Online restaurant booking: make the path to a table clear

Start with the guest's journey

A guest may want to book when nobody is available to answer the phone. Online booking provides a route outside telephone hours, provided the service is working and you have published bookable times.

Use a prominent website button that works on a phone. Link relevant social profiles to the same current booking flow. Google Business Profile can also display booking links. This does not automatically mean an integration that completes the booking inside Google. Google's business link guidance.

Offer times the kitchen and dining room can support

Empty chair counts alone do not describe capacity. Consider table sizes, sitting duration, reset time, kitchen workload and the parties staff can accommodate simultaneously.

Decide which bookings can be confirmed immediately and which need a conversation, such as large groups or special arrangements. Clearly identify requests awaiting a response. A received request is not a confirmed table.

Test dates with unusual hours too. Guests should not be able to book an evening when you are closed or places already allocated to an event.

Confirm the agreement

The confirmation should show the date, time, party size, restaurant address and any sitting or cancellation terms. Make it understandable without requiring guests to search several messages.

Make cancellation or contact easy when plans change. If a change needs approval, the guest should understand when it has been accepted. Reminders can help guests remember, but cannot guarantee attendance. Measure your own results.

Collect what the visit requires

Ask for contact details needed to manage the reservation. Explain their use and give staff appropriate access. Do not collect details merely because the form has space.

Allergies can be sensitive health information when linked to an identifiable person. Processing requires specific conditions beyond an ordinary legal basis. Give guests a way to discuss necessary questions with the restaurant and avoid unnecessarily detailed free-text fields. IMY's guidance on sensitive personal data.

A reservation is not consent to advertising. Marketing messages need a separate assessment of permission and legal basis. Swedish Marketing Act, sections 19–20.

Test the complete journey

Make, change and cancel a reservation on a phone. Check guest messages and the staff view. Add a phone booking at the same time and confirm that availability updates according to the rules.

Decide who records arrivals, welcomes late guests and handles messages. Online booking still needs clear ownership in the dining room.

Booking in Vendion

Vendion Booking brings online reservations, the table view and guest communication into the same system as the POS. Booking is available as a separate module and is also one of Vendion 360's add-on modules. POS stations and items such as SMS are additional under current terms. See the pricing structure.

Track completed reservations, changes, cancellations and no-shows consistently. Assess the administration that remains too. This shows what online booking actually contributes to your restaurant.