Pre-Ordering System for Group and Party Bookings
Guide
Pre-ordering is where a group or party booking is won or lost on detail: who is coming, what each guest is eating, which allergies the kitchen must know about, and whether it is all confirmed before the day. Get it right and service flows; get it wrong and your team spends the week chasing menu choices by email. This guide covers how hotels and venues collect pre-orders efficiently and what a good pre-ordering system does.
Creventa is the pre-ordering and party booking system trusted by leading premium UK hospitality venues and multi-site groups, from intimate private dining to shared party nights of hundreds of guests.
The old way
Most venues collect pre-orders in Excel, Word or over email. The client sends a guest list, the coordinator builds a spreadsheet, and every menu choice, allergy and drinks order is typed in by hand, then copied again into place cards, the chef sheet and the food pass. For a 300 guest Christmas party this is days of work, and one mistyped allergy becomes a service, or a safety, mistake.
The self-service model
In Creventa, the guests do the work. The lead booker, your client, the PA organising the party or the wedding couple, receives a personalised link, branded as your venue rather than as Creventa, and shares it with the whole party by email, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp or QR code. Each guest submits their own menu choices, allergies and dietary requirements, and can pre-order drinks for the table. Creventa chases every outstanding response automatically and tracks the submission deadline, so orders are complete before the event with no chasing from your team.
Kitchen and chef sheets in one click
Because guest responses flow straight into the system, every report your kitchen and floor teams need is generated automatically, with zero manual data entry and 100% accuracy. A late change means one guest updates one answer, not your coordinator re-checking a hundred rows.
- Chef sheet: every choice summarised by dish, with allergy flags.
- Food pass and run sheet: every guest per table in seat order, with choices and allergies.
- Front of house report: each guest with their table and seat position.
- Place cards: name, menu choice and dietary preference, allergy guests flagged, printed in one click.
- Drinks orders: pre-orders broken down by table and guest.
Allergens, handled properly
Creventa tracks all 14 mandatory allergens plus any custom allergy a guest declares, and keeps medically significant allergies separate from dietary preferences such as vegan, halal or kosher. Guests get peace of mind they are being looked after, and you get a documented, FSA compliant record for every booking.
Protect your revenue
Collect deposits and payments through the platform to reduce no-shows and late cancellations. Pre-ordered drinks lift wet spend by around 23%, and accurate pre-orders cut food waste by around 20%, because you cater for exactly what your guests have chosen.
Results venues report
The Wolseley Hospitality Group resolved its pre-order, dietary and allergy admin entirely. Tottington Manor prepares a 70 to 80 guest wedding, with all pre-orders and reports, in 30 minutes instead of several hours, across 50 weddings and 700 events a year. The Parmar Collection runs shared Christmas party nights of 350 to 500 guests straight from guest-submitted pre-orders. Pre-ordering works hand in hand with drag and drop seating and allergen tracking.
It literally does my job for me, and it does the client’s job for them too. Guests love it because they have full access, and it does all the chasing for you.
Natalie Connolly
Reservations & Events Manager, The Wolseley Hospitality Group
Frequently asked questions
What is a pre-ordering system?
Software that lets a venue’s guests submit their own menu choices, allergies, dietary requirements and drink orders before an event, through a personalised link, and automatically generates the kitchen and front of house documents that depend on them.
Can guests submit their own choices?
Yes. The lead booker shares a personalised, venue-branded link and each guest fills in their own order in their own time. Creventa chases anyone still outstanding for you.
How does it handle allergies and dietaries?
It tracks all 14 mandatory allergens plus custom allergies, keeps them separate from dietary preferences, and flags allergy guests clearly on the chef sheet and place cards. The record is FSA compliant.
Does it track the submission deadline?
Yes. Set a deadline for each booking and guests receive automatic reminders at invitation, seven days before and two days before, until every order is in.
Related reading
- Best pre-order management software for hospitality venues
- Event seating plan software
- How seating plans link to pre-orders
Last reviewed
Reviewed July 2026. Creventa results such as wet-spend uplift, time saved and reduced food waste are typical outcomes reported by customers and vary by venue and event.
