Podcast: The Power of Direct Reservations

SevenRooms Blog | Restaurant Industry

A restaurant’s most powerful tool is direct reservations. SevenRooms’ SVP of Marketing, Marybeth Sheppard, explains why in a recent Food & Beverage podcast with MarketScale. Listen to this podcast to learn why restaurants could be missing valuable connection opportunities with customers by outsourcing their reservations to third-party software.

Marybeth provides the history of the role of reservations in restaurants and the evolution of the marketing channels they come from. Now is the time for restaurant operators to take advantage of technology that can be installed on their own website to take reservations, connect directly with guests, and collect customer information in the process.  In her interview, Marybeth offers tips for how to use the customer information collected through direct reservations to provide personalized experiences and future marketing.

“Today a restaurant has more opportunity than ever to connect with those diners directly online,” she said. “A direct reservation allows the restaurant to collect the full scope of data about the reservation including guest information, guest contact info, preference, and dietary restrictions. That’s the start of a relationship with the restaurant for the customer lifecycle.”

About the Author

Molly got the hospitality bug in High School and has been in the industry since. From Cornell's Hotel School, Molly entered the hospitality technology world with a mission to help operators run more successful businesses. At SevenRooms, Molly is Director of Demand Generation where she focuses on growing our network through a variety of marketing channels.