And do you know what? I agree…
The relationship that many venues have with their booking system is toxic. Here are just a few of the main issues that are creating restaurant/diner barriers and making the situation worse:
- Diners visiting booking sites become that site’s customers, not yours. You can’t personalise that site, meaning they feel no connection so no guilt if they don’t show up.
- Booking communications are branded to look like the booking site, building their profile instead of yours, and taking away that restaurant/diner relationship.
- Once the third party gets hold of a diner’s email address, they send them recommendations of other venues nearby. That original booking is looking way less exciting to them now….
- Many booking sites use Google ads to steal your customers. They type in your restaurant’s name, the third party ad comes up, and the potential guest clicks there. They’re then taken to a site where you either pay £2 a cover in commission, or they’re recommended other restaurants.
- In order to promote their own offers, on their own sites, venues need to pay extra money to their booking system.