Automatically notify event attendees and store admins via SMS whenever an event is published, updated, or cancelled, or when a ticket is purchased, RSVP confirmed, attendee checked in, or ticket refunded — using The Events Calendar and Event Tickets (or Event Tickets Plus) together with SMS for WooCommerce.
Requirements
Requires The Events Calendar (free) and Event Tickets (free) to be installed and active. Event Tickets Plus is optional and unlocks WooCommerce-powered ticket checkout — the SMS integration works the same way regardless of which provider you use. SMS for WooCommerce must also be active.
Setup Instructions
- Ensure The Events Calendar and Event Tickets are installed and active.
- Go to WooCommerce → SMS Settings → Settings and configure your SMS gateway (Twilio, Nexmo, MSG91, Lox24 or any of the supported providers).
- Save the Admin Phone Number and Sender Phone Number — admin events require the admin phone to be set.
- Make sure each attendee has a phone number captured during the ticket / RSVP form. Attendee phone is read from the standard Event Tickets attendee meta keys.
- Go to WooCommerce → SMS Settings → SMS Notifications → Events Calendar.
- Enable the toggles for the events you want to send SMS for.
- Edit the SMS message template for each event. Use placeholders like {event_title}, {event_start_date} and {attendee_name} to personalise the message.
- Click Save & Close to save your changes.
Available SMS events for The Events Calendar
The integration supports 8 events covering the event lifecycle and the attendee journey.
Event lifecycle
- Event Published (Admin) – A new event goes live (draft → publish). Admin gets a one-line alert with title, date and venue.
- Event Updated (Attendees) – An event already published has its date, time or venue updated. SMS fans out to every attendee currently registered.
- Event Cancelled (Attendees) – Event is moved to trash, draft, or marked cancelled. Cancellation SMS goes out to all attendees with refund / apology copy.
Ticket purchases
- Ticket Purchased (Customer) – Attendee buys a paid ticket via Tickets Commerce (free), Tribe Commerce (legacy PayPal), or Event Tickets Plus (WooCommerce checkout). Customer gets the confirmation SMS.
- Ticket Purchased (Admin) – Same hook, admin alert version — useful for high-touch events.
- Ticket Refunded (Customer) – Tickets Commerce order is moved to the refunded status. Refund SMS goes out to every attendee on that order.
RSVPs & check-ins
- RSVP Confirmed (Customer) – Attendee fills out an RSVP form (free attendance). SMS fires the moment the RSVP is saved.
- Attendee Checked In (Customer) – Admin marks the attendee as checked in at the venue (manually or via QR scan). Welcome SMS goes out instantly.
Available placeholders for The Events Calendar SMS
Use the following variables in your SMS message templates to include dynamic information. The settings page sidebar shows only the placeholders that resolve for the specific event being edited.
Common (every event)
- {shop_name} – Your store name
- {shop_url} – Your store URL
- {email} – Recipient’s email
Event details
- {event_title} – Title of the event
- {event_url} – Public URL of the event page
- {event_start_date} – Event start date (formatted with site date format)
- {event_start_time} – Event start time
- {event_end_date} – Event end date
- {venue_name} – Venue name
- {venue_address} – Venue street address
- {organizer_name} – Event organizer name
Attendee details
- {attendee_name} – Attendee’s full name
- {attendee_first} – Attendee’s first name
- {attendee_last} – Attendee’s last name
- {attendee_email} – Attendee’s email
- {ticket_name} – Title of the ticket / RSVP they hold
- {order_id} – Ticket order ID (Tickets Commerce or WC order)