TORONTO and NEW YORK — TouchBistro has launched TouchBistro Reservations, a complete reservation and guest-management platform designed to help restaurateurs enhance every guest experience. TouchBistro Reservations is fully integrated with TouchBistro POS and provides restaurants with automatic deep insights about customer behaviour that were not previously available to them, such as spend and dining history, drink preferences and other details that will enable restaurants to better serve customers.
Earlier this year, TouchBistro acquired Bookenda, Reso and the assets of YP Dine, which have been re-launched today as TouchBistro Reservations and TouchBistro Dine — a richer reservation and guest-management feature set that fully integrates into TouchBistro’s point-of sale (POS) solution.
“There’s never been a real-time connection between a front-of-house reservations system and back- of-house POS. While TouchBistro Reservations can be used as a standalone app, when integrated with TouchBistro POS, there is seamless communication and updates are made in real-time, making it possible for restaurants to deliver an entirely new level of service,” says Alex Barrotti, CEO and founder of TouchBistro.
With the TouchBistro Reservations and POS integration, when waiters send orders to the kitchen, food is served and bills are closed out, table status is automatically updated and can be seen by front-of-house staff, ensuring more accurate wait times. Customer spend is also automatically recorded and updated so the restaurant can better serve its regular and VIP patrons with personalized services, such as allergy restrictions, preferential reservation time and seating location, or suggestions on meals or wines based on previous orders.
Restaurants that subscribe to TouchBistro Reservations can accept reservations online through their own website, Google Search and Maps, or via the new TB Dine web site or mobile app. The platform can be used to optimize floorplans and track guest status, enabling restaurants to turn more tables. Integrated two-way SMS communication connects restaurants with guests in real time, enabling them to confirm or cancel a booking, or message if they are going to be late. SMS and email reservation reminders and confirmations are also sent automatically to guests to help reduce no shows.
TouchBistro Reservations subscribers are automatically published on the TB Dine restaurant-discovery app used by diners to find the best restaurants in their area. This provides restaurants using TouchBistro with an additional channel to promote their venues without any additional reservation fees.
“There are a lot of solutions for restaurants with limited interoperability. Managing multiple vendors with different platforms and hardware requirements or dealing with double-entry because one system doesn’t talk to the other is a manual burden for restaurateurs who are trying to use automation to increase efficiency in their venues,” says Barrotti.
“Bookenda, Reso and YP Dine customers are already benefiting from the advantages of the integration with the TouchBistro POS as they’ve migrated to the TouchBistro-Reservations platform,” says Patrick Poirier, director of Development, Reservations at TouchBistro. “We’ve received positive feedback to date from our customers that have gone through the transition as the new platform puts a wealth of customer information right at their fingertips, which helps enhance the customer relationships.”
