Sponsored by ResDiary’s co-chief executive Richard
McCandless agrees that one of the biggest res- ervation advances in 2019 has been Reserve with Google. “It’s the first time that a viable option for generating bookings outside big commission-based suppliers has been avail- able to operators,” he says. ResDiary launched the functionality for its users in June 2019 and in the first four months it generated 1.2 million covers. “These reserva- tions are automatically confirmed, they follow your booking rules and, on ResDiary, they’re free,” McCandless says. “It’s huge for venues, opening them up to the millions searching for tables on Google Search and Google Maps.”
“Loyal customers are likely to spend more; the chances of upselling to them are 67% compared to just 5%-20% for new customers, an area
that can be vital” Richard McCandless, ResDiary
Diners can also click straight through from searches on Google or Google Maps to make a booking via Access Hospitality’s reserva- tion system, Access Collins. As head of sales Paul Hayes says: “Google averages more than 63,000 searches every second, so there is huge potential for the platform to drive an immense amount of traffic to any hospitality outlet that adds Reserve with Google to its business profile. “The venue receives a further boost as Google business pages appear at the top of search results and, in comparison to regular searches, also receive a higher proportion of screen space, which is especially important when many views are likely to be made on mobile technology.”
DATA DILEMMA Butcher & Catch captures customer data
Sheffield-based Butcher & Catch is an example of an independent restaurant that has built revenue by investing in an online booking system. Founders Adam Pierce and Liam Ridge adopted Zonal’s EPoS-integrated booking platform, LiveRES, which offers real-time reservations, enabling customers to book from any device, through any channel. The LiveRES programme means that staff can also analyse booking data and
www.thecaterer.com
identify trends, and customer table preferences can be accommodated without fuss. It’s also easy to keep track of meal stages and in-session diners, avoiding potential bottlenecks. “Using LiveRES meant we
could open with confidence, knowing that we had full control over volume and flow of bookings. We could protect ourselves from any potential negative customer experiences due to overbooking, which in turn
led to a totally successful launch,” says Pierce. The extra data has also
led to positive changes. “We have been able to analyse data for busy times – such as Friday and Saturday nights – and identify when most customers were requesting a table,” explains Pierce. “By tweaking available booking times, we are now able to fit in an extra sitting, significantly increasing yield and revenue.”
Another big question ResDiary has been getting from operators is how to integrate the various systems within the business. “If venues can link their electronic point of
sale (EPoS) system to their booking system, and their booking system to their marketing suite, and all of this to an automated phone system, staff spend less time on admin and more with the customer,” McCandless says. “If your reservation system and EPoS (and property management system for hotels) link together, it means that an overview of your venue is accessible from one system or all of them. Rather than staff dashing between screens, every- thing they need to know is stored in one place.” This also feeds into the other must-have for
operators: data. “Connected systems not only increase efficiencies, but also allow for better collection of customer information. Operators want to be able to see what channels diners
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