Service area · Scotland
Edinburgh in August: answering the world while keeping the regulars
For most of the year, an Edinburgh café or salon lives from locals in Leith, Stockbridge or Bruntsfield. Then August arrives, the festivals bring performers and visitors from everywhere, and the inbox fills with questions in many accents. This page shows how to prepare for those weeks, what visitors ask and how to keep a place for the people who come every week.
- Festival hours and rules set up in July, answered all month
- A quota of slots kept for regulars
- One post, every channel, before each busy weekend
Free for 7 days, no credit card required
Festival month
Who writes to an Edinburgh business in August
The visitor between shows
Has an hour between two performances and wants to know if there is a table now, and how far it is.
The performer on a long run
Needs a haircut, a laundry service or a quiet café to work in, for three weeks.
The guest house enquirer
Asks about late check-in, luggage storage and the nearest bus to the venues.
The regular
Has come every Thursday for years and would like that to stay possible, festival or not.
A festival Saturday at a café in Stockbridge
A made-up example. The café takes bookings for half its tables and keeps the rest for walk-ins. Festival hours and a note about the queue are in its entries.
- 07:30Overnight, sixteen messages arrived from visitors. The assistant booked the remaining bookable tables and told the rest about walk-in times.
- 09:00A scheduled post goes out: busy today, walk-in tables free up after 2pm, takeaway all day.
- 11:00A regular asks on WhatsApp for her usual Thursday table next week. A slot reserved for regulars is still free, so she gets it.
- 15:00A performer asks whether they can work on a laptop for a few hours. The entry about laptops at quiet times answers it.
- 19:30Closing. The owner reads two handed-off messages and plans tomorrow.
Preparing for August in July
| Task | Where in AYDUKE | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Write festival hours and rules | entries | The same answer every time |
| Split bookable and walk-in capacity | calendar and services | Room for visitors and regulars |
| Keep a few slots for regulars | a separate service with approval | Regulars still get their usual time |
| Draft weekend posts | calendar, as drafts | Publish in one step when it gets busy |
| Set a daily reply limit | assistant settings | Predictable use of AI credits |
| Check the reply language | assistant settings | English suits most festival visitors |
A guest house enquiry at midnight
A made-up conversation through the guest house’s website chat. Check-in rules, luggage storage and transport tips are in the entries; availability for stays is handled by the owners.
Room availability and payments stay with the owners. The assistant answered practical questions from their entries and passed the rest on.
Edinburgh businesses that feel August and Hogmanay most
Each industry page covers typical questions and booking set-ups in more detail.
- Cafés and restaurants Bookable and walk-in tables, pre-show meals. More: Cafés, Restaurants.
- Guest houses and holiday lets Check-in, luggage, transport. More: Guest houses, Holiday lets, Bed and breakfasts.
- Hair and beauty Performers and visitors alongside regulars. More: Hairdressers, Barbers.
- Photographers Headshots for performers, weddings in the Old Town. More: Photographers.
- Event venues Private hire outside festival hours. More: Event venues.
A festival campaign through an agency, or calm answers in-house?
AYDUKE is not an agency and does not create content. It schedules your posts and answers routine questions, so the busiest month does not become the most stressful.
In-house
Connect your accounts through your own developer app with OAuth, following the panel’s guides. Prepare entries and posts in July, and spend August on customers rather than on your phone.
With an agency, or as one
An agency can keep doing creative work and schedule in the same panel. Freelancers who look after several Edinburgh businesses can run those accounts from one login within the plan’s account limit and share reports as XLSX or CSV. The free reseller programme at /bayilik.php pays commission on referred businesses while they keep paying.
Not part of any festival: AYDUKE has no connection to the festivals or venues in Edinburgh. It is online software from a UK-registered company, with no office in Scotland. It only knows what you put in your entries, so keep festival hours there up to date.
Set up August in the demo
Open a free demo account with no credit card. Every platform and the core features are unlocked, and AI credits are included.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep some slots only for regulars?
Yes, for example as a separate service that needs your approval, or by keeping part of your capacity out of online booking. Try it in the demo.
Do guests get text reminders?
Not in the UK at present. They get confirmation and reminder emails with a link to view or cancel.
What if we run out of AI credits mid-August?
Greetings and questions answered directly by your entries keep working, and other messages land in your inbox. A daily reply limit helps keep usage predictable.
Can AYDUKE handle multi-night room bookings?
Bookings in AYDUKE have a duration and capacity. Whether that fits multi-night stays for your guest house is worth testing in the demo; many owners use the assistant for questions and handle stays themselves.
How do I pay?
By card through Stripe, where card details never touch AYDUKE’s servers, or by bank transfer. See plans.
Other service areas
Ready to run your business from one panel?
Try it free for 7 days, no card required: connect your accounts, schedule your first post and train your assistant.