Introduction
Your customer’s experience with your restaurant starts way before their first bite.
Are they able to find your restaurant online with ease? Can they reserve a table and book it in advance? Can customers order meals beforehand?
As you can see, several internal processes need to fall into place before your customers can dine at your restaurant.
This preparedness on your end can boost brand perception and heighten customer satisfaction.
But how can you prepare your restaurant for the customers in advance?
The easiest way to do that is through a table booking system for restaurants where customers can find a table and book it at any time.
Imagine how great it would be if you knew exactly how many customers were going to eat at your restaurant every day. With that kind of data, you could streamline your service and boost efficiency in every way.
The benefits of a table booking system for restaurants are too many to ignore.
Hence, today, we’ll explore restaurant reservation systems to see how they can impact customer satisfaction and restaurant revenues.
Let’s dig in:
What’s an online restaurant table booking system?
The old ways of booking a table at a restaurant by calling is not cutting it anymore.
Customers are evolving digitally, and they expect their favourite restaurants to do the same.
In fact, 34% of customers love the simplicity of online table reservations and are more likely to dine at restaurants that offer that.
Before you can get started with a Restaurant Reservation System, let’s understand what a restaurant table reservation system is:
A restaurant reservation system is an important feature of an online restaurant food ordering app. It enables customers to book tables at their favourite restaurants in advance and streamlines the process of table booking, customer management, and staffing.
By automating table reservations, restaurant owners can save time, reduce booking errors, and improve overall customer and dining experience.
Why do you need a table booking system for your restaurant?
Imagine a potential customer stumbles across your restaurant food ordering app.
The good news is that they love your services and food options. In fact, they even want to dine at your restaurant in person with their entire family.
In the absence of a table reservation system, the potential customer has to pick up the call, talk to a restaurant representative, and give all the details for the table booking.
While this calling system might work, there is a risk.
If your restaurant booking representative fails to receive the call, or if the phone lines are busy—your prospect will fail to connect with you.
And you in turn just lost a customer who was originally very interested in eating at your restaurant.
The fundamental advantage of having a “Book a Table” button on your food ordering app is to encourage people to book tables at their convenience—without having to rely on someone else.
Restaurant vendors can enable the “Book a Table” feature on the app using Deonde Ressto: Online Ordering System for Restaurants. After this, restaurant vendors can access information filled in by the customers to manage table occupancy and staff availability.
Importance of online table reservation systems for restaurants
Not convinced yet?
Here is a complete list of advantages to installing an online table reservation system at your restaurant:
Optimize Table Management
An online table booking system can help you manage the occupancy of tables at your restaurants effectively.
Since you’re already aware of the upcoming reservations, you can set aside some tables and avoid overbooking. This feature ensures a smooth flow of guests and helps you minimize wait times for all guests.
Hence, efficient booking practices can lead to better table and restaurant resource management.
Heighten Customer Experience like never before
Enabling customers to book tables by themselves is truly empowering. You give them the freedom to choose tables at the time they like. And by doing so, they never have to wait in lines. Even if it’s a long weekend and the restaurant is fully packed.
There is a sense of convenience attached to the process of online table reservation. Leverage it to attract those customers who absolutely hate waiting in long lines.
Customers who are celebrating a special occasion or have any dietary requests can convey that to the restaurant in advance through the table reservation system.
With a table booking system, customers can plan their dine-out in a way they like. This greatly reduces the chances of no-shows. Hence, a win-win for customers and the restaurant owners.
Better Staff Productivity
Do you have a lot of table reservations for next Sunday? Good thing you know this ahead of time, so you can request some of the servers and chefs to do overtime.
Knowing how many people will dine with you on any given day is valuable data.
It brings a sense of predictability so you can prepare your staff, inventory, and workflows accordingly. You can better allocate resources and drive efficiency to serve your customers better.
Now, isn’t that simply better than operating in the dark?
Reduced No-Shows Rates
Customers who book their own tables are more likely to show up than others.
Why? Online Table Reservation Software Systems are usually hooked up with omnichannel communication that constantly reminds them of their bookings.
This greatly reduces the risk of no-shows or last-minute cancellations. Not only does this allow you to have a steady flow of customers, but it also prevents food wastage or staff idling.
Attract more customers
Leverage online table booking for your restaurant as a USP to attract more customers, especially the ones who are always in a hurry.
For example, many professionals enjoy eating out during their lunchtime, but they need to find a table and get served quickly so they can go back to their office before their lunch hour is over. Some people love to go out on weekends with their family, but all restaurants are almost always booked. As a result, they’ve to face long wait times.
For such customer personas, market your online booking features and show them the benefits of reserving a table in advance. Lure them in with regards and discounts–and soon, your restaurant will become their go-to spot.
How to implement a table reservation system to boost your bottom line?
We have seen how an online table reservation system can be incredibly advantageous. The key here is to integrate it with your online PoS system, ideally a restaurant food ordering and delivery app.
Once you have that, follow the steps given below to maximize the utility of your online table booking system:
Encourage maximum reservations
Foster customers to make online reservations before they step into your restaurants by offering exclusive rewards or discounts. You can send reminders to book their table through in-app messaging and push notifications.
Trending Push Notification Templates for your Food Delivery App
Another tip to boost table reservations is to make the “Book a Table” button easily accessible. Design your app in a way that customers can quickly find the booking widget and confirm their table without any hassle.
Encouraging more book-ins will boost table and staff management. It will turn your restaurant into a well-oiled machine so you may serve customers without over-staffing.
Go where data takes you
A table reservation system for your restaurant can enrich you with crucial data insights and KPIs that will boost your bottom line like no other. It can help you see how online table reservations have affected your sales and revenue in the past.
For example, Use historical reports to see how many customers you hosted last Mother’s Day and prep your inventory and staff accordingly for the upcoming one.
Data gained through table reservations can help you set realistic business goals. It can also help you make confident business decisions in the right direction. So, let data be your guide to business scaling and expansion.
Get a grip on your finances
An integrated table reservation system can throw light on a lot of things, like per-table spending, average earnings, extra overheads, and daily table turnover.
If you’ve been paying attention, managing these numbers can help you boost profit margins while mitigating overhead expenses. You’ll also be able to tap into missed opportunities and generate more revenue without investing in new resources.
As a matter of fact, analytics generated by an integrated table reservation and booking system can also help you forecast and predict better. On any given weekend or weekday, you’ll be able to prepare and optimize your restaurant seating and staffing. And this will give you a competitive edge over those restaurants that don’t leverage booking KPIs to boost their bottom line.
Final thoughts
Through this blog, we’ve managed to successfully explore the benefits, process, and impact of online table reservation systems for restaurants. If you’re new and just starting, we urge you to explore this feature in your online food ordering and delivery software.
Table booking systems for restaurants can have myriad benefits, like seamless customer serving, improved restaurant staff productivity, and improved brand engagement. In the long run, it can help you build a loyal customer community and generate recurring streams of revenue.
We hope you found the insights provided in this blog helpful and will use them to transform your online food ordering and delivery restaurant app.
Choose Deonde Ressto to boost restaurant sales
Imagine customers wanting to book a table at your restaurant but there is no way for them to do it.
Hiring a person to take calls or manage table appointments is expensive, unreliable, and unsustainable.
This is why Deonde Ressto is equipped with the best online table booking and reservation system to automate table booking and management for restaurant vendors. With just a few clicks, customers can find a table at your restaurant and book it at any given time from anywhere.
If you’re interested, you can Connect with Deonde Ressto. It has all the tools you need to supercharge your restaurant sales. Deonde Ressto is a SaaS-based white-label food ordering and delivery platform that is perfect for multi-chain restaurant vendors. It’s advanced, agile, and ready to deploy.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
1. What is an online table booking system for restaurants?
An online table booking system for restaurants is a mobile app that enables customers to reserve a table at the restaurant in advance so they don’t need to wait in long, tiring queues. Restaurants can use this system to manage the inflow of customers, optimize table availability, and streamline the dining experience by mitigating waiting times.
2. How does an online table reservation system for restaurants work?
Online food ordering apps for restaurants like Deonde Ressto enable restaurants to activate table reservations. Using this feature, customers can book a table in advance. They simply need to select the time, location (for multi-chain restaurants), and the number of guests. They can also order ahead of time for a seamless dining experience.
3. Why should restaurants have an online table booking system?
Here are the top 3 reasons why your online ordering restaurant app should have a table reservation system:
- Heighten customer satisfaction rates by practically eliminating long queues or wait times.
- Know how many people will be dining in advance and use that information to optimize table occupancy.
- Enhance back-end restaurant management and staff productivity.
4. How important is an online table reservation for new restaurants?
Today, 54% of customers believe restaurants should allow online table booking. While established restaurants still have time to catch up, new restaurants are in an extremely sticky spot. This is because they don’t have a loyal customer base to fall back on.
Hence, we recommend new restaurants Connect with Deonde Ressto. This mobile and desktop solution can streamline their entire online food ordering and delivery business. Plus, with Deonde’s advanced online table reservation system, they can gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.
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