Restaurant Glossary

Table Reservation

Restaurant space is full of words that one might not be familiar with, and the restaurant glossary is here to simplify it all for you. It will help you keep up with updated restaurant industry lingo.

What is table reservation?

A table reservation refers to when a customer calls or makes a booking online or over a call in advance to ensure that a table will be available to them when they arrive. Table reservation can be done through multiple ways which may include reserving over a phone call or through the restaurant’s website or mobile application and even through third party reservation sites. 

In order to minimize the dreaded no shows and make sure they’re making the most of all their available tables, restaurants may handle all of their reservations digitally with the use of a reservations system.

A restaurant reservation system not only helps the establishment get more customers in the door, but it also gives it access to numerous additional advantages including digital waitlists, direct guest communication, and more.

Convenience is what the diners get when they opt for table reservations which not only benefits them but also the restaurant.

What are the key benefits of table reservation?

  • Reduced no-show rates
    Customers are less likely to contact you if there is no simple way for them to let you know that they will be late or not arrive at all.Additionally, they can just forget about the reservation if they didn’t add it to their own calendar. There are so many things that could go wrong and leave you with an empty table.

    It saves you from having to pay the costs charged to call each reservation one at a time to confirm, change, or cancel it. Some reservation systems even give you the option to go one step further and impose no-show penalties to diners who cancel their reservations.

    You can engage with customers directly by using a reservation platform to send out automatic text and email reminders prior to their reservation time. It’s an efficient way to make changes to, confirm, or cancel reservations.

  • Enhanced guest experience
    Even if a reservation specifies that they are a regular or that they want a particular table or meal, it might be challenging to remember this information for a single appointment and even more challenging for return visits when using a manual log book. 

    This implies that crucial guest information, particularly for VIPs, may get overlooked. You can utilize visitor profile information from a reservation system to assist and make them feel special each time they dine with you. 

  • Avoiding over and under scheduling
    You might not be able to anticipate how many customers you’ll be serving in a single shift if all of your reservations aren’t stored in one system. It is simpler to plan and adjust staff schedules when you have a better idea of how many customers will be visiting your restaurant each day thanks to a reservation system. In this manner, both labor expenses and the FOH and BOH staffing levels are sufficient to ensure operations function smoothly.

How to set up table reservations with Posist?

Schedule your demo with us and we’ll reach out to you to understand your business challenges and set up a demo for your use case.

Discover how easy it is to accelerate your digital transformation with Posist’s Restaurant CRM software. Let your staff focus on guest delight and leave the rest to us.

  • Remove customer data silos
    Collect customer data from various channels and upload them in one central database. Segment data based on customer behavior. Identify regular & one-time visitors and gather meal preferences of each customer. You can utilize the visitor profile information from a reservation system in order to make them feel special each time they dine with you.

  • Multi-channel marketing automation
    Enables restaurant operators to connect with guests, on- and off-premise, in a contextual way. With Posist CRM, marketing teams can set automation to communicate with customers through emails, SMS, and digital campaigns to run ad campaigns, retargeting and promotional offers to drive more sales. This helps the restaurants to differentiate themselves and for owners to run their businesses more efficiently.

  • Drive ROI from loyalty programs
    Maximize the ROI of your marketing campaigns with visit-based custom loyalty offers to encourage repeat orders. Target your customers based on their behavior, preferences, and spending habits. Make your marketers job easy with automated campaigns and easy to set up reward based programs to convert your customers into loyalists.

  • Customized marketing campaigns
    Keep your customers updated about the latest offers running in your restaurant through engaging email and SMS campaigns. Create, schedule, and send impactful emails for maximum customer engagement. Greet your customers on their special occasions by sending them custom messages. Send them customized offers based on their ordering history and behavior.