As you know, many restaurant reservation services want to make it easier for a) customers to pick restaurants and make reservations, and b) restaurants to fill seats and better manage those reservations. While services like OpenTable, include helpful features like reservation management, table management, and reward points after dining, Yelp SeatMe, a Bay Area start-up, also proves to be a simple and easy system.
Yelp SeatMe boasts the following key benefits:
With their access to Yelp's vast network, this is a great option for businesses who want a reservation system that can be used directly from that site, giving their reviewers an easy way to book.
Yelp Seat Me has a number of features to be aware of when looking at a new reservation platform.
OpenTable also has a manager for IPad software that is helpful, as well as in-depth restaurant reviews, menus and holiday promotions on site. However, the service does charge initiation and licensing fees, plus a per-reservation fee to restaurants. This may challenge businesses' willingness to rely on restaurant reservation services if they're already filling seats, and it may also affect the exact time-slots they allow individuals to reserve.
OpenTable does boast a really impressive network of restaurants and a great resource database with everything from a 30 day restaurant management bootcamp to best practices updated on their blog weekly.
You should be aware of the following features that make OpenTable a great choice
OpenTable’s customer and restaurant base includes over 25,000 restaurants in the U.S., Germany, Canada, Japan, the UK, and Mexico, simply because they have been around longer. However, Yelp SeatMe has been rapidly expanding over the last few years.
If you help run a restaurant, you've likely noticed the rapid growth of mobile apps for small businesses - from these restaurant reservation services (SeatMe & OpenTable) to restaurant music services (Rockbot) online ordering (OrderAhead), POS (Square), small business owners are increasingly opting for smartphone/tablet solutions for both efficiency and to boost sales.
Have you used either OpenTable or SeatMe? Share your own experiences and thoughts in the comments to inform other restaurant owners!
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Editors note: This post has been updated for relevancy. Please enjoy!