Make Ends Meat: 13 Tips To Boost Restaurant Reservations

Reading Time: 10 minutes

The restaurant industry is highly trend-sensitive.

Currently, online ordering is booming, as the third-party app space is getting creative with its approach. 

According to Statista, the online food delivery segment is projected to reach US$26,527m in 2020. It is also predicted to witness an annual growth rate of 5.1%, resulting in a projected market of US$32,325m by 2024.

However, while the industry is keeping up with all the trends, it is missing out on reservations. According to a report by OpenTable that gathered data from nearly 60,000 restaurants, shows in-restaurant dining numbers are down to 60% YoY.

Restaurants now must understand reservations are a viable solution and they should focus on getting their grip back. 

In this blog, we are going to cover all the possible points to help you learn how restaurant reservations increase.

A Brief History of Restaurant Reservations

When I was writing this, I was looking into a lot of portals to get a clear idea about when, why, and how reservations came into the picture. While there are many speculations, there was one thing common — The Invention of the Restaurant by Rebecca Spang.

In an interaction with The Atlantic, Spang has talked about the nuts and bolts of a restaurant. When asked about the onset of reservations in restaurants, she said that the practice was completely different in the past.

“Reserving a table is not so much an ‘industrial age bolt-on’ as it’s a slippage from the older custom of reserving a ROOM in a restaurant,” said Spang.

Back in the 19th century, restaurants used to have large public eating rooms along with a number of smaller rooms that could be reserved.  

That’s not all. When you dig deeper and understand why reservation was introduced, there’s another factor that has a lot to do with it.

The gender imbalance factor

According to Spang, there was a gender imbalance in American cities at the end of the 19thcentury. A lot of single, affluent men could not decently invite single women into their homes. So, they had to look around for a way. 

This is where restaurant reservations came into the picture. Those single men would invite single women to restaurants, treating it as a public extension of the home.

What is more surprising is the fact that technology like the telephone wasn’t a vital player in the restaurant reservation boom. Rather, it was the social changes.

After WW2, a lot of men and women started working in different domains such as retail and clerical jobs. And grabbing a bite (at least one meal/day) in a restaurant became a necessity for them. 

This is when restaurant reservations started to forge ahead and witnessed tremendous transformations.

Today, it is completely different compared to its onset and has become a crucial piece of restaurant infrastructure.

How Important are Restaurant Reservations?

When it comes to reservations, it’s not something that is hard and fast. Many restaurants don’t take them at all, many operate only on a reservation basis, many prefer call-ahead seating, and many fall somewhere in between.

However, reservations have always been an integral aspect of restaurant businesses. I know there might be some disadvantages of table booking such as cancellations, overbooking, no-shows, and also a chunk of customers still do not prefer to book before dining out. But the benefits it offers certainly outweighs most of the disadvantages.

Benefits of reservations in restaurants

• Sourcing and staffing made easy: When your restaurant operates on reservations, you know how many folks are going to show up. This makes your job of feeding and serving them better. Also, it makes it really easy for you to manage the kitchen. Simply put, it helps you estimate demand in an accurate way and manage costs more efficiently.
• Prepare chefs for a rush: It is really important for restaurateurs to let their chefs and other kitchen staff know about the rush. It helps them in keeping everything ready on time sans compromising the quality of the food. When you have a heavily booked day ahead, give your chefs a fair warning to be prepared.
• Better customer experience: People don’t like to wait for their food. Period. So, restaurants that operate on a reservation-basis can serve their guests on time. Resulting in a better guest experience and reviews about your restaurant. Not to mention, it helps you plan your dining area accordingly, making it more pleasant for the diners.
• Increase demand: One of the benefits of offering reservations is, it helps certain restaurants increase their demand, especially during these times of COVID. People want to maintain distance and don’t want to go to crowded places. Therefore, they prefer to book a table in advance, rather than facing a queue.
• The revenue advantage: Restaurants that solely operate on reservations tend to gain a reputation. These restaurants usually get guests that come in groups and spend a bit higher compared to the usual customers. Further, reservations provide you with the advantage of serving more parties each day, resulting in a higher daily income.

Word To The Wise: The COVID-19 has put a lot of fear and trepidation into consumers, so as a restaurateur you must let your guests know that you are taking all the necessary steps when it comes to health and safety.

How Can Restaurants Take Reservations?

Today, we have several systems available that help with a restaurant reservation. However, the ways restaurants take reservations vary. Let’s take a look at some of them.

• Phone Call: One of the traditional methods of making a reservation is through a phone call. People would just call up the restaurant and book a spot for a certain number of guests.
• Website: People also prefer to visit a restaurant’s website and make a reservation. For this, restaurants usually have an online reservation system or POS system with reservation capability integrated.  
• Email: This might not be one of the most used methods, but there are people who still choose to drop a line. This method can be a part of the website too, where the restaurant can ask folks to mail them to book a spot.
• Mobile Apps: Lately, mobile apps have become really popular for online restaurant reservations. Restaurants can either have their own app or can rely on food delivery apps to take online orders and reservations.
• Walk-in: Another form of booking a table is to walk straight into the restaurant. Many folks still prefer to show up at a restaurant and book a spot for a later time on the same day or for some other day.

Here 13 Tips to Increase Restaurant Reservations

Now that you have taken a deep dive into restaurant reservations, let us help you with some ideas to increase restaurant reservations.

#1 Focus on cleanliness, hygiene, and sanitation

It’s not just because of COVID, cleanliness and maintaining hygiene is of utmost priority in every hospitality establishment, irrespective of any scenario. The only addition is people are now also expecting health and safety measures.

So implement hygiene standards, procedures and make sure your restaurant has got sanitisers placed in multiple corners. This measure will act as a catalyst and help you increase restaurant reservations.

#2 Set safe food handling protocols

A few mistakes in food handling would lead to poor restaurant reputation, staff and guest illness, and it might even land a health inspection.

To avoid all of these and continue driving reservations to your restaurant, make sure you have a culture that emphasizes safety, cleanliness, and well-established protocols.

Also, as a restaurateur, you must demonstrate that food safety is a priority. It has to be taken seriously by every employee, during every shift, and with every meal.

#3 Have an easy-to-use, mobile-friendly website

Having an easy-to-use, mobile-friendly website is really important for restaurants to reach new customers and grow their business.

People are on the go most of the time and they tend to use their mobile devices when they look around for a place to eat. So, restaurants must invest in a mobile-friendly website that not only displays the food and ambience but also have effective CTAs in place and a reservation system integrated.

Make the customer journey as simple as possible in order to increase restaurant reservations!

#4 Create a Google My Business profile

Google My Business (GMB) is one of the underrated tools for restaurant marketing. It is a free feature by the search giant that allows you to create a profile for your business. 

You can list your restaurant’s name, address, phone number, have a geo-marker on Google maps, display photos, display reviews, provide additional information such as prices and offers, have a button to your restaurant website, display a button to take online restaurant reservations and more.

GMB helps locals discover businesses that are in their area and drive more business.

#5 Make the best use of social media

Social media marketing is imperative much more than ever. Restaurateurs must ensure they have their business profiles at least on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

When you have that in place, spread the word about all the happenings — whether it’s an event happening or the latest measures you have taken to deliver a safe customer experience.

#ProTip: Giveaways are a great way to gain customer engagement. Use social media to host contests and giveaway dinner for 1 or 2.

#6 Host events

Events are a great way to get reservations for your restaurant. 

For example: you invite a local band to perform at your restaurant, you can post that on all your social media channels and on the website, and get more reservations.

Even if you are solely a reservation-based establishment, you will have a lot of seats filled because of the musical touch.

#7 Get listed on food delivery apps

The internet and the rise of mobile apps have revolutionized the food and beverage industry.

Today, food delivery apps are not just about ordering food, people can also book a table at their favourite restaurant.

Restaurants must consider getting listed on such apps and open one more channel to increase restaurant reservations. The more listings you have, the more business you get.

#ProTip: Try to collaborate with the apps and form a strategic business model. For example, 20% off for diners making a reservation from the XYZ app.

#8 Use proximity marketing

Have you heard about Beacons? If not, they are tiny battery-powered devices that use Bluetooth signals to connect with other smart devices. They are mostly used in proximity marketing or hyper-local marketing.

When you have a beacon integrated, you can show proximity ads to potential consumers who are near their premises.

Here’s an example for your better understanding:

A departmental store (named ABC) in a mall has turned to proximity marketing. 

ABC has installed beacons in their store. So, what these beacons would do is they would communicate with Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices of people inside the mall and send them notifications of specials and discount coupons.

These notifications are usually curated in such a way that catches the attention of the reader, bringing in more customers to the store. 

To incorporate this marketing strategy, there are certain requirements.

• The targeted customer should be using a Bluetooth-enabled mobile device 
• A beacon must be installed in the area where the consumer is currently located (it is the store in the example)
• Also, the targeted customers must have a relevant mobile app installed on their phone that is capable of receiving push notifications

#9 Turn to paid Ads

Paid advertisements should definitely be in your digital marketing checklist. And despite being a little expensive, they can do wonders.

They significantly increase your visibility to new and potential customers through targeted marketing.

The restaurant industry is highly competitive and investing in paid advertisements is definitely a great idea

#10 Monitor and respond to online reviews

Guest reviews are one of the major factors that influence people’s booking behaviour. A majority of people when looking for a restaurant online, scroll down to the reviews and read what others have expressed about their experience.

So, it is really important to monitor reviews and respond to them if you want to better guest experience and increase restaurant reservations.

#ProTip: Make use of sentiment analysis to understand the intent of the customers. It will also help you respond better and build a strong online reputation.

#11 Partner with coupon platforms

There are several coupon platforms available in the market today. Restaurants can collaborate with them and come with strategies to drive more reservations. For example, if someone wins a coupon, they can redeem it in your restaurant when they make a reservation.

It is one of the underrated strategies when it comes to driving reservations but if done right, it can do wonders.

#12 Partner with corporates

Corporates spend more compared to other folks. When you partner with corporates, you get to host guests in groups. It could be a team outing of a department or just a lunch for all the C-suites.

Also, most of the time, corporate reservations don’t get cancelled. So, partnering with corporates is definitely a great deal.

#13 Involve in social activities

Donating food to the needy is one of the noble jobs. When you don’t just focus on business, but also go social and distribute foods to hungry people in your communities, you build a brand image and establish yourself as a concerned business.

Not just humans but animals are struggling too, to find food to kill their hunger. Whether you have a food wastage problem or not, try to feed stray animals whenever possible.

Reassess Your Operational and Marketing Tactics

Before you incorporate the tips and ideas to increase your restaurant reservations, there are two more things you have to keep in mind – reassess your operational and marketing tactics.

Let’s start with operations. One of the most important things to consider when it comes to operations is a POS (Point of Sale) system. A POS system has become a necessity for restaurants. It not only helps in tracking sales and cash flow but also everything from food usage to menu items.

Simple and clear communication is important to make restaurant operations seamless. And a POS system does just that. It makes the entire communication between the kitchen and wait staff really simple. The wait staff takes an order and it goes directly to the KOT printer.

In terms of restaurant marketing, you have to have a robust plan in place. Invest time and effort in spreading the word — whether it’s through traditional marketing or digital. Make sure your restaurant is visible to a greater audience.

Perform all sorts of analysis to figure out what kind of campaigns are working for you and the results they are producing. Like they say, behind every successful product or service, there is a strong marketing strategy.