SMS Campaigns from the Guest Data You Already Own
CaptiFi collects guest mobile numbers with proper opt-in on your WiFi splash page, so SMS marketing starts from data your venue already owns. Send one-off campaigns or set up automations: birthday treats on the day, review requests after visits, win-back texts when regulars go quiet. And you see exactly who receives each text, and what it costs, before you send.
- SMS marketing for restaurants
- text message marketing
- WiFi opt-in SMS
- birthday texts
250 free
texts a month on every plan from Essentials
Monthly
paid texts after the free ones, charged once a month up to your limit
STOP
footer on every text, opt-outs applied instantly
Carrier receipts
delivered and failed counts per campaign, from the network
What is SMS Marketing?
SMS Marketing runs text campaigns and automations from the mobile numbers guests give with consent on your WiFi splash page: birthday treats, review requests, win-back texts when regulars go quiet. You see who receives each text and what it costs before you send, delivery is tracked with carrier receipts, and STOP opt-outs apply instantly. Every plan from Essentials includes 250 free texts a month, then paid texts charged once a month. For restaurants, pubs and cafes. Essentials plan and above.
What CaptiFi does about itTexts get read, but most venues have no usable mobile list and no time to build one. Bolting on a separate SMS tool means exporting spreadsheets, managing consent by hand, and finding out what a campaign cost after it has gone out.
CaptiFi captures mobile numbers with proper consent at WiFi login and runs SMS from the same dashboard. Campaigns and automations work from the guest data you already own, delivery is tracked with real carrier receipts, and STOP opt-outs are handled automatically and instantly.
What is in the box
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01
Birthday treats, review requests and win-back texts that send themselves
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02
See exactly who receives each campaign and how many texts it uses before you send
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03
Consent captured on the splash page, with automatic and instant STOP opt-outs
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04
A Replies tab for the texts guests send back, with STOP and HELP replies labelled and already handled
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05
Texts from your venue's name once our SMS provider approves it, usually within about a day
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06
A guest who replies HELP gets one reply naming your venue as the sender, at no cost to you
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07
Included from Essentials, with 250 free texts a month and paid texts billed monthly
See it in your dashboard
Every campaign tracked to the handset
The campaigns view shows every send at a glance: who received it, how many messages were delivered and how many texts it used. Delivery rates come from real carrier receipts, not a hopeful "sent" status, so the numbers reflect texts that actually reached phones.
- Delivery confirmed with real carrier receipts
- Free and paid texts for the month on one tab
Birthday texts that write themselves
Pick Birthday as the trigger and CaptiFi writes the message for you, ready to edit or use as it is. Each guest receives it once a year, on the day itself. It only ever goes to guests who chose to share a birthday, so every message lands with someone who expects it.
- Sends once a year, on the day
- Only to guests who shared a birthday
Know the audience and the cost before you send
The audience panel shows exactly who matches your campaign before anything sends: recipient counts per venue and per country, plus the number of texts it needs against what is left this month. If the numbers look wrong, you fix the filters before a single text goes out.
- Recipients broken down per venue and per country
- Texts needed shown before you send
What is SMS marketing for venues?
SMS marketing for venues is the practice of texting offers, birthday treats and review requests to customers who have opted in to hear from a pub, restaurant, cafe, hotel or salon. Texts are short, personal and usually read within minutes of arriving, which makes SMS the fastest way to reach your regulars. CaptiFi builds the opt-in list from your guest WiFi, so every number belongs to someone who has actually visited your venue.
Why guest WiFi is the best source of SMS opt-ins
Guest WiFi is the best source of SMS opt-ins because every number comes from a person who physically visited your venue and agreed to hear from you when they joined the WiFi. Consent is captured and time-stamped at login, so there is no list buying, no scraped data and no guesswork about permission. The list also refreshes itself: every busy service adds new opted-in numbers with no extra work from your team.
CaptiFi is a guest WiFi marketing and captive portal platform for restaurants, bars, pubs, cafes, hotels, gyms, salons, retail and short-term rentals, built by CaptiFi Ltd in the UK and sold in GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, AUD and NZD to venues worldwide.
How to set up SMS marketing from your guest WiFi
Add a phone question and the SMS opt-in to your splash page
In the splash page builder, add a phone number question and switch on the SMS opt-in checkbox. Guests see exactly what they are agreeing to before they connect.
Guests connect and opt in
Guests join your WiFi, enter their number and tick the opt-in box. CaptiFi records the consent with a time stamp, and your SMS audience grows with every visit.
Set up automations
Switch on ready-made automations such as birthday treats and post-visit review requests. Each message is drafted for you and runs in the background once enabled.
Send campaigns with the audience and cost up front
Compose a campaign and CaptiFi shows exactly who will receive it, per venue and per country, plus the number of texts it needs, before you press send.
Replies, your venue's name and HELP
A Replies tab
Texts guests send back are kept and listed on the Replies tab of SMS Marketing, newest first, with the guest's number, the venue and when each one arrived. The tab shows how many are unread, and clicking a reply marks it read. STOP and HELP replies are labelled, and CaptiFi has already dealt with them.
Your venue's name as the sender
Pick a sender name of 3 to 11 letters and numbers on the Sender name tab. Once our SMS provider approves it, usually within about a day, your texts come from it. Guests can't reply to a name, so those texts end with a CaptiFi number to text STOP to, and a text that asks for a reply still comes from a phone number.
HELP answered for you
A guest who replies HELP to one of your marketing texts gets one reply naming your venue as the sender, with the message frequency and rates line, how to opt out and the support address. The reply costs you nothing.
SMS marketing ideas by venue type
Example texts to make your own. CaptiFi adds the required opt-out footer to every message automatically.
Pubs and bars
Fill quiet weeknights and get regulars back through the door.
"Quiz night returns this Thursday at 8pm. Book a table for your team, up to six a side."
WiFi marketing for pubsRestaurants
Turn one-off diners into regulars with well-timed treats.
"Happy birthday from all of us! Show this text this week for a free dessert with any main."
WiFi marketing for restaurantsCafes
Promote new menus and quiet-hour offers to nearby regulars.
"Our new autumn menu lands Monday. Pop in before 11am this week for a free pastry with any coffee."
WiFi marketing for cafesHotels
Encourage direct bookings and repeat stays.
"Lovely to have you with us last month. Book your next stay direct and we will add a late checkout."
Salons and barbershops
Fill last-minute gaps in the diary.
"We have a few appointments left this Friday. Reply to grab one and take 10% off any treatment."
Takeaways
Nudge order-in customers on slow nights.
"Midweek treat: a free side with any main tonight before 9pm."
SMS vs email for venue marketing
SMS
- Read fast, usually within minutes of arriving
- Short and direct: a standard text is one segment of up to 160 characters
- Paid per text once the month's free texts are used, so best saved for messages that matter
- Best for time-sensitive offers: tonight's tables, last-minute gaps, birthday treats
- Free at volume on your plan, so send as often as it stays useful
- Richer layouts: photos, menus and buttons
- Easier for guests to skim past on a busy day
- Best for newsletters, menus and longer stories
You do not have to pick one. CaptiFi runs SMS and email from the same guest list captured at WiFi login, so a birthday can trigger a text while your monthly newsletter goes out by email. See automated marketing for the email side.
SMS marketing questions answered
How much does SMS marketing cost with CaptiFi?
Do I need to buy a phone number to send SMS?
How do guests opt in to SMS marketing?
Is CaptiFi SMS marketing GDPR and PECR compliant?
Can I send automatic birthday texts to customers?
Will I know if my messages actually arrive?
Can I see who will get a campaign before I send it?
Can guests reply to my texts?
Can my texts come from my venue's name?
SMS on the same plan as the WiFi that collects the numbers
Text messaging is included from Essentials, with 250 free texts a month and paid texts after them, added up and charged once a month up to a limit you set. The opt-in comes from the splash page, so there is no separate SMS platform or per-seat licence to buy, and nothing to import.
What venues pay for this as a separate product
| Product | Published price |
|---|---|
| CaptiFi Essentials | Included in the plan, $69 a month for everything on it |
| Stampede | Texts on prepaid credits at "a few pence a text", on top of its flat price per venue |
Sources: Stampede, stampede.ai/email-sms, read 28 October 2026. Published prices change; check the vendor's page before deciding.
What Our Customers Say
CaptiFi completely changed my business. Before, every guest was a one-time booki...
CaptiFi completely changed my business. Before, every guest was a one-time booking. Now I have a direct line to thousands of people who've stayed in the plane. I can offer them return deals, send updates about new features, and keep them engaged. My repeat booking rate went from almost zero to 35%. It's been incredible.
Johnny Palmer
Owner, PytchAir Boeing 727 Airbnb
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