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No-shows are one of the biggest challenges restaurants face. Every time a guest books a table but doesn’t arrive, it creates lost revenue, wasted resources, and missed opportunities to serve other customers. In some cases, even a 10% no-show rate can redu

No-shows are one of the biggest challenges restaurants face. Every time a guest books a table but doesn’t arrive, it creates lost revenue, wasted resources, and missed opportunities to serve other customers. In some cases, even a&nbsp;10% no-show rate can reduce profit margins significantly, especially for small or mid-sized venues where every cover matters.&nbsp;But the impact goes beyond revenue: staff time is wasted, fresh ingredients are lost, and frustrated walk-in guests may be turned away even when seats later go unused. In today’s competitive industry, reducing no-shows is not just about protecting profits—it’s also about building trust and loyalty with your guests.So, what is the best way to reduce no-shows? Below, we explore&nbsp;proven strategies, supported by technology and guest experience best practices, that can help your restaurant minimize empty tables and maximize efficiency.&nbsp; &nbsp;<h2>1. Use Automated Reservation Confirmations</h2>&nbsp;Clear and consistent communication is your first line of defense. Automated confirmations via&nbsp;email or SMS&nbsp;not only reassure guests that their booking is secured but also keep your restaurant top of mind.&nbsp;&nbsp;Best practices:&nbsp;<ul><li>Send a confirmation immediately after booking. &nbsp;</li><li>Send a follow-up email &nbsp;</li><li>Send a reminder 24 hours before the reservation. &nbsp;</li><li>Add a same-day reminder, especially for peak times like Friday evenings. &nbsp;</li><li>Personalize reminders with details (guest’s name, party size, special requests). &nbsp;</li></ul>Tip: SMS reminders have a&nbsp;98% open rate compared to email’s ~20%, making them highly effective. &nbsp;<h2>2. Offer Easy Cancellation and Modification Options</h2> One of the main reasons people don’t show up is simply forgetting to cancel. If cancellation requires calling during business hours, many won’t bother. By offering one-click cancellation or modification links in reminders, you make it painless for guests to update plans.Result: Instead of losing the table, you can release it instantly back into your live booking system, improving your chances of filling the seat. &nbsp;<h2>3. Implement Deposits or Prepayments</h2>&nbsp;Financial commitment is one of the strongest deterrents to no-shows. Even a small deposit signals that the booking is serious.&nbsp;Options to consider:&nbsp;<ul><li>Deposit per guest (e.g., €10–20 per person). &nbsp;</li><li>Full prepayment for special events (New Year’s Eve, wine-pairing dinners, chef’s tables). &nbsp;</li><li>Credit card guarantee with a cancellation fee if guests fail to show without notice. &nbsp;</li></ul>This approach has become&nbsp;industry standard in 2025, especially for high-demand restaurants, since it balances risk with guest accountability.Pro tip: Position deposits not as penalties, but as part of a&nbsp;seamless digital reservation process—guests are used to prepaying for concerts, hotels, and flights.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>4. Apply a Cancellation Fee Policy</h2>&nbsp;A cancellation fee is a distinct model from deposits or prepayments. Instead of asking for money upfront, the venue requires customers to provide a valid credit card at the time of booking. The card is not charged immediately, but it allows the venue to apply a fee if the guest cancels late or does not show up at all.&nbsp;How it works&nbsp;<ul><li>Credit card guarantee: The system securely stores the guest’s card details. &nbsp;</li><li>Grace period: Guests can cancel or modify their reservation within a predefined timeframe (for example, 24 or 48 hours before the booking) without a fee. &nbsp;</li><li>Late cancellation or no-show: If the guest fails to cancel on time, a predetermined amount is charged to their card. &nbsp;</li></ul>Benefits&nbsp;<ul><li>Reduces risk without requiring upfront payment, which some guests prefer. &nbsp;</li><li>Deters last-minute cancellations that disrupt service planning. &nbsp;</li><li>Encourages accountability while keeping the booking process flexible. &nbsp;</li></ul>Example A restaurant may set a cancellation fee of €25 per guest for bookings canceled less than 24 hours in advance. For high-demand slots, this ensures that last-minute changes have minimal financial impact on the venue.&nbsp;Pro Tip Communicate the policy clearly during booking and in confirmation messages. Guests are more likely to accept the terms when they see it framed as protecting the restaurant’s operations rather than penalizing customers. &nbsp;<h2>5. Reward Reliable Guests</h2>&nbsp;Not all solutions need to be punitive. Rewarding loyal guests who consistently honor their bookings helps build positive habits. Restaurants can use CRM systems to track guest history and offer perks, such as priority booking, complimentary drinks, or exclusive access to events, for customers with a good track record.&nbsp;Ideas to reward reliability:&nbsp;<ul><li>Priority access to peak-time reservations. &nbsp;</li><li>Complimentary drinks or appetizers for consistently reliable diners. &nbsp;</li><li>Exclusive invitations to private tastings or chef’s tables. &nbsp;</li></ul>With a good CRM system, you can track attendance history and personalize perks, making guests feel both valued and accountable. &nbsp;<h2>6. Personalize the Experience with Guest Profiles</h2>&nbsp;When staff recognize a guest by name, reference past visits, or remember dining preferences, the customer feels valued and respected. This personalization creates stronger emotional connections, making it less likely for them to skip a booking without notice.&nbsp;Using guest profiles, staff can:&nbsp;<ul><li>Greet repeat guests by name. &nbsp;</li><li>Reference past visits or favorite dishes. &nbsp;</li><li>Note dietary preferences or special occasions. &nbsp;</li></ul>This personal touch builds emotional connection—turning an “anonymous booking” into a&nbsp;relationship worth keeping. &nbsp;<h2>7. Use a Live Availability System</h2>&nbsp;Integrating a&nbsp;live availability checker ensures that every update—new reservations, cancellations, or modifications—is reflected across all booking channels instantly. This prevents double bookings, optimizes seating, and allows last-minute openings to be filled quickly, which softens the impact of no-shows.&nbsp;Advantages:&nbsp;<ul><li>Minimizes double bookings. &nbsp;</li><li>Allows staff to fill last-minute cancellations quickly. &nbsp;</li><li>Optimizes seating by shifting bookings around intelligently. &nbsp;</li></ul>For busy nights, this agility can mean the difference between empty tables and a fully booked dining room. &nbsp;<h2>8. Train Your Staff to Confirm by Phone (for Key Bookings)</h2>&nbsp;Technology is powerful, but a human touch still matters. For large groups or high-value reservations, a personal phone call on the day of the booking can make a big difference. A friendly reminder and confirmation from a staff member shows care and reduces the likelihood of a no-show. &nbsp;<h2>9. Analyze No-Show Data Regularly</h2>&nbsp;Beyond tactics, restaurants should&nbsp;track and analyze no-show trends. Understanding patterns can help you design smarter policies.&nbsp;Questions to explore:&nbsp;<ul><li>Do no-shows spike on certain days (e.g., Sundays)? &nbsp;</li><li>Are they more common with certain booking channels (e.g., third-party apps)? &nbsp;</li><li>Do last-minute bookings have higher drop-off rates? &nbsp;</li></ul>Armed with this data, you can adjust deposit requirements, send stronger reminders, or double-check certain time slots. &nbsp;<h2>Final thoughts&nbsp;</h2>&nbsp;The best way to reduce no-shows isn’t a single tactic, but a&nbsp;layered strategy. By combining clear communication, guest-friendly systems, financial safeguards, and personalized service, restaurants can protect revenue and deliver a smoother guest experience.Ultimately, reducing no-shows is not just about filling tables—it’s about building&nbsp;mutual respect between guest and restaurant. When guests see that your restaurant values their time, they’re far more likely to return the favor.

What Is the Best Way to Reduce No-Shows in Restaurants? 

Reservation.Tools CEO with interview in Website Planet about the benefits of Reservation.Tools

Our CEO Dimitar Dimitrov gave an interview for Website Planet. He shared some benefits of using Reservation.Tools for restaurants, night clubs and bars. &nbsp;Read the full interview here:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/interview-reservation-tools/">https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/interview-reservation-tools/</a>&nbsp;

Reservation.Tools CEO with interview in Website Planet

How restaurants can increase their online reservations

The online reservation form “Book a table” on restaurant websites has become already a standard in the industry. Very often, however, owners integrate it at their website without considering re-organize the rest of the online content in a way to stimulates users to use this form. When we talk about internet reality, it is very important to organize the site content in the best possible way to lead users to execute a specific action or find the information they need. Thus can be achieved specific objectives generate sales, requests, phone calls, or in our case online reservations, etc. The internet is a very dynamic environment and often the users remain not more than a few seconds on a website if there is nothing enough interesting to capture their attention. At the same time, there is always something else that deconcentrates them and in the end, they will leave your website. Moreover, every website has its navigation and design which represents an additional difficulty for the user to find the information that he is looking for. In this relation, each website owner should think about how to build the online content to get the expected results. Different things can be done in this direction, optimizing the design and the online communication to stimulate users to make a reservation and visit the restaurant. This is the main objective of every restaurant owner!&nbsp;Here are some ideas to work on at your website:&nbsp;Call-to-action button&nbsp;Create a call-to-action button “Reserve a table” which differentiates it from all other buttons and put it in a visible place on the webpages. Generally, such a place is the site header close to the main menu. Choose a bright color for the button to attract attention and stimulate action. In many websites, the booking button is included in the main menu and doesn’t differentiate in any way from the others. Some users who visit the website even may not notice that it exists. Another case is when such a button is missing at all because the owners relay on their Contacts page and think that if the user wants to book a table, they will go directly there. The experience, however, shows that the lack of a call-to-action button on all pages decreases many times the total number of online reservations.&nbsp;Food photography&nbsp;Very often the restaurant websites include a gallery of photos of the interior and the exterior of the venue but not of the menu items. As the saying goes, you eat with your eyes first. In this relation, you can offer the best and tasty menu but if it is not presented accordingly on your website with beautiful professional images to create desire, it is much less likely to attract online users to book a table. Of course, we talk here about the situation where you as a user who visits the website have no other additional information about the venue, such as friend recommendations, etc.Many websites, for example, publish only a text menu online with the respective prices believing that the price is the most important factor for a potential customer to decide to visit or not the restaurant. They underestimate an extremely strong factor as the visual menu presentation.Try to include professional images of the main dishes on your website and publish some of them on its Home page. This will increase significantly your online reservations.&nbsp;Special events and promotions&nbsp;Another thing that can help you impress online users when they visit your website is to communicate special events related to specific dates. This can create a sense of urgency and make them reserve a table even if they didn’t intend to do that at the beginning. Of course, this can happen only if the events are enough interesting for your customers. For example, this could be a live music event, Happy hour thematic evenings, or weeks such as week of greek or french cuisine, etc.Moreover, you can communicate discounts for specific days of the week, or a separate lunch menu of the day. There are so many possibilities, the only thing is to decide which one will work best for you. It is equally important to succeed communicate the related information as it should to create the respective result. i.e. more online reservations.&nbsp;Social media links&nbsp;Social media buttons on restaurant websites have also become a standard element and are present almost on every webpage. Are they, however, highlighted, as they should be to be effective? These links are important to remain in contact with the website visitors through your social media profiles and continue to communication with them information by your new posts. Thus, the probability they to remember your venue and visit you again is higher. Often, these buttons are present only on the Contacts page of the website. It will be better if you insert them on every page in a visible place. Think about also hot to highlight them. You can add also some slogans telling the users what will be the benefit for them if they follow your social media profiles. For example, that they can receive info about actual promotions, discounts, etc. Don’t underestimate the power of social media and use them wisely to create loyal customers.For sure, all the described advice above are not unique ones that you can use to optimize your website for more online reservations. The main thing here to remember is that the online reservation form isn’t enough to generate sales. Each element, color, and piece of information is important to make people remain on your webpage and stimulate them to book a table. Be smart in your online communication and always try to think a step in advance!

How restaurants can increase their online brand reputation

Nowadays a good online reputation is extremely important for restaurants because very often customers make their own decisions about which venue to choose depending on information found on the internet. This information could contain photos or videos of the restaurant or its menu shared by other customers in forums, social media, or restaurant booking search engines. As a restaurant owner, do you have the habit to monitor regularly the content that appears online related to your brand and services? This represents a very important marketing approach that can help you manage your online brand reputation. The online reputation can have a significant impact on your business results.&nbsp;Online reputation monitoring and analysis&nbsp;One of the main ways to follow what online users tell about your restaurant is to search for content on social media published under hashtags related to your brand and location tags. Be aware, as well, &nbsp;when somebody tags your brand on Instagram stories. Pay special attention and analyze what exactly the users have chosen to highlight. For example, this could be the interior, some particular dishes, the general restaurant ambiance, waiters, the bar area, etc. This could be very precious information for you that you should highlight in your next communication or when you make decisions introducing new menu items, promotions, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;On the contrary, when there are any tags or shared photos related to the restaurant, this could also be an important sign telling you that perhaps you should improve your marketing efforts and communication or that the quality of the services and the food you offer aren’t good enough. Nowadays when people are impressed or satisfied by something, they are always ready to share it on social media.&nbsp;Another way to monitor online feedback about your restaurant is to use the Google search engine by using keywords related to your brand name. Check all the links that appear and the content they are forwarding to.&nbsp;How to manage online the positive and negative feedback and reviews&nbsp;If you find negative comments that don’t correspond to reality, answer them publicly online explaining your point of view. Try to maintain the communication polite and civil, showing a professional attitude without including emotions even if the comments are aggressive and arrogant. The main objective is not to leave users spreading negative rumors about your business, especially when this is not the truth.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you find that the complaining users are right in their negative evaluation,&nbsp;you can offer them some discount for future visits. It is almost certain that in this case, such people won’t be so negative anymore regarding your brand. Moreover, they can change their opinion about you. When people see that the representatives of the specific business brand put the clients and their satisfaction first level, they are much more likely not to be so aggressive in their negative evaluation. &nbsp;&nbsp;As for the positive comments or tags in social media you found by hashtags related to your brand, for example, it is a good practice to thank the user for sharing them which will be a great motivation for them to do it again.&nbsp;Competitors monitoring/Benchmarking&nbsp;It could be very useful to check what online users tell about your competitors, as well as to confront the volume of online reviews and share content between your brand and the ones of your competitors. Such analysis can give you important information about where you stand in terms of reputation and brand awareness vs. other restaurants. If you are behind them, try to study their marketing strategy and communication and find how to improve yours.&nbsp;Collaborations with bloggers and influencers&nbsp;One of the most powerful ways to increase your online reputation is to collaborate with bloggers and social media influencers who can share content related to your brand by recommending you to their followers. Of course, in most cases, such marketing activities require a budget but an investment like this one could bring you many benefits. The reason is that most of your actual and potential customers use social media and follow different influencers. So, these collaborations are an effective way to reach your customers through someone they trust. You can organize together with the influencer some kind of promotions, and distribute giveaways or discounts. The main objective is to increase your brand awareness, attract new customers, and make them loyal.&nbsp;Regular monitoring of the shared online content about your brаnd can be very helpful for your online communication and if necessary to gather ideas on how you can improve your services. In this regard, we recommend you to include online reputation monitoring as an integral part of your marketing strategy.

One of the most important and long-term investments you can make related to your restaurant marketing strategy is to build a strong brand name. If you succeed in creating high brand awareness and spreading a message able to remind customers’ minds, this will already be a significant success. The well known brand is a precious resource that works for your business profit and empowers all the advertising campaigns you are about to run. Moreover, a strong brand can help you maintain stable positions vs. your competitors and make it more difficult for them to "steal" your customers.&nbsp;The question is how to build a successful brand name. There are a lot of factors that influence the brand success but the basis is a strong brand identity containing clear values, mission, vision, and message. When the identity is clearly formulated and well communicated, the customers know what they are going to receive when interacting with your brand in terms of quality, pricing offer, and most importantly emotions.&nbsp;&nbsp;One of the main characteristics of successful brands is that they are always friendly and communicate trust, security, and understanding to customers. In our days of technological progress, overload of information, and advertising messages, it is appreciated by customers when brand communication includes also human aspects. Customers don’t want to receive any more commercial messages designed to manipulate them but they seek authenticity. When they see the real people working for that business with their everyday activities, stories, etc. it is much easier for customers to trust them and choose the products and services represented by the brand.&nbsp;In this regard, instead of communicating generic messages, you need to make this communication more human including real stories related to your everyday business activity and not invented ones. How can you do that?&nbsp;Here are some ideas that you can use for your communication online on both your website and social media profiles.&nbsp;What is your story?&nbsp;&nbsp;Perhaps it would be interesting for your customers to learn how was born the idea for your restaurant was. Tell them your story by publishing an online interview with the company CEO. Describe in the interview how the idea has been realized from its creation to the venue opening. How much time was necessary to build the project? What were the different stages you passed through to make your restaurant work? How did you choose the name of the restaurant? You can use some occasion, for example, a company anniversary, to share this story with your customers. Moreover, you can share on social media some photos of the opening date and of the team with which you have started this endeavor. All this information will diversify your communication and make it original and friendly.&nbsp;Present your employees&nbsp;Present your employees, the people thanks to which customers can take advantage of your services. This presentation can happen in different ways. You can present every week a different employee in your social media profile by publishing their photo in a post or story telling in brief something interesting about him. Describe what they like working for your brand and with your customer, as well as what exactly are their duties. You can also congratulate them in a public way on socials as an employee when they have a birthday. Don’t forget to take photos when you make team buildings or parties with your team and post them on your website or social media profiles.&nbsp;Your Menu: The main protagonist&nbsp;One of the reasons why customers visit any restaurant is a part the fact to spend a pleasant time with friends, but most importantly to taste its specialties. Turn your menu to the main protagonist in your brand storytelling. Show videos and photos of how the different dishes are prepared, and what are their ingredients. Present your chefs and how they prepare the meals. Make your chief chef show interesting cooking techniques or share cooking advice.&nbsp;Do your customers know why did you include exactly these dishes in your menu or how did you choose their names? Tell your clients how the menu was built, and what are its accents. Show them how the plating is made, especially if you pay special attention to it and tend to be creative. At the same time, you can develop further all these topics in your online communication providing useful ideas and tips to your online users that they can apply at home when preparing meals for their families.&nbsp;A preoccupation of your customers could be whether all hygiene rules are respected in the kitchen and food preparation. You can make a demonstrative video and show how everything in your kitchen is in order and how all standards are met. This will make for sure a positive impression on users.&nbsp;Another idea could be to share online which are the preferred meals on the menu with your customers according to seasons, day of the week, etc. If you pay attention to these facts and notice some tendencies, you can even develop some promotions during the different periods which can boost your promotions.&nbsp;Food quality and deliveries&nbsp;The quality of the products used in the kitchen is another important issue that customers pay attention to. Create videos and photos in which you tell about the origin and quality of the products you use to prepare your menu. You can mention also your suppliers and the guarantees they give you in this regard.&nbsp;Every daily activity of your business can become an inspirational story able to increase your brand awareness and customer loyalty. Look around you and decide what will be interesting for your users to share as information for your restaurant activities. Make a storytelling, show real human faces, share your experience and your brand will become the favorite one of your customers.

How to build a strong restaurant brand

How to launch a Christmas charity initiative for your restaurant

Christmas is coming, one of the most beautiful holidays of the year full of a magic atmosphere. Since the holidays are related to present shopping, most of the companies are competing to launch promotions and give discounts at this period. This is why the promotions tend to be very similar as well as most of the holiday activities. Christmas, however, is related not only to gifts but also to family traditions and values, as well as to charity activities. This is a period of the year when we need to open our hearts to others and offer love and contribution to those who need them.&nbsp;This is why to the traditional Christmas promotions, your restaurant can add a charity activity developed by your own or in which you can engage your customers. The idea is to present to your clients another face of your brand and business, i.e. that behind them there are people who are socially engaged. An activity like this can contribute a lot to your brand awareness by creating positive associations in your customers’ minds. Moreover, a similar initiative can differentiate you from many other competitors who use mainly Christmas promotions and discounts.&nbsp;How to build a Christmas charity activity?&nbsp;Choose and plan your initiative&nbsp;The most important thing regarding your activity is to choose who you can help! Of course, what matters here are your personal preferences because you need to believe in the cause! This will give you the energy and inspiration to realize the project and also to transmit your enthusiasm to many other people. If you make something by obligation, respectively the results won’t be satisfying. You can find thousands of charity opportunities: donate money to a foundation or institution for their causes, or make a financial contribution to a hospital for the purchase of a particular medical facilities for the children department etc. Or, to make a donation to foundations which organize charity bazars, concerts or Christmas activities for people and children in need.&nbsp;Keep in mind, that it is not always necessary to donate money. There are also other ways to help. You can, for example, offer the area of your restaurant to a foundation or an organization as a space where they can hold Christmas activities. This way the benefits for your restaurant will be multiple! By attracting people to your venue, you are promoting your brand and services. Another idea could be to engage your staff to participate in an initiative organized by someone else, in case you can’t develop it on your own. Thus, you give an opportunity to your staff members to feel contribution and express themselves outside of their concrete professional duties but at the same time remaining under your brand. Also, this could be a great team-building opportunity because the team members will be united by a common cause and this supports the team spirit and collaboration.&nbsp;If you decide to develop a charity activity by donating a specific sum, you have two possibilities to make it directly by your own or to engage your customers to participate in it. You can leave a fundraising box at a visible place at your restaurant or communicate to customers that some percentage of their bill will go to the fundraising activity. The options are many, what is important is to choose the best way that suits your brand and business.&nbsp;Search for a charity project that you could easily communicate in the future. The shown results will increase the campaign's final effect and will allow you to get higher benefits for your brand awareness.&nbsp;If you still lack ideas, there are many charity platforms plenty with announcements for initiatives in which you can participate. You can choose between hundreds of activities, organizations, and foundations and join the one that is closer to your objectives.&nbsp;Initiative communication&nbsp;The success and the positive effect of your charity activity depends not only on how you organize it but also on how you communicate it. In this regard, you need to have a strategic plan for when, on which media channels, and how often, you are going to promote your campaign. Your main objective is to reach actual and potential customers, as well as to make sure that a trace of your communication will be left even after the end of the activity. This is to say that you shouldn’t focus only on communication on Instagram because it won't be as lasting as a blog article, for instance. The reason is that in the future when people search for your brand name in Google, they could find the article and see that your brand engages and develops a social responsibility campaign.&nbsp;It is better to choose a mix of media channels both online and offline in order to cover a larger audience. These could be Facebook, Instagram, or the venue website. The communication should be present also at your restaurant in some way, for example, advertising materials, posters, leaflets distributed on the tables, etc.&nbsp;Be creative in your communication, use different formats such as social media posts, stories, blog articles, and banners on your website leading to the article dedicated to the charity initiative. Don’t limit the communication to only a few posts. Plan it in time and volume. It can include a pre-announcement and, after that a communication related to the development of the activity and at the end the project results.&nbsp;If you decide to make the campaign together with other organisations, you can negotiate cross-promotions between the two companies which can be very profitable. Thus, your brand will reach a higher audience and will get a higher brand awareness.&nbsp;Results&nbsp;The project results are extremely important and it is crucial to show them out. The good intentions are wonderful but what can create a real effect and generate positive brand perception are the concrete results of the charity activities. Document all the facts with pictures, videos, and stories in social media, if this is possible. For instance, if you have contributed to the event organization with your donation, write an article in your blog telling about all the event details and publish related posts on Facebook and Instagram. Let your customers be aware that by choosing your brand and restaurant they, in some way, are contributing to social causes.&nbsp;The charity causes are a wonderful opportunity to connect your business activity with a socially important initiative. This could be a really good combination! Try to develop every year such activities and transform them into tradition. Thus the positive effect on your brand will be much higher and the customers will perceive you as a socially responsible company.

Some of the service providers are taking in their hands the communication with the customers on behalf of the restaurants, operating as an intermediary. These are companies owning an online marketplace place and their strategy presents some benefits for the venues, but generally includes also many negative sides. The problem is the fact that when online users want to make an online reservation, they find first the marketplace website on the internet, instead of the venue website because these companies invest a lot of money in promoting their platforms. Thus, when customers make reservations through the online platform, in reality, they communicate mainly with the platform brand and not with the venue. As a result, some statistics show an increase in no-shows when it is about reservations made through an intermediary. The clients don’t have a direct connection with the venue and therefore they don’t feel engaged to call and cancel the reservation.&nbsp;Moreover, it happens also the following paradox – many users have the intention to use the marketplace when making a reservation for a specific venue but subsequently they choose another one because the last one is promoted and more visible than their first choice. This way the venue is losing a potential client because the provider is promoting another restaurant that is paying for that. The promotion can happen in different ways as providing a positioning at the top of the search results stimulating online users to make a reservation at specific venues giving them loyalty points etc.&nbsp;In this regard, the venue is losing direct contact with its customers, as well as the opportunity to freely use and interact with its brand. The control remains in the hands of the intermediary, who decides where to forward the traffic (according to their financial interests) without considering which specific venue was intended at the beginning of the reservation.&nbsp;Customer database and relationship management&nbsp;Customer relationship management is an important part of the reservation system and when you are about to choose one for your restaurant, you need to be sure that it includes the necessary functionalities. Some of the reservation systems on the market, don’t offer such options, or if they are included, they have basic characteristics. In the best case, you will find a system with a dynamic database, which allows you to archive all the information related to the clients and their reservations, as well as subsequently use these data automatically for new reservations, analysis, and business forecasts. Check if the database allows the information export in a user-friendly format (.cvs, xls и др.) because this is an important condition to have control over all the information you gather and use it with external analytical software. This is necessary also in the case in which you want to pass to another booking system. Then you need to transfer all the present databases. However, many providers don’t offer such an alternative trying to stop restaurants from passing to another reservation system.&nbsp;Also, as was mentioned in another paragraph in this article, some booking apps have only basic functionalities because of the lack of product investment and optimization. In this relation, the customer management tool is not well developed because the companies promote more their online marketplace.&nbsp;Increase sales by attracting new potential online customers&nbsp;Last but not least, it should be considered the question of the venue website positioning in the search results of search platforms such as Google. Good positioning under the needed keywords is very important for the online traffic generation to the website, i.e. for eventual reservations and sales. When the restaurant uses a booking system as part of an online marketplace, there is a conflict of interest between the venue and the service provider. They are entering competition in the search results when a user is searching, for example, using as a keyword the venue brand name. The online marketplace, mostly the international ones, have partnerships with Google, Bing, Yahoo, Trip Advisor, and others which makes the venue page in the marketplace rate higher in the results than the own website, which means a higher probability of being chosen by the user. Thus, the platform becomes a monopolist for online reservations and after a venue is registered there, the probability of attracting online users to its website is minimal.&nbsp;The real problem here is that, in most cases, the price that the restaurant pays to the provider for a reservation made through the marketplace is higher than the price for the one made on its website. In this regard, the restaurant is in a situation to pay higher fees per reservation because the whole online traffic has been forwarded to the marketplace. This situation is more negative for big brands where the probability that users are searching on Google directly by using their brand names is higher. However, instead of finding the venue website to make a reservation, they find first the venue page on the online marketplace.&nbsp;How to choose the best pricing offer&nbsp;The main difference in the pricing offers is based on the fact whether or not the service provider manages an online marketplace.&nbsp;If yes, the prices are linked also to the usage of the online platform, not only to the booking system. There is a fixed monthly fee for the venue's presence on the marketplace in addition to a commission fee paid for each reservation or each attracted client managed by the booking system. This way, no matter if the restaurant has a real benefit from its marketplace presence, it should pay both fees. As has been already said, not always this presence is useful for the venue because of a possible conflict of interest or because of the necessity to pay additional advertising fees to get the necessary visibility and online traffic. This is to say that the fixed monthly fee doesn’t guarantee always visibility and reservations.&nbsp;At the same time, providers, who offer as a main product a booking system, generally apply only a fixed monthly fee without any additional commissions per reservation or attracted client. The restaurants pay only for the concrete service use.&nbsp;The conclusion after the review of the main offers on the market is that restaurant owners who search for efficient solutions for their businesses have to do detailed research of all parameters and functionalities of the reservations app to choose the corresponding to their needs and expectations. It is important to take into consideration all advantages and disadvantages to manage successfully customer relationships and business activities.

Direct communication with customers

How to manage effectively the customer relationship for your restaurant

The clients are crucial for every business success and the restaurant industry doesn't make an exception. One of the challenges for the venues is to create loyal customers which requires a good strategy, but also the usage of the exact tools. There are many technical solutions on the market enabling restaurants to manage customer relations at all levels as operations related to the building and usage of customers data base including contacts, reservation information and analysis and planning.&nbsp;These solutions represents booking systems that offer many benefits in terms of both technical functionalities and marketing and sales activities.The different booking systems on the market at first glance seem similar. However, there are significant differencies between the products and the present article intends to reveal them in order to help restaurants get a better decision by choosing the right solution according to their needs.&nbsp;Most important factors to consider when choosing a reservation system&nbsp;When you are about to choose a reservation system for your restaurant, you need to understand what functionalities includes each platform. Only this way, you can manage successfully the customer relationship at all levels. The existing solutions on the market include very basic ones and others which offer rich number of options, covering almost entirely the needs of the restaurants related to reservation management.&nbsp;This gap is due to the different business strategies of the service providers. For some of them the development of the reservation system represents their course business and they invest a lot in activities of product upgrades and optimization.&nbsp;Others, use their booking systems as a secondary product focusing mainly on their online market places for restaurants (another product they promote together with the reservation system). In this case, the reservation system is not so well developed.&nbsp;All this is to say, that when you choose a solution for your business you need to make a detailed research and compare the different products on the market.&nbsp;One of the functionalities that needs a special attentions is weather or not is possible integration with external platforms. The integrations with the restaurant Facebook page and website in general are assured by most of the platforms, but only few companies allow integrations with external platforms from where could come additional reservations. The reason is that most of the providers have they own online market places and don’t want to open the booking system for other similar platforms. This way, when a restaurant is present on more than one market places in order to get higher visibility and attract more customers, it will be limited in its operations because of the lack of a central hub through which it can receive and manage all the reservations coming from all the channels.&nbsp;Тhe companies which offer the reservation system as a first solution without engaging its use to the obligatory use of a market place (ex. <a href="https://www.reservation.tools/">Reservation.Tools</a>) generally allow flexible integrations. This way, they procure restaurants with a central hub through which they can manage all their reservations and customer relations.&nbsp;In brief, the basic solutions lack a lot of functionalities, most of them don’t have modules for sms and email notifications, neither options for various functionality customizations (such as splited working time etc.), the interfaces aren’t so user-friendly which makes the reservation process much slower and difficult, there is no well developed administration for customer relations etc.&nbsp;Who and how manages the customer relationship and communication&nbsp;The customers are the main “capital” of a venue, crucial for the maintainance and development of the business activity. This is why the successful customer relations management is very important. Here are included the daily communication with the clients who are making reservations, as well as the management of the customer data base. When you choose a booking system, you need to check well all the functionalities related to these two levels of operations.

Technology

The Reservation and Customer Relation Management Tool Reservation.Tools become an official partner of “Reserve with Google”.

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The Reservation and Customer Relation Management Tool Reservation.Tools become an official partner of “Reserve with Google”.&nbsp;The partnership enables all venues customers of Reservation.Tools to receive reservations directly by &nbsp;Google Search o Google Maps.&nbsp;This way, restaurants and nightclubs can add a new channel for reservations, different from the venue website or Facebook page. The Google option offers many benefits to the customers, as well to the venues.&nbsp;Save time in making reservations&nbsp;The process of making a reservation with “Reserve with Google” saves time for the restaurants and their customers. There is no longer a need the online users to go to the venue website to make a reservation. The Internet is a very dynamic environment and the users can click at each moment on a link, leaving the specific website. Thanks to “Reserve with Google”, however, there is no risk for restaurants to lose their customers in a similar way. Google makes the reservation process very fast and easy.&nbsp;Standard reservation form&nbsp;The “Reserve with Google” reservation form is a standard one for all venues that use it on Google Maps e Google Search. The online users can interact immediately. Instead, if the customer has to visit the venue website, he should the reservation form on the different pages losing more time.&nbsp;No intermediaries&nbsp;One of the biggest advantages of “Reserve with Google” is that the customer doesn’t pass through third-party platforms when making a reservation. They are in direct contact with the venue. On the other hand, the restaurant doesn’t have to pay commissions to third parties and be promoted through another brand.&nbsp;&nbsp;Customers’ feedback and additional info of the venue&nbsp;The reservation form is added to the already existing venue profiles on Google Maps. Thus, the customers can use the option to leave a comment or feedback sharing their experience after they visit a specific venue. In the same profile, they can find some statistical information about the restaurant's daily activities.&nbsp;Free Google integration&nbsp;The integration with "Reserve with Google" is a free-of-charge service for all venue customers of reservation.Tools.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you need a professional Reservation and Customer Relation Management Tool and want to have the "Reserve with Google" online reservation form, please contact our team at <a href="mailto:sales@reservation.tools">sales@reservation.tools</a>.