Guest fields vs RSVP questions

Both hold extra information about your guests. Here's what each is for, and how to choose when either could work.

Vesavo gives you two ways to keep extra information about a guest beyond their name: guest fields and RSVP questions. They overlap a little, which can make it hard to know where something belongs — so here's what each is for, and how to pick when either would do.

Guest fields — who they are and how to reach them

Guest fields are the details you keep for each guest: phone, postal address, and any custom fields you add. You fill them in yourself, or guests provide them through your contact-collection form. They live on the guest's own record, under Contact & details, and you manage them on the Fields tab of the Guests page.

They're the information you need to reach someone or address an invitation. A few things to know:

• There's one value per guest — guest fields are always individual.
• You can gather them before anyone has replied, which makes them ideal for the save-the-date stage.
• They appear on the guest's page and on the collection form — never on the RSVP.

For how guests submit these themselves, see "Collecting guest details with a QR code".

RSVP questions — how a guest is responding

RSVP questions are things you ask guests when they RSVP: a meal choice, a song request, a note for the hosts. The guest answers them on their RSVP page, alongside their yes or no. You manage them on the Questions page.

A few things to know:

• They're answered by the guest at RSVP time, not filled in ahead by you.
• They can be asked once per guest, or once per group for families that share a single RSVP.
• They can be limited to particular functions, so only the right guests are asked.
• Dietary requirements comes built in as a question, ready to use.

For more, see "Asking your guests questions".

Where they're similar

Both let you define your own labels and record a piece of information against each guest, and both can hold free text. So for a plain "extra text field", either one could technically store it — which is exactly where the choice gets fuzzy.

Choosing when either would work

When a piece of information could sit in either place, decide by when you need it and how the guest gives it to you:

• Do you need it before the RSVP — to post an invitation, or during the save-the-date stage? Use a guest field.
• Is it part of how the guest responds to the event — a preference or choice they'd naturally give while RSVPing? Use an RSVP question.
• Do you need it once per household, or only from guests invited to a particular function? Only RSVP questions can do that.
• Is it a contact or address detail? That's a guest field.

A couple of examples:

• A phone number is a guest field. It's how you reach someone, and you often want it before they've replied.
• A meal choice is an RSVP question. It's part of their response, and you may only want it from the guests invited to the dinner.
• Something in between, like "any access requirements?", can go either way — ask it as an RSVP question if you want it with their reply, or add it as a guest field if you'd rather gather it early on the collection form.