Reservations automatically being handled by a website?

Chances are you already work with some 3^rd party website, offering loads of features including reviews. Even though it is not a bad idea to use this service, it is not always communicating with other websites where you might also offer reservations. If these 2 or more websites run separately, you might get overbooked without knowing in time. Unless of course you have someone monitoring this 24/7 but I have never seen any company doing this.

What is it you really need from a website which handles your reservations:

It needs to be adjustable in style so it fits your company.
It needs to update every second to get real-time status information on reservations.
It needs adjustable fields so you can enter the information you want, not generic fields which you don’t want and takes extra time skipping them.
It needs to be implemented into your own company website, do not use a contact form which sends to your email or worse: again another widget or app which was offered by your webdesigner.
It needs a back-office from which you can easily export data for marketing purposes.

What is it you need to be doing when having a proper website or app for reservations:

Keep it up-to-date; are you closed for public on a certain day, hosting an event where you can not take any reservations, etcetera. Block these times and dates in your program.
Make sure it works flawless once you implement it to your website and/or social media.
- Does it have all the necessary fields?
- Is it showing your brand identity?
- Does it actually send a confirmation once a reservation has been made?

A lot of things to consider and keep track of, but with the right partner it should definitely benefit your company.

Personal note:

Having a proper website for people to make reservations, saves so much time. Too often however bars or restaurants just ask to send an email or fill in a simple contact form. This is time consuming and dumb. You only want this ‘personal’ touch when reservations are bigger groups or special parties. Other than that, please let people just fill in their credentials and needed information and let software handle the rest. It will actually help you sleep a lot better at night.

Sincerely,

Den The Man

It needs to be adjustable in style so it fits your company.

It needs to update every second to get real-time status information on reservations.

It needs adjustable fields so you can enter the information you want, not generic fields which you don’t want and takes extra time skipping them.

It needs to be implemented into your own company website, do not use a contact form which sends to your email or worse: again another widget or app which was offered by your webdesigner.

It needs a back-office from which you can easily export data for marketing purposes.

Keep it up-to-date; are you closed for public on a certain day, hosting an event where you can not take any reservations, etcetera. Block these times and dates in your program.

Make sure it works flawless once you implement it to your website and/or social media.

Does it have all the necessary fields?

Is it showing your brand identity?

Does it actually send a confirmation once a reservation has been made?

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