Page 53 - MENU Magazine - Jan/Feb 2018

in the FOH
FRESH
Putting
technology
The Pros and Cons of using third-party online restaurant reservation partners
PROS
• Helpsyoufillrestauranttables, giving diners access to real-time availability.
• Offersaccesstodataaggrega- tion, to help you understand your business and how it compares to similar local businesses.
• Allowsyoutofocusonfoodand hospitality, rather than on answer- ing the phone.
CONS
• Thecost.Monthlyandsignupfees can be expensive in a business with already thin margins.
• You’llbechargedforcustomers who were already on your website, and would have booked anyhow.
• Thefearthattherelationshipis now between the customer and OpenTable, rather than the cus- tomer and the restaurant.
OPENTABLE
BY BETH POLLOCK
On July 2, 1998, OpenTable started operat- ing in San Francisco, California. This marked the advent of the third-party online restaurant reser- vation system, and the foodservice industry has never looked back. OpenTable began operations in Canada in 2002: over the past fifteen years, their presence in the market has changed the way Canadian restaurants do business.
Restaurant operators and sta have mixed feelings about OpenTable and similar companies (sidebar, right). But there’s no doubt they have altered the restaurant reservation model, and it’s unlikely that model will change any time soon.
How OpenTable disrupted the industry
I spoke to Scott Jampol, OpenTable’s SVP of Mar- keting, about the services they o er. “The biggest thing we did was put technology in the FOH, replacing pen and paper and what was stored in the maître d’s head,” he says. “It lets restaurants focus on the stu they’re good at—like hospitali- ty—instead of answering the phone and keeping reservation information on paper.”
One of the advantages OpenTable o ers is showing potential diners table availability in real time. It can help fill empty seats that might not otherwise be filled, and gives you the freedom to focus on managing other aspects of your business. Moving away from a pen and paper reservation system also lets you run your business from
any location, particularly given the flexibility of OpenTable’s mobile app.
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