With so many restaurant reservation systems out there, it’s hard to narrow it down to one that best suits your restaurant. For most, you’re looking for a solution that is cost efficient yet offers features that make your restaurant more efficient. To make your decision easier, we have narrowed it down to the six best restaurant reservation systems and the most important features they provide. We put together a chart so that you could easily compare the features of the restaurant reservations systems.
| Feature | DineTime | OpenTable | Resy | Yelp | NexTable | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sources:Information was gathered from each company’s respective website as of 8/24/2017. | ||||||
| Advanced Training | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Custom Floor Map | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Table Management | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| SMS Texting | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Reporting & Analytics | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| POS Integrations | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Flat Monthly Fee | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Local Phone Number | ✔ | |||||
| Waitlist Management | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Guest App | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Booking Widget | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Windows Version | ✔ | |||||
| Kitchen Integration | ✔ | |||||
Advanced Training
Before purchasing a reservation system, you’ll want to make sure the provider offers a training program that meets your restaurant’s needs. Keep in mind, not all training is free so you’ll want to make sure you know how much you’ll be charged.
Custom Floor Map
An accurate view of your floor plan makes table management much easier for the host. A custom floor map will show you which tables are occupied and what tables servers are assigned to.
Table Management
This is essential to making sure your front of house runs smoothly. Table management can manually or automatically manage server shifts, rotations, and stations.
SMS Texting
This feature allows you to provide your customers with updates via 2-way text. Some reservation systems even allow you to customize the message to match the personality of the restaurant.
Reporting and Analytics
A reservation system can gather information that helps you make important business decisions. You will be able to access historical data on your reservations, wait times, table turns, seating statistics, key metrics, and customers’ analytics to help increase restaurant efficiency.
POS Integrations
When choosing a restaurant reservation system, you’ll want a solution that integrates to POS systems. Finding a reservation system that integrates with a large selection of POS systems is even better. Not every POS system is the same so having a reservation system that allows a wide variety of integration options allows you to pick a POS that’s right for you.
Flat Monthly Fee
Paying a booking fee per customer is pricey and can make planning a monthly budget difficult. With a flat monthly fee, restaurant owners know what to expect before signing a contract.
Local Phone Number
When it comes to communicating with your customers, its best if your text messages come from a familiar area code.
Waitlist Management
This feature allows you to quote parties accurate wait times based on real time data. Some reservation systems also allow customers to see where they are on the wait list.
Guest App
A way to get found by customers is with a guest app. An app will also allow customers to view hours of operation and restaurant address, check wait times, get on a wait list, book a reservation, and update reservations all on the go.
Booking Widget
This allows you to put a widget on your website so that customers can make online reservations.
Windows Version
This is an uncommon feature amongst restaurant reservation systems. If your restaurant doesn’t have an iOS operating system or is thinking about switching operating systems, you’ll want to find a reservation systems that works for a Windows server. This is especially helpful for larger restaurants with multiple stores. A Windows version will have a redundancy feature. If you lose Internet access, you don’t lose reservations.
Kitchen Integration
This feature allows you to easily connect your front and back of house operations. Not many reservation systems integrate with their kitchen automation solution, but having this capability opens the doors to even more data, like meal stage updates from the kitchen.
QSR Solutions & Your Restaurant
QSR’s DineTime solution is a reliable and trusted restaurant reservation system. Learn more today!
About the Author
Emily Wimpsett is a Content & Social Media Specialist at QSR Automations. Emily was born and raised in Louisville but considers herself a die-hard University of Kentucky fan. For college, Emily attended Indiana University Southeast and obtained a degree in Communications with a track in Advertising. In her free time, Emily enjoys just about every water related activity but she is partial to kayaking and whitewater rafting.
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