When does a guest count as lapsed?

When they have gone noticeably longer than usual without visiting. There is no universal number: a weekly regular missing for a month has lapsed, an annual visitor has not. Base the window on how often your own guests return, using your repeat visit rate and the usual gap between visits.

Should a win-back email include a discount?

Not necessarily. A relevant reason to return, such as a new menu, an event or a personal note, can do the job on its own. If you do use an offer, keep it modest and time-limited, and do not send one every time, or guests learn to wait for it.

Can I email lapsed guests who never opted in?

Generally not for marketing. Under UK GDPR and PECR, marketing emails to individuals usually need their consent, with limited exceptions, so a win-back should go to guests who opted in on that channel. In Stampede, audiences only ever include guests who opted in, and anyone can opt out at any time. This is a summary, not legal advice.

How many win-back emails should I send?

Two is a sensible default: one reason to return, and one follow-up a little later for guests who did not respond. More than that starts to read as nagging, and the guests who still do not come back are telling you something worth reading.

How do I know a win-back worked?

Measure rebookings and spend, not opens. Look at how many guests in the lapsed group came back and what they spent, against the same group before. In Stampede, a campaign can be tied to the covers and spend it brought in once your bookings are connected.

Does the journey stop when they come back?

It should, and in Stampede it does: a win-back can watch for a rebooking and exit the moment it happens, so you never nudge someone to do a thing they have already done.

What other journeys are worth setting up?

The four that earn their keep fastest are a Wi-Fi welcome, a birthday offer, a cancelled-booking win-back and a post-visit thank-you. Each has a ready-made template in Stampede you can turn on and adjust.

A guide for operators

Bring them back. Here’s how.

Spot who stopped coming, then give them a reason to return.

The short answer

1Decide what lapsed means for your venue.
2Find the lapsed guests who opted in.
3Email them a personal reason to come back.
4Run it every week, and stop when they rebook.

Read the steps

Booking cancelled

Wait 3 days

Win-back email

YesNo

Rebooked

Nudged

nobody had to press send

Booking cancelled

Wait 3 days

Win-back email

YesNo

Rebooked

Nudged

nobody had to press send

Powering 2,500+ UK venues

The problem

Gone, unnoticed.

Graham came in every fortnight. It has been 94 days, and nobody has noticed.

Graham, a regular

Before

Last in · 94 days

BookingsLapsed

Graham WhitleyEvery fortnight

12 JuneTable for 229 MayTable for 2Nothing since94 days

Mailing listg.whitley@email.com

Win-backNone running

A fortnightly regular, quietly gone since June
His visits in one place, his email in another
No email since, because nothing flagged him

After

Rebooked · Friday

One guest recordRegular

Graham WhitleyOpted in to email

Visits19

Away94 days

BackFriday

Win-back sentRebooked for 2Journey exited

Flagged after six weeks without a visit
An email about the new menu, written to him
Rebooked for two, and the journey stopped

Same guest, same records. The difference is a window, an audience and one email.

How venues fix it

Four steps.

Works whatever email tool you use.

Lapsed windowYour rule

Regulars usually come backevery 2 weeksCounts as lapsed after6 weeksSet from how often your guests return

Step 01

Define lapsed

A weekly pub regular gone for six weeks has lapsed; a once-a-year anniversary diner has not. Set the window from how often your guests usually return, rather than a round number.

In Stampede

Reporting shows new, returning and opted-in guests for every venue, against the period before.

See analytics and reports

Audience · lapsed regularsRebuilt on send

Graham WhitleyLast in 94 days ago

Gillian RossLast in 71 days ago

Opted in to email, and only them

Step 02

Find them

List the guests whose last visit falls outside your window and who opted in to hear from you. That needs visit history tied to a contact, not a booking list and a mailing list kept apart.

In Stampede

Audiences find guests who have not been back, and how recently, rebuilt from live data on every send and only ever including guests who opted in.

See audiences

Email · to GrahamThu 11:00

The autumn menu is in, GrahamYour usual table by the window is free on Friday. Fancy it?Book a table

Step 03

Give a real reason

A generic “we miss you” is easy to ignore. Lead with something new or personal: the new menu, an event, their usual table. If you add an offer, keep it modest and time-limited.

In Stampede

Workflows send a personalised email, with a voucher if you like, triggered by what the guest actually did.

See workflows

Trigger · regularNo visit in 6 weeks

EmailThe autumn menu is in

No booking after 7 daysA table for two on Friday?

GoalRebooked · journey exits

Step 04

Automate, then stop

Run it as a standing weekly journey, not a one-off blast, with one follow-up for guests who do not respond. Stop it the moment someone rebooks, so nobody is nudged twice.

In Stampede

A win-back watches for a rebooking and exits the moment it happens. A cancelled-booking win-back is a ready-made template.

See workflows

Proof

The proof.

Operators running on Stampede, in their own numbers.

Food at the George & Dragon, a Sankey's venue

4.59 → 4.80Google rating, year on year

2.3×average bill from email bookings

“Having everything under one roof is simply superior, full stop.”

Matthew Sankey, owner, Sankey'sRead the story

A Sunday roast at an ART Hospitality venue

24,604covers in a single month

0.3%no-show rate across eight venues

“You innovate at a rate I have never seen in a software company.”

Edwin Kirk, founding director, ART HospitalityRead the story

A dish being finished at Howies, Edinburgh

3,920guests enriched with real spend

6 weekstheir first six weeks with Stampede

“Every payment lands on the guest who made it now. Everything a guest does with us, online and in our venues, finally joins up in one view.”

Louis Scott, Howies, EdinburghFull story coming soon

89%
Wi-Fi marketing opt-in rate: 55p
average value of a guest contact: 2,500+
UK venues run on Stampede

How we measure these figures

Keep reading.

The terms this guide uses, defined in plain English, and the sources it relies on.

Sources

ICO: direct marketing and privacy and electronic communications

How we compare

Compare us.

Honest, sourced comparisons against the tools venues switch from, checked against the record and dated.

Stampede vs Airship

Stampede vs Klaviyo

All comparisons

More guides

Seven more fixes.

The other problems venues search for, each with the steps that fix it.

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“Waited forty minutes for our mains.”
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Tue · 13:10
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AishaWild mushroom risottoV
GillianSquash tartVG
+8 more ordered · 4 still to choose
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The enquiry, the deposit and every plate, sorted before the night.
Seated · Table 12On every device
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Pre-order · from your Square items1× Lobster linguine1× Margherita1× Falafel bowl2× Pale ale, pint
For the team
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What a venue on Square should ask of a booking system, in four checks.
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Points on spendYour rate · 1 per £1
Callum Reid23 visits
Flat white · £3.40+3Round for six · £52.50+53Earned off the till, nothing keyed in
On a stamp card
The same one stamp for each
Guide · 4 steps
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Reward what guests spend, skip the app, and give them a reason to return.
Day planner · TueQuiet night
171819202122
T1
T2
T4
T6
T9
T12
14 of 60 covers booked
Guide · 4 steps
How to fill quiet nights
Ask the right guests, give them a reason, and count the covers it brings.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Bring them back.

See audiences and win-back workflows running on your own guest data, in a walkthrough with our team.

Bring them back. Here’s how.