Do Phone-Booking Restaurants Need a Reservation Book App?
Even if most of your bookings come by phone, a reservation book app is useful when you want what happens after the call in one place. Guests will keep calling, so the number of calls will not go down.
What changes is what happens after the call
You still answer the phone and ask for the name, party size and time. The difference is where you write it.
| Situation | Paper book | Rezabo |
|---|---|---|
| You want today’s bookings from another restaurant | Ask that restaurant | The restaurant list shows today’s party count and guest count. Open a restaurant to see tables and times |
| A guest books a future date | Write it if that day’s sheet exists | Enter it on the same screen |
| A booking is close to another on the same table | Check the sheet | A booking that starts too close cannot be entered. If times overlap, a confirmation screen appears |
| A regular calls | Ask whoever remembers | Entering the phone number suggests a registered guest’s name |
| A booking changes or is cancelled | Rewrite it | Adding, changing and cancelling are recorded |
What stays the same
- Answering the phone and checking details. Rezabo has no guest self-booking.
- Entering each booking. Only what staff enter appears in the book and the numbers.
- Confirming with guests. Nothing is sent automatically.
At busy times, typing takes effort too. If staff cannot enter a booking during the call, agree that they note it by hand and enter it right after hanging up.
Paper is fine for some restaurants
There is no rush to change if you have one restaurant, the person who reads the book is always there, and copying future bookings or checking overlaps is not a problem. Paper also has no software cost.
I run 3 restaurants in Bangkok, and our izakaya used a paper book. We printed Excel sheets a week at a time and copied bookings a month ahead from a calendar. The real problem was that I could not know how many parties each restaurant had tonight, and at what times, without asking that restaurant. All 3 now use this book.
Where a book helps
- You run several restaurants and want to see bookings from outside
- You take bookings by both phone and LINE, and they get written in different places
- You want guest notes to stay the same when staff change
If you are unsure whether you need online booking, read guest online booking or a staff reservation book.
Try it next to your current book
You can try it free for 1 month, with no card and no automatic charge. Send a photo of your table layout, and we set up table names, seat counts and the basic layout for free. Moving guest lists and copying past bookings are not included.
Questions owners ask
Will a reservation book app reduce phone calls?
No. Rezabo is a book that staff fill in. It has no booking page for guests.
Does anything change for guests?
No. They keep booking by phone or LINE.
Does everyone who answers the phone need a smartphone?
No. It runs in a browser, so a restaurant tablet or PC works too. Adding devices does not change the price.
What if writing by hand is faster at peak time?
Note it by hand and enter it as soon as you have a moment. Until it is entered, it does not appear in the book or in the numbers seen from outside.