Why Your Restaurant Needs a Custom Email Address

Key Takeaways:

• 74% of consumers trust branded email addresses over generic ones.

• Consistent email communication boosts brand recognition and supports marketing.

• Using generic domains like Gmail or Yahoo can lead to undelivered mail and raise scam concerns.

• Custom domains and dedicated booking management tools streamline organization and enable growth at scale.

Struggling to stay on top of your inbox? 

Worried important emails are slipping through the cracks and not even reaching your guests? 

A custom email address that matches your restaurant’s brand is an effective way to solve these problems, build credibility, and ultimately drive more table reservations.

Let’s explore why making the switch to a branded email can transform how your restaurant connects with diners.

Builds Credibility

A custom email address helps your restaurant build credibility from the very first interaction.

There are different names for it—professional, business, or custom email—but the concept is the same.

Instead of relying on generic providers like Gmail or Hotmail, you use a domain that’s unique to your restaurant, e.g., you@restaurantname.co.uk.

It’s not only a way of reinforcing your brand identity at every step, but a vital first impression. 

Having a custom domain immediately signals professionalism, while a generic Gmail or Yahoo address risks coming across as unpolished. 

People react negatively to emails from generic domains because they feel impersonal and, at worst, untrustworthy.

Research backs this up. 

According to the Verisign survey focusing on the U.S., 74% of consumers said they would trust a company-branded email address more than a free one.

The same study found that 71% of small business owners believe a custom domain contributes directly to their credibility.

Illustration: Tablein / Data: Verisign 

And while it’s nearly a decade old, this report’s message is even more relevant today due to increasingly cluttered inboxes. 

A generic-looking message is easier to (dis)miss, which can lead to guests overlooking important updates, forgetting about reservations, or ignoring promotional offers altogether.

Moreover, the difference between an email that gets opened and one that’s ignored often comes down to perceived trust and credibility.

Keep in mind that credibility also extends to security. 

With malicious emails steadily on the rise, diners are far more likely to trust communication that comes from a branded domain, especially when it comes to sharing their personal information online.

One striking example of sophisticated scams affecting both the Coya restaurant chain and its diners comes from Monaco.

Source: Monaco Life

Representatives of Coya Monaco confirmed that emails were one of the key tools used in the phishing scam:

“We’ve been made aware of fraudulent activity impersonating COYA—including fake websites, phone calls, and emails—attempting to mislead guests with false booking systems and payment requests.”

It goes without saying that guests who have their personal information or money stolen will inevitably associate that experience with your restaurant. 

And while elaborate scams that clone websites or replicate polished email designs can be difficult to spot, an unusual or generic-looking email is far easier to flag as suspicious.

That’s why relying on free, non-branded addresses is an added risk, especially when reservations or payments are involved.

Ultimately, a custom email address is an essential step in building trust and credibility, helping you establish your restaurant as professional from the get-go while also protecting your guests.

Strengthens Brand Recognition

Every email you send from a custom address puts your restaurant’s name in front of customers, reinforcing the brand you’re building.

The reason it matters so much is simple: recognition drives loyalty. 

According to one survey, 76% of consumers across industries say they’d rather buy from a brand they feel connected to over a competitor. 

Consistent exposure is what helps customers remember to choose you when it’s time to book a table.

It’s no surprise, then, that 93% of small restaurant businesses believe branding builds diner trust, and 89% see it as a key contributor to their long-term success.

Illustration: Tablein / Data: 99designs by Vista

But brand recognition doesn’t happen by accident. 

It comes from presenting a consistent visual identity and voice across all touchpoints: a recognizable logo, clear design elements, and a distinct personality. 

Since it’s often the primary line of communication with guests, email is one of the most powerful tools to project this unified brand message. 

In effect, every email you send becomes a miniature advertising space for your restaurant.

This applies not just to day-to-day correspondence, but also to larger campaigns, event invitations, or special promotions. 

All that considered, it’s no surprise that 26% of restaurants use email as their primary method of communication with customers.

Illustration: Tablein / Data: TouchBistro

The same report highlights that 64% of restaurateurs are actively sending personalized offers.

A custom domain is the launchpad for these efforts, giving your emails credibility and structure. 

But to really maximize impact, automation and customization are key.

This is where complementary tools like Tablein come in. 

While it won’t set up your domain, our restaurant booking system enables you to design automated emails that match your brand identity, complete with custom layouts, imagery, and messaging. 

As pictured below, you can even embed promotions directly into reservation confirmations, ensuring guests are aware of all relevant offers when they’re most engaged.

Source: Tablein

The platform also makes it easy to expand into targeted campaigns, including exclusive menu previews, holiday specials, or loyalty offers.

Source: Tablein

And don’t forget, with all that valuable guest data, you can refine your promotions further.

Automated email marketing and reservation management systems extend the reach of your brand while reducing manual work. 

Combined with a credible custom email domain, you’re in the perfect position to strengthen your brand and inspire long-term loyalty.

Increases Email Deliverability 

No marketing campaign will work if your emails don’t reach the target audience. 

And in hospitality, the stakes are even higher. 

Emails not being delivered is a problem for any business, but if a diner isn’t sure whether they have a reservation or misses a last-minute change, you risk ruining an important dinner and losing that customer for good.

So, how big a problem are undelivered emails really? 

According to a 2023 Email Deliverability Benchmark study, average deliverability on a global level stands at 84.8% for inbox placement, while 6.1% of emails go to spam, and 9.1% are completely missing.

That seemingly small percentage of undelivered emails is costing U.S. businesses over $59.5 billion every year.

Illustration: Tablein / Data: Validity

And what exactly creates these problems? 

In many cases, it comes down to the sender’s domain.

Experts from email authentication platform Suped point out that generic domains are frequent red flags:

“Using free email domains for marketing or transactional emails can severely hurt deliverability. ISPs often reject or heavily filter emails from these domains when they originate from third-party sending services, as it indicates a lack of proper authentication and can be a sign of phishing or spam.”

On the other hand, a custom email domain signals legitimacy to service providers, making your messages far more likely to land in the inbox. 

This is especially important for restaurants, where every missed message could mean a missed booking and an empty table.

Of course, ensuring your custom domain is verified and trustworthy comes with a few technical essentials, including: 

• Configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records

• Gradually establishing the sender's reputation 

• Monitoring performance through dedicated tools

However, the payoff is worth the effort. 

Once deliverability is secured, restaurants can fully benefit from the power of email marketing.

Litmus research shows that email generates an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent—a return that’s unmatched by most other channels.

Illustration: Tablein / Data: Litmus

Increased email deliverability ensures that transactional messages like booking confirmations or payment receipts arrive without fail, building confidence at every stage of the guest experience.

And with more customers receiving your targeted emails and campaigns, marketing efforts become more impactful and measurable, thus driving profit.

In short, a custom domain ensures your emails arrive, keeping your guests informed and maximizing the return on every message you send.

Creates Consistency

Keeping all correspondence under a single, branded domain creates consistency and lays the foundation for ongoing growth. 

Custom domains enable the creation of multiple role-based emails, such as reservations@, careers@, or events@.

That way, staff, partners, and guests always know exactly where to turn.

Ultimately, this means less confusion, quicker response time, and fewer chances of overlooking important messages.

Still, many restauranters can’t help but wonder: Isn’t one inbox enough when you’re already juggling reservations, supplier calls, and walk-ins?

One owner turned to Reddit for advice after the daily influx of reservations and supplier requests, combined with new email marketing efforts, started to overwhelm their team of ten.

The best advice for initial decluttering of your business inbox? Separate emails.

Source: Reddit

With communication channels neatly divided under one branded domain, restaurants free up time to focus on higher-value activities.

Conversely, a lack of organization is sure to stall marketing and growth.

In fact, research by Revenue Manage shows that, while 65% of guests prefer special discounts on specific meal combinations, only 35% of restaurant owners use this strategy.

Illustration: Tablein / Data: Revenue Manage

While cluttered inboxes aren’t the only culprits behind this gap, they certainly make it harder to segment diners and run targeted campaigns.

Consistency solves this by creating a clean foundation for experimentation and growth. 

Whether you want to test a new promotion, launch catering, or expand to a second location, a custom domain ensures communication stays structured and scalable.

Take Cofoco, the Copenhagen Food Collective, which manages 18 restaurants across Denmark. 

Their contact page directs bookings to individual venues, while inquiries are streamlined into three role-specific addresses: general, PR, and events. 

Source: Cofoco

It’s a model of consistency that not only organizes inquiries but also makes the group look approachable and professional. 

Without this structure, branding and credibility efforts we examined previously are undermined from the start.

In short, using emails under a custom domain helps behind-the-scenes convenience, but it’s also what ensures that every other branding and marketing effort has room to succeed.

Ultimately, it paves the way for you to run your key operations, both present and future, as smoothly as possible.

Conclusion

For restaurants, email communication impacts efficiency, organization, and growth. 

Having a custom domain ensures your messages are trusted, recognized, and delivered, while helping you establish a structure that evolves with your business. 

When paired with automation and booking platforms, it becomes even more powerful.

Diners stay connected at every touchpoint, with email confirmations doubling as promotions and campaigns that always hit their mark. 

Start setting up a branded email today, and you’ll have laid the foundation for smoother operations, increased guest retention, and strategic expansion well into the future.