Since opening Uchi in a humble red house in Austin in 2003, Chef Tyson Cole and Hai Hospitality have built one of the most celebrated restaurant groups in the country. Known for James Beard Award–winning food, striking design and a commitment to unforgettable service, the group has expanded to 13 restaurants across four distinct concepts.
But as Hai’s reputation and demand grew, from intimate reservations to large private dining experiences, the booking process didn’t always match the seamless hospitality guests had come to expect.
So, Hai turned to SevenRooms’ Event Management software, creating a faster, more consistent way for guests to plan private dining while giving the team confidence and control across every market.
Turning 48-hour follow ups into instant confirmations
In 2021, Hai Hospitality turned to SevenRooms in search of a more flexible reservation platform. The shift delivered a single guest database and marketing tools like two-way SMS to streamline communication.
“For the first time, we could actually see a guest’s full history across markets,” said Tasha Lindahl, Director of Reservations. “If someone dined in Austin and then in Miami, we knew who they were and could make it feel seamless.”
But while reservations were streamlined, group bookings lagged behind. The process was manual and slow, leading to guest frustration and lost opportunities.
“Private dining guests had this barrier,” Tasha explained. “You weren’t going to be able to book something today. You weren’t going to get a price immediately. You weren’t going to know if it was even available. Instead, we’d tell guests someone would follow up in 24–48 hours. So many of those leads ghost, we never heard from them again, or it turned into a long back-and-forth.”
SevenRooms’ Event Management software solved this problem by unifying reservations and private events in one system, where guests can instantly view details and book for themselves
Capturing more group bookings and revenue with less friction
Instead of chasing menus and contracts, guests can now see private dining availability, pricing and set menus directly in the reservation widget and confirm online in minutes.
“Guests' expectations have changed. Their time has become increasingly valuable and they appreciate having immediate access to information and being able to book themselves,” Tasha said. “It’s simply more hospitable.”
And because Event Management is integrated with reservations inventory, the system manages the entire dining room holistically. That means large parties are guided to earlier time slots that balance flow and maximize covers.
“We’re now booking more early-evening parties—5:30, 6 o’clock dinners we weren’t capturing before. That’s real incremental revenue.” - Mimi Yao, Area Director
“We were obsessed from the beginning,” Mimi further explained. “The process is so intuitive that even an hourly event assistant could manage it. And for the guest, it’s completely frictionless,” Mimi said.
A consistent framework for every market
SevenRooms’ Event Management solution hasn’t just improved the guest journey, it’s also given Hai a consistent framework across all markets.
“It’s allowed us to standardize,” said Mimi. “Before, every restaurant had its own version of policies and expectations. Now, with the Event Management widget, the details are consistent across locations. That consistency makes things easier for our team, and clearer for the guest.
With less time spent chasing contracts and deposits, managers can focus on creating memorable experiences. At Uchi Miami’s private dining room, the results have been clear, with a 33% average monthly increase in bookings since adopting the system.
“So much of the back-and-forth is gone,” added Tasha. “Guests can make a decision in minutes, and we can confirm it right away. That feels like true hospitality.”
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