A merge field is a code in square brackets, such as [FIRST_NAME], that NomNom swaps for each booking’s own details as a message goes out. Write Hi [FIRST_NAME], see you at [TIME] on [DATE] once, and every guest gets their own name, time and date.
Emails and texts use slightly different sets, and a code that works in one arrives as plain text in the other. The safest way to add one is the Insert field button by each message box, which offers the codes for that kind of message.
Where you can use them
- Emails: the Intro paragraph and Footer paragraph of your Default Confirmation, your own templates and the Follow-up, all in Email Templates, and the Subject line of your own confirmation templates. Your Default Confirmation’s paragraphs also appear in cancellation and refund emails, with the codes filled in there too. So does your cancellation policy, in Cancellations & No-shows, wherever it appears in an email.
- Texts: the Instant SMS template and Reminder SMS template in SMS Service. The Insert Field button is under the text box.
In NomNom Web: Settings → Email Settings → Email Templates, or Settings → SMS Service. In the phone app: the same, under Settings.
Email fields
- [FIRST_NAME] and [LAST_NAME] — the guest’s name, as it is on the booking.
- [DATE] — such as Sat, 3 Oct, 2026.
- [TIME] — such as 7:30 pm.
- [GUESTS] — the adults, plus any children: 4, or 2 + 2.
- [DURATION] — how long the table is held, such as 2 hours or 1 hour 30 minutes.
- [REF] — the booking reference, such as HX4-7KP.
- [RESTAURANT] — your restaurant’s name.
Text fields
- [FIRST_NAME] and [LAST_NAME] — as in emails.
- [DATE] — shorter than in emails: Sat 3 Oct.
- [TIME] — on the 24-hour clock: 19:30.
- [GUESTS] — everyone in the party, children included: 4.
- [REF] — the same reference as in the email.
- [RESTAURANT_NAME] — your restaurant’s name.
- [PHONE] — your phone number, from Restaurant Details.
The standard text uses most of them: [RESTAURANT_NAME]: We look forward to seeing you at [TIME] on [DATE] for [GUESTS] guests. To make changes, please call [PHONE]
The differences that catch people out
- Your restaurant’s name is [RESTAURANT] in emails and [RESTAURANT_NAME] in texts. Texts fill in either, but [RESTAURANT_NAME] in an email stays as typed.
- [DURATION] only works in emails, and [PHONE] only in texts. Your phone number is already at the bottom of your emails.
- Dates, times and party sizes are written differently, as shown above. The formats are fixed and don’t follow your Booking Page Date & Time settings.
Where codes aren’t filled in
- Your cancellation policy on the pages where guests cancel or change a booking. Codes in the policy are filled in in emails, but those pages show them exactly as typed, so a policy written in plain words reads best everywhere.
- A text you type yourself with Send SMS on a booking goes exactly as typed. The Booking reminder quick text there is already filled in for that booking.
Good to know
- A missing detail is left blank. A booking with no last name gets nothing where [LAST_NAME] was, so write sentences that still read well without it.
- Capitals don’t matter. [first_name] works as well as [FIRST_NAME]. A misspelt code, though, goes out exactly as typed.
- Check an email before it goes. Click Preview email to see it filled in with a sample booking. For the Follow-up, save first: its preview shows the saved wording.
- Check a text on a real booking. Open an upcoming booking’s Messages, click Send SMS, then Booking reminder: the box shows your reminder filled in for that guest. Click Cancel to close it without sending.
- Filled-in details make texts longer. A long name can push a text past 160 characters, so it uses 2 credits. See Texts aren’t reaching your guests: what to check.
- Your booking page’s Large party message, in your Online Booking settings, has one code of its own: [PHONE] puts in your phone number.