Customers & Automation
Automated Notifications
OpenChair sends automatic booking confirmations and reminders on all plans, with attendance, AI, and growth automations available on Pro.
Last updated 4 August 2026
Automations send messages for bookings, follow-up, and lifecycle nudges without manual work each time.
Where to find it - Web: Sidebar -> Automations. Mobile: More -> Automations.
TL;DR
- OpenChair automations cover bookings, follow-up, and lifecycle nudges, all managed from the Automations area.
- Core booking messages and appointment reminders are available on all plans; advanced attendance, AI, and growth features can require Pro.
- SMS delivery requires a dedicated number in AU and GB; New Zealand is email-only.
- Configure and enable each automation from Automations on web or More → Automations on mobile.
Common automations
Automations send messages across six scenarios without requiring manual action each time:
- booking confirmations
- appointment reminders
- review requests
- birthday messages
- rebooking nudges
- reconnect outreach
Operational automations and growth automations are managed from the same Automations area.
Booking confirmations are always available as transactional messages. Venues can optionally delay team-triggered confirmations, reschedule notices, and cancellation notices from Settings > Booking > Appointment handling > Customer update timing. Customer self-service booking confirmations still send immediately.
If a booking is created after its configured appointment-reminder time has already passed, OpenChair sends a catch-up reminder two hours before the appointment when the booking was made before that point. A booking created inside the final two hours relies on its booking confirmation instead of receiving an immediate duplicate reminder.
Requirements
- Core booking messages and appointment reminders are available on all plans.
- Attendance checks, AI recommendations, and growth automations can require Pro.
- SMS delivery in AU and GB requires a dedicated number.
- New Zealand supports email-only automation delivery.
FAQ
What automated notifications does OpenChair send?
OpenChair can send booking confirmations, appointment reminders, review requests, birthday messages, rebooking nudges, and reconnect outreach, all configured from the Automations area on web (Sidebar → Automations) or mobile (More → Automations).
Do automated notifications require a Pro subscription?
Core booking messages and appointment reminders are available on all plans. Attendance checks, AI recommendations, and growth automations can require an active Pro subscription. SMS delivery in AU and GB also requires a provisioned dedicated phone number. Configure your number from Settings → Communications by expanding SMS.
Is SMS available for automated notifications in New Zealand?
No. New Zealand venues can use email-only delivery for all automations. SMS is not available. All automation types (birthday, rebooking, reconnect) work via email for NZ venues.
What are quiet hours and which messages pause?
Quiet hours are a venue-level window during which OpenChair pauses non-urgent outbound SMS and email, by default 21:00 to 08:00 in your venue timezone. Configure the window from Settings → Communications on web or mobile.
Always send (bypass quiet hours):
- booking confirmations
- reschedules
- magic-link sign-ins
- counter-offers
- expiry notices
- reconfirmation requests
- decline acknowledgements
Pause during quiet hours:
- marketing campaigns
- retention and rebooking nudges
- reconnect outreach
- operator bulk SMS sent from the concierge
- non-urgent transactional messages routed through Postmaster
Cross-midnight windows (e.g. 21:00 to 08:00) are supported. Operators can disable quiet hours entirely with the toggle on the same card.