Twelve booking systems scored out of 100 from their public pages: what they cost a restaurant of 30, 60 and 90 seats, how they cope with a busy service, and what they do to bring guests in and bring them back.
By a rough estimate, no-shows can cost a €200,000 restaurant €5,000 to €25,000 a year. Why so few protect themselves, and what you can do on Monday.
Many small restaurants just want bookings, and get sold bundles of extras. How to read a price list and pick software that costs what it should.
A full house at 8 p.m. and a half-empty one at 9:30 is a booking problem. Spreading guests across the evening means less waiting and happier tables.
A good booking system never sells a table twice, and only says "full" when no arrangement of the evening fits the guest. Here is how to tell.
A software fee that is a rounding error for a big group is a real slice of a small restaurant's margin. The numbers, and what to do about it.
