Online Reservation Systems Have Become Essential to Running a Successful Restaurant. Here Are Our Picks for the Best Reservation Software of 2024
The restaurant industry is constantly evolving. As customer expectations and operational demands push the need for better efficiency and management solutions, finding the right tools to use in your tech stack is critical to your business’s success. Reservation software has become integral to streamlining operations, enhancing the dining experience for your guests, and boosting sales and revenue.
Each platform offers unique features and benefits that cater to different aspects of restaurant management, so finding the right one to fit your restaurant’s needs could take a little digging. Luckily, we did the research for you. Here are the industry’s top five reservation software.
OpenTable
With over 50,000 restaurants worldwide using its platform, OpenTable has proven its ability to seamlessly handle high volumes of reservations. You have ultimate control of your dining room’s flow, with the ability to maximize seatings with smart table assignments and current, up-to-date waitlist management to fill empty seats ASAP.
In addition to offering reservation and waitlist management, OpenTable integrates with your POS to track revenue, provide order insights, and provide automatic table status updates.
One of OpenTable’s standout features is its marketing capabilities. Restaurants listed on OpenTable gain exposure to millions of potential diners who use the platform to discover new dining experiences. This increased visibility can lead to higher foot traffic and revenue for participating restaurants.
OpenTable Pricing
- Basic: $149/month, plus a $1.50/network cover fee for bookings made through OpenTable and $0.25/cover for bookings made through your website (or a $49 flat fee for website covers). This package only includes OpenTable’s basic features like reservations, guest database tags, ticketed experiences, and credit card holds.
- Core: $299/month, plus a $1/network cover fee for all of OpenTable’s basic features and POS integration, premium messaging, smart assign, and table management features.
- Pro: $499/month, plus a $1/network cover fee for the whole shebang, including all the Basic and Core features, advanced relationship management, automated email campaigns, reporting, and robust marketing tools.
Resy
Known for its modern, user-friendly interface, Resy’s reservation management tool is straightforward for both restaurant workers and customers.
Resy leverages advanced technology to offer dynamic pricing, two-way text communication, and robust customer relationship management. These tools help restaurants optimize their seating and enhance the overall dining experience by personalizing interactions based on customer preferences and their unique dining history.
The reservation process also offers a few opportunities for guest customization by allowing them to select specific dining locations, such as the bar or patio seating. This personalization extends to providing “VIPs” exclusive reservation access during designated time frames, ensuring unique and memorable dining experiences.
Through its analytics dashboard, Resy provides valuable data-driven insights to make more informed decisions. Operators can easily track key metrics like table turnover rates, reservation trends, and customer demographics, which is crucial data needed to help optimize overall operations.
Resy Pricing
- Basic: $249/month for reservations, event marketing, table management, waitlist, and 24/7 support.
- Pro: $399/month for everything in the Basic plan, plus 1:1 onboarding and training, customizable guest messaging and surveys, advanced real-time analytics, and POS integration.
- Enterprise: $899/month for everything in the Pro plan, plus API access and unlimited custom reporting.
Toast Tables
Toast, the restaurant POS system that offers Toast Tables, a one-stop, integrated waitlist and reservation solution. Toast Tables is a Toast-built waitlist and reservations solution for your host that runs on an independent device like an iPad or Android tablet.
Toast Tables provides table management, waitlist, and reservation management capabilities, as well as online reservations and online waitlist functionality. Your host can see all table statuses and item/course information from the POS. They can seat walk-ins or make reservations, and if your restaurant gets busy, guests can begin to be added to a waitlist and even be notified via customizable SMS messages. Toast Tables also supports Reserve with Google for guests to discover and book tables at your restaurant. Toast Tables is built to enhance hospitality, simplify table management, and keep guests coming back.
Toast Tables gives restaurants an affordable option to manage seating and turn first-time guests into regulars, including features like real-time table updates, automatically synced server rosters, and personalized guest profiles to power Toast Marketing and Loyalty integrations. The new suite is available to Toast customers for a flat monthly price, no fees per cover, and package options for different seating policies.
Toast Tables Pricing
- Toast Tables: $50 per month and offers unlimited waitlist and 25 reservations each month to use as needed.
- Toast Table Plus: $199 monthly which offers unlimited waitlist and reservations.
Tock
Tock sets itself apart by being an all-in-one platform that offers standard reservations, prepaid experiences, and ticketed events. This versatility allows restaurants to offer unique dining experiences and better manage special events.
Tock offers extensive customization options, allowing restaurants to tailor the platform to their specific needs. From configuring floor plans to setting up reservation rules and no-show policies—Tock provides the control needed to oversee reservations effectively and maintain a high level of service.
Tock also seamlessly integrates with various POS systems, streamlining operations by ensuring that reservation and customer data are synchronized with the restaurant’s billing and order management processes. This integration enhances efficiency and reduces the risk of errors.
Tock Pricing
- Base: $79/month for a 1-year plan with limited features, a 3% fee on all prepaid reservations, plus two-way SMS communications, and marketing tools.
- Essential: $199/month, includes everything in basic, plus Experience essentials, reservation requests waitlist, and take-out capabilities.
- Premium: $339/month, with a 2% fee on all prepaid reservations, API access and webhooks, free Squarespace website, chargeback protection, and high-touch support.
- Premium Unlimited: $769/month for all the premium tools and support, and no fees for prepaid reservations.
Yelp Guest Manager
Sure, other reservation software may brag about their large customer base, but guests still need help finding those restaurants. Millions of potential diners already use Yelp to discover new restaurants, so this software is an easy add-on, especially if you have a maintained or popular Yelp profile.
Yelp Guest Manager offers tools to better manage guest experiences, from reservations to waitlist maintenance and guest communication. The platform’s intuitive interface makes it easy for staff to track reservations, manage seating, and engage with guests in real-time.
Restaurants can also collect real-time feedback from guests, which is invaluable for improving service and addressing issues promptly. Integrating Yelp reviews also helps restaurants build their online reputation and attract new customers based on positive reviews.
Yelp Guest Manager Pricing
- Basic: $99/month, but it is limited to 500 booked monthly covers and has limited features.
- Plus: $299/month, no cover fees, guest check-in kiosk, complimentary iPad, social channel and POS integration, and $300/month free ad credit.
Eat App
Eat App is a cloud-based reservation system that offers flexibility and accessibility, allowing restaurant staff to manage reservations from any device, website, or social channel. This cloud-based approach ensures that data is always up-to-date and accessible, regardless of location.
Providing advanced analytics and reporting tools to help restaurant operators track key metrics such as reservation trends, no-show rates, and customer preferences. These insights can be paramount to making better data-driven decisions to help optimize operations for your business.
Eat App supports reservation management from various sources, allowing restaurants to accept bookings from their website, social media, or third-party platforms. This multi-channel approach ensures that restaurants can maximize their reach to help get more butts in seats.
Eat App Pricing
- Free: $0/month, limited to 30 covers a month.
- Starter: $49/month for limited features, a 300-cover limit, and shift reporting.
- Essential: $129/month for limited features but unlimited monthly covers and 100 monthly SMS messaging.
- Pro: $229/month for all features, unlimited month covers, all add-ons, and a dedicated success manager.
TouchBistro
TouchBistro is a POS that offers a reservation system, streamlining operations by combining reservation management with order processing and billing. This integration reduces the need for multiple systems and simplifies your restaurant’s overall tech stack.
TouchBistro is easy to use, making it a breeze for restaurant staff to manage reservations, track guest information, and optimize table seating. The intuitive design minimizes training time and ensures staff can quickly get the hang of it.
TouchBistro provides comprehensive customer insights, including detailed profiles, dining preferences, and visit history. These insights enable your staff to personalize service and build stronger relationships with guests.
TouchBistro Pricing
- Reservations: $229/month, which includes access to a full suite of features, like waitlist management, POS integration, automated feedback surveys, and no cover charges.
Each platform offers unique strengths that make it the best reservation software in the industry. The hardest part is narrowing down to the best option for your business.
Consider what’s important to you:
- OpenTable’s market dominance and extensive features
- Resy’s modern interface and data-driven insights
- Toast Table’s seemless integration into your system and simple pricing
- Tock’s flexible reservation options and integration capabilities
- Yelp Guest Manager’s integration with Yelp’s ecosystem and real-time feedback
- Eat App’s cloud-based flexibility and advanced analytics
- TouchBistro’s integrated POS system collectively provides comprehensive solutions to meet the diverse needs of our industry.
By leveraging these platforms, restaurants can efficiently enhance their operations, which will improve customer satisfaction and ultimately turn any diner into a regular.