Since the 2000s, restaurant reservation systems have evolved to meet the needs of today’s world. A software solution gives restaurateurs everything they need to cope with a more demanding clientele – a handy tool that maintains the list of waiting guests. Favouritetable’s restaurant reservation software allows restaurateurs to make and manage reservations online, then let customers book tables at their convenience. In 2021, government regulations in some countries required restaurants to use reservation systems to comply with COVID restrictions and control the flow of customers.
With COVID restrictions in place, restaurants rely heavily on reservations to manage customer loads and allocate socially distanced tables. For popular restaurants operating by government practices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now imperative that restaurants provide the seamless service customers have come to expect. This online method allows restaurants to connect to focus on what they do best: serving the highest quality food. Today, there are many software options that reservation-based restaurants can choose from. We offer a quick and easy guide on how your restaurant can benefit from this new way of managing tables with the help of Favouritetable.
Reasons why you need Favouritetable’s restaurant reservation system
Empty tables on a slow night
Customers can discover your restaurant through online reservations through the platform’s discovery app. For example, Favouritetable allows guests to search for restaurants by location, type of food, or other criteria and find your site for the first time. The platform also allows customers to easily book an available table for the specific date and time they want. Using this method, you can discover and book a restaurant without creating ads or picking up the phone, which means you can fill those empty tables passively. You can see more features to fill your tables in our restaurant booking guide.
Operational hours only
When a potential guest wants to make a reservation, staff must be there to answer the phone, check voicemail, read an email, or respond to a social media post. You have to make sure the reservation finds its way into the plan, then confirm (or decline) the reservation, correspond with the customer all the time, and go back and forth to find an available time and table – quite an effort in all. At peak times (when callers are on hold), making restaurant reservations on either side of the table can be a nuisance.
Related: The Major Breakthrough In Restaurant Business With Technology
Tracking the capacity
After COVID-19-related shutdowns, many have imposed capacity limits on restaurant seating after the reopening of states and provinces. However, if you don’t use a booking system, it cannot be easy to manually track how many people are on your site at any time. Restaurant booking software gives you an accurate way to track capacity. For example, most booking systems have tools such as flow control that allow you to manage the number of covers or people who can book reservations at any given time. Likewise, you can use the booking software to set maximum capacity limits, limiting the number of guests who can sit in your restaurant at any time during a shift. When guests leave, the software is updated to show your current available capacity.
High no-show rates
It’s unlikely that customers will contact you if they can’t tell you they’ll be late or won’t show up; they probably won’t contact you. If they haven’t added the reservation to their calendar, they might completely forget about it. Or ignore the time. Or the place. It’s possible for so many things to go wrong and leave you with an empty table. A booking platform allows you to communicate directly with customers by sending automatic SMS and email reminders before the booking time. Reservations can be confirmed, modified, or canceled quickly without paying the labor costs to call each reservation individually. Some reservation systems allow you to go even further and charge a no-show fee to customers who miss their reservations.
Related: How Restaurant Delivery Software can revolutionize the Industry?
Conclusion
In the past few years, the restaurant industry has dynamically changed how it operates to meet customers’ ever-changing needs. One significant change is the gradual shift of restaurants from primarily walk-in to more reservation-based. A restaurant reservation is a reservation made in advance to secure an available table in a restaurant. In the past, bookings were only made over the phone and noted by a host in a booking book. But reservations today have primarily shifted to online systems, which are faster, easier to use, and more accurate.
