and no separate ticketing checkout in TableNest — it's the deposit system doing the work, and the guest sees the charge described as a deposit.

That payment sits on the Business plan and above — $34/mo in the US, or $49 on Pro, both in USD — because that's where deposits unlock, alongside gift cards, Square POS and Xero. You also connect your own Stripe or Square account, so the money lands with you rather than with us. Common setups:

A per-head amount equal to the full price, for a fixed-cost session like a hands-on latte art class.
A smaller per-head amount that holds the seat, with the balance taken in person on the day.
A flat amount per booking for a supper club, with the capacity cap set to the covers your kitchen can plate.

Because TableNest charges a flat monthly fee with no per-cover commission, the money is yours — we take no cut of a deposit or a seat sold. That matters most on higher-priced events, where percentage-based ticketing fees quietly add up. For refund windows, who gets asked, and how much to charge, see our guide to taking deposits for bookings.

What happens when someone cancels a paid ticket?

Every confirmation and reminder SMS carries a one-tap cancel link. The confirmation includes: "Booking confirmed at {venue}. {date}, {time}, {party_size} guests. Cancel: {cancel_link}", and the reminder carries the same link. Tapping it opens a short cancellation page — nothing to type, nothing to remember.

When someone cancels, their covers come straight back off the event's capacity so the places can be rebooked, and you handle the money according to the refund window you set on the deposit rule. Because the cancel link is right there in the message, guests who genuinely can't make it tend to release their places early rather than simply not showing up — which gives you a real chance to resell them. SMS is included in your plan (in the US, 240 messages a month on Starter, 720 on Business and 1,200 on Pro), so confirmations and reminders aren't a surprise line item.

Do you need separate software for events and tables?

No. Running events on a dedicated ticketing tool and tables on a separate reservation system means two calendars, two sets of guest data, and two chances to double-book the same room. TableNest keeps both in one place: tables, deposits and events all live on the same dashboard, share the same SMS notifications, and pull from the same guest list.

Guests reach everything through two surfaces you control — an embeddable widget on your own website and a hosted booking page. There's no Google reservation integration to configure; you own where the bookings come from. If you're weighing this against heavier hospitality tools, our overview of restaurant reservation software explains how a single system covers both everyday covers and paid events without bolting on extra platforms.

How much does ticketed booking cost for a small cafe?

TableNest is a flat monthly fee with no per-cover commission. US pricing is Starter $19/mo, Business $34/mo and Pro $49/mo. Events cost nothing extra on any of them — no per-ticket fee, no events add-on. What you need Business or above for is taking the money: deposits are the mechanism that turns a booking into a paid one, and they unlock at Business alongside gift cards, Square POS and Xero. On Starter, events run as free RSVPs.

What that flat fee buys a small cafe running events:

Events, ticketed nights and private functions on every plan, each with its own capacity cap.
Payment taken at the point of booking on Business and above, through your own Stripe or Square account.
Included SMS confirmations and reminders — in the US, 240 a month on Starter, 720 on Business, 1,200 on Pro — each with a one-tap cancel link.
One calendar for tables and events, with no commission taken per seat sold.

You can try it before committing: TableNest is free for 30 days with no card required to start. A card is only needed to go live to the public — serving the widget, sending SMS or email to guests, or taking deposits and gift-card payments — and to keep using the dashboard past day 30. It's positioned as affordable, not free; there's no permanently free tier. For more on keeping costs predictable, see our take on an affordable booking system.

Ready to open bookings for your next class or cupping? Start a free 30-day trial — no card required to start — and run tables and paid events on one calendar, with a flat monthly fee, SMS included, and no per-cover commission.