Food · Community report
Organize a group dinner and chase RSVPs
Organize a group dinner and chase RSVPs. Find a venue, book it on terms you approve, send the details and confirm who is coming.
What you can get
Reaches your accounts Creates or changes things in accounts you connect, with your approval.
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It does
- Searches and contacts venues
- Books the venue you approve on the terms you approve
- Emails guests and follows up on attendance with messages you approved
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It stops and asks
- Before booking: approve the venue, deposit, minimum spend and cancellation terms.
- Before guests are emailed: approve the wording and the rule for extra RSVPs.
- Before the cancellation deadline: confirm final numbers with the venue.
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You approve
- Your approval of the venue, deposit and minimum spend
- Your approval of the guest email and follow-up wording
Derived from this task's own brief and steps, not from the source.
- Set the dinner
Date, area, headcount, budget and guest list.
- Pick the venueStops for your approval
Terms compared; you approve the venue and any deposit.
- Send the detailsStops for your approval
One details email in wording you approved.
- Follow upStops for your approval
Attendance tracked; extra RSVPs handled by your rule.
Editorial, not from the source
Works when
- You are hosting a group of ten or more and dread the email chain.
- You have a guest list and a budget.
- You want the follow-up done without writing every message yourself.
Does not work when
- You want venue terms or a deposit agreed without seeing them.
- Guests need personal invitations from you, not a shared email.
- The guest list is sensitive and should not be handled by an agent.
Organize a group dinner and chase RSVPs: review template
| Item | Details | Status |
|---|---|---|
| [Venue] | [Date, time, deposit, minimum spend, cancellation deadline] | [Approved / booked] |
| [Guests] | [Confirmed, declined, no reply] | [Updated] |
| [Extra RSVPs] | [Waitlist and message sent] | [Rule approved by you] |
The source case
On X, @DavidPawlan reports using Instinct for a New York dinner: it found several potential locations, negotiated and booked the dinner, emailed the details to guests and followed up with guests to confirm attendance. The author says there were 50+ RSVPs for 15 spots. The post does not say what was negotiated, what the venue required, how the 15 were chosen or what was said to the others. @kylec reports using it for dinner reservations for a large group, with no further detail. In an earlier post, @DavidPawlan describes a feature where one person's agent can send a request to another person's agent, which needs that person's approval per task, and says they are excited to try it for group dinners; that is an intention, not a result. Checked on 2026-09-24; individual reports, not evidence of what will happen for the reader.
A public report by someone outside this library. Not independently reproduced here.
From the source
Source excerpt
Yes, I used Instinct to: - find multiple potential locations - negotiate and book the dinner - email all relevant details for dinner - follow up w guests to confirm attendance
Source excerpt
We had 50+ RSVPs for 15 spots
Source excerpt
I just used instinct to automate upgrading an international flight. Negotiated a better rate, booked a tee time, haircut, and dinner reservations for a large group.
Source excerpt
3/ Once you connect, you still need the other person's approval on per-task requests.
Quoted from the original posts. Not written by this guide, and not a result produced here.
Suggested prompt
Bring Date, area and headcount, Budget per head, Guest list with emails, How to handle more RSVPs than places. Acts Searches and contacts venues. Books the venue you approve on the terms you approve. Emails guests and follows up on attendance with messages you approved. Source community report, checked 2026-09-24.
Written by this guide as a starting point, not quoted from the source. Your edits stay in this browser.
Other ways to ask
Editorial rewrites of the brief above, for a different emphasis. Copy them separately.
What you need
Editorial, not from the source
You supply
- Date, area and headcount
- Budget per head
- Guest list with emails
- How to handle more RSVPs than places
Connected
- Email for guest messages
- Calendar
- Payment method if a deposit is needed
How to try it
Editorial, not from the source
- Set the date, area, headcount, budget per head and anything the venue must handle, such as a private room or dietary needs.
- Ask for a shortlist with the venue's terms: deposit, minimum spend, set menu, cancellation deadline, service charge.
- Approve the venue and the terms before it books or negotiates anything binding.
- Approve the details email before it goes to guests, and decide how extra RSVPs will be handled.
- Have it follow up with guests and keep a list of confirmed, declined and waiting.
Start with the venue's terms
@DavidPawlan lists four things the agent did for a New York dinner: found several potential locations, negotiated and booked, emailed the details, and followed up with guests to confirm attendance. The post does not say what was negotiated, and that is the part that matters most for a group. Restaurants taking a large table often ask for a deposit, a minimum spend, a set menu or a firm cancellation deadline, and a service charge may be added. Ask for each shortlisted venue's terms in writing before anything is agreed, and approve the one you choose yourself. @kylec also reports dinner reservations for a large group, in one line with no detail. Neither report describes a fee, so this directory cannot say what those venues required.
One email, then the follow-up
Guests need one clear message: date, time, address, what it costs them if anything, dietary questions and when to reply by. Approve the wording before it goes out, since it is sent under your name. The report then describes following up with guests to confirm attendance, which is the tedious part and a good one to hand off, as long as the reminders are ones you have approved. Keep a live list of confirmed, declined and no reply. The Pawlan report ended with 50+ RSVPs for 15 spots. That is a good problem, but it needs a rule you choose: first come, a waitlist, or invitations only. Decide it before the follow-ups start, and approve what is said to the people who do not get a place.
Coordinating with other people's agents
The same author describes, in an earlier post, a feature where one person's agent can send a request to another person's agent, with a click confirmation and the other person's approval needed for each task; the author says they are excited to try it for planning trips and group dinners. That is an intention in the post, not a reported result, and this directory has not used it. The principle is still sound for any group plan: nobody's calendar, contact details or commitments should be used without their say-so. Before the cancellation deadline, confirm final numbers with the venue, because charges for missing guests are common on group bookings. After the dinner, note what worked and which venue you would book again. A companion page covers watching for tables at hard-to-book restaurants.
Open Instinct to try it. That is the product's own site; this guide is not part of it.
Limits and confirmation points
- Two reports, one detailed and one a single line. Neither gives the venue's terms or what was negotiated.
- The detailed report had more than three times as many RSVPs as places. How the places were allocated is not described.
- Emails to guests go out under your name. What they say about cost, time and who is in is your responsibility.
- Deposits and minimum spends are commitments. Nothing here authorizes agreeing them without you.
Editorial, not from the source
- Before booking: approve the venue, deposit, minimum spend and cancellation terms.
- Before guests are emailed: approve the wording and the rule for extra RSVPs.
- Before the cancellation deadline: confirm final numbers with the venue.
Editorial, not from the source
- Far more people RSVP than there are places
- Decide the rule yourself: first come, a waitlist or invitations only. One report had 50+ RSVPs for 15 spots.
- The venue asks for a deposit or minimum spend
- Bring it back to you with the amount and cancellation terms before anything is agreed.
- Guests have not answered the follow-up
- Send one more approved reminder with a deadline, then release the place to the waitlist.
Common questions
Can the agent organise a group dinner for me?
One user reports it found locations, negotiated and booked, emailed guests and followed up on attendance for a dinner with 15 places. This directory has not reproduced it.
Will it agree a deposit or minimum spend?
It should bring the terms back to you first. Approve any deposit, minimum spend or cancellation terms yourself.
What happens when more people RSVP than there are places?
You decide the rule. The report had 50+ RSVPs for 15 spots, and it does not say how places were allocated.
Does it send emails in my name?
In the report it emailed the details to guests. Approve the wording before anything goes out.
Can it coordinate with guests' own agents?
One user describes a feature for this and says they plan to try it for group dinners. That is not a reported result.
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