Restaurant reservation system: how to choose one, set it up and reduce no-shows

What a restaurant reservation system does

A reservation system replaces the diary and most booking calls with a booking page that only offers times you can actually serve.

• Online booking page: guests pick date, time and party size on your website, Google profile or social media link, 24 hours a day.
• Capacity rules: the system stops offering a time slot once your covers or tables for that slot are full, so you never double-book.
• Confirmations and reminders: an automatic email (sometimes SMS) right after booking and again before the visit, ideally with a link to cancel or change.
• Day overview: one list or floor plan of tonight's bookings, party sizes, notes (allergies, birthdays, high chair) and arrival status.
• Phone and walk-in bookings: staff enter phone bookings in the same system, so online and offline bookings share one capacity count.
• Blocked dates: close online booking for holidays, private events or a kitchen renovation in a few clicks.

Rule of thumb: if your team still has to check a second place (a diary, a WhatsApp chat, a marketplace dashboard) to know whether a table is free, your setup is not finished yet.

What reservation systems cost: the three pricing models

Reservation systems are priced in three ways: a fee per seated guest, a fixed monthly subscription, or a free tier with limits, and many combine the first two.

Worked example (assumptions stated): a restaurant on a monthly plan of €169 that receives 300 guests a month through the provider's marketplace pays 300 × €1.50 = €450 in cover fees, so €619 a month in total. If the same 300 guests had booked via the restaurant's own website link, the cover fees on that plan would be €0. The lesson: push guests to your own booking link wherever you control the button (website, Google profile, Instagram bio, confirmation emails).

Marketplaces can bring new guests you would not otherwise reach; that is what the per-cover fee pays for. Decide whether you need that discovery, or mainly a tool to handle guests who already know you.

What to look for when choosing a system

Choose a system that gives you your own booking link, keeps guest data under your control, speaks your guests' languages and can be connected to your Google Business Profile.

• Own booking link vs marketplace: a direct link on your website and Google profile avoids per-cover fees on regulars and keeps the relationship with you, not the platform.
• Data ownership and GDPR: check who may use guest emails for marketing, whether you can export your data, and that the provider signs a data processing agreement (required for processors under GDPR Article 28(3)).
• Languages: tourists and expats book more easily in their own language; check both the booking page and the confirmation emails.
• Google link: see the next section; make sure the system gives you a stable booking URL.
• Phone bookings and walk-ins: staff must be able to add them quickly, otherwise your capacity count is wrong.
• Cancellation by the guest: a self-service cancel link in every email, not just a phone number.
• Deposits or card guarantees: only if you plan to use them (see the no-show section); check which payment provider is used and its fees.
• One system or many: if you also take QR or takeaway orders, a single platform means one menu, one set of opening hours and one guest list.

Getting a reservation button on Google

There are two ways to get a booking button on your Google Business Profile: add your own booking link yourself, or work with a provider that is integrated with Reserve with Google.

If several providers supply booking links for your restaurant, Google lists them in random order unless you mark a preferred one, which then shows first. Marketplaces you once used can therefore keep appearing on your profile; you can remove a provider link under Booking → Remove provider, and Google says providers must remove it within 5 days of your request.

Google's "Join waitlist" button is a separate feature that is only available for restaurants and only through a Reserve with Google provider.

Setup checklist: the settings that matter on day one

Most booking problems come from a handful of settings, so configure these before you publish your booking link.

1. Capacity per time slot: how many covers (or tables) the kitchen and floor can seat per 15 or 30 minutes, not just total seats. Staggering arrivals protects the kitchen.
2. Table time: how long a table is held per party size, for example longer for groups than for two. Base it on your real average, not a guess.
3. Minimum notice: how late someone can book online for today (for example no online bookings less than 2 hours ahead), so the team is not surprised.
4. Last booking before closing: the latest time that still allows a full meal before the kitchen closes.
5. Maximum party size online: larger groups via phone or email so you can agree a set menu or deposit.
6. Blocked dates and hours: holidays, private events, staff training, and any lunch or weekday closures.
7. Walk-in reserve: decide whether to keep some tables out of the online system for walk-ins.
8. Cancellation policy: written in plain words, shown before the guest confirms, and repeated in the confirmation email.
9. Emails: add your address, phone number, house rules (late arrival, dress code) and a cancel link to confirmations and reminders.
10. Privacy notice: link to a short privacy statement explaining what you store and for how long (see the GDPR section).

Test it yourself: make a booking on your phone, cancel it, and check what the team sees. Then add the link to your website, Google profile and social media.

How to reduce no-shows

No-shows fall when guests are reminded, can cancel without effort, and have something at stake for bookings that really matter to you.

No-shows are a common complaint: in a 2019 survey by the Dutch hospitality association KHN, 62% of member businesses said the number of no-shows had risen over the previous year, 32% saw no change and 5% saw a decrease. KHN also notes that guests feel less accountable when they book anonymously online.

• Confirm instantly, remind before the visit. KHN advises confirming every booking by email, SMS or WhatsApp with a line asking guests to let you know if they cannot come.
• Make cancelling easy. A one-click cancel link turns a no-show into a free table you can still sell. Quebec's consumer regulator even requires restaurants that charge no-show fees to send a reminder 6 to 48 hours ahead with a cancellation link, a useful benchmark anywhere.
• Ask for a phone number so you can call large or late parties.
• Deposits for groups and peak nights. KHN mentions deposits via credit card or iDEAL as effective for restaurants too. Keep them proportionate and explain how refunds work.
• Card guarantee instead of prepayment. The guest leaves card details and is only charged if they do not show or cancel too late, under the policy they accepted. Use your payment provider's card-on-file features rather than storing card numbers yourself.
• Waitlist. When a cancellation comes in, fill the table from people who wanted that time.
• Overbook only with data. KHN advises overbooking only after analysing a few months of your own no-show pattern; otherwise you risk turning away guests who did come.
• Track repeat no-shows and ask those guests for a deposit next time.

Worked example (assumptions stated): if a restaurant has four no-show tables of two each week and the average spend is €40 per guest, that is 4 × 2 × €40 = €320 of revenue at risk per week. If reminders with a cancel link let you resell even half of those tables, you recover around €160 a week, before any no-show fee.

Are no-show fees legal? EU, Netherlands and Germany

A no-show fee is generally possible in the EU if it was clearly agreed before booking and is proportionate, but the exact rules differ per country, so check your local rules or ask a lawyer before you start charging.

• EU-wide: the 14-day right of withdrawal for online purchases does not apply to catering booked for a specific date or period (Consumer Rights Directive, Article 16(l)), so your own cancellation terms govern. Those terms must not be unfair: the Unfair Terms Directive lists as potentially unfair any term requiring a consumer who fails to fulfil their obligation to pay "a disproportionately high sum in compensation".
• Netherlands: KHN says you can recover damage on the basis of its Uniforme Voorwaarden Horeca (UVH), but only if the UVH were declared applicable to the reservation. According to KHN, for a no-show the full reservation value can be charged; ask for payment first in writing, then use a collection agency if needed.
• Germany: consumer centres consider no-show fees generally permissible but note there is no uniform case law, and question whether compensation is justified at all when a table can easily be re-let. If you use a flat-rate fee in your terms, § 309 No. 5 BGB requires that it does not exceed the damage normally expected and that the guest is expressly allowed to prove that the damage was lower or did not occur.
• UK, Ireland and elsewhere: consumer law on cancellation charges differs; check your national rules before charging.

Practical minimum everywhere: show the fee and the cancellation deadline before the guest confirms, repeat them in the confirmation email, give an easy way to cancel, and keep the amount in line with your real loss. This is general information, not legal advice.

Storing guest data under GDPR

You may store the name, contact details and notes needed to handle a booking without separate consent, because processing that is necessary to perform a contract the guest asked for is lawful under GDPR Article 6(1)(b).

• Collect only what you need: GDPR requires data to be limited to what is necessary (Article 5(1)(c)). Name, phone or email, party size and relevant notes are usually enough.
• Delete when no longer needed: keep data no longer than necessary (Article 5(1)(e)); set a retention period, for example deleting booking details after a fixed number of months, and write it in your privacy notice.
• Tell guests: Article 13 requires you to say who you are, why you collect the data, the legal basis, how long you keep it and what rights guests have.
• Marketing is different: booking reminders are fine, but newsletters need consent, or the existing-customer exception in the ePrivacy Directive (Article 13(2)) for your own similar products with an easy opt-out at collection and in every message.
• Sensitive notes: allergy or health notes deserve extra care; only record what the kitchen needs and limit who can see it.
• Processor agreement: your reservation provider processes data for you and needs a contract that meets Article 28(3).

Where Restaurant by DTS fits

If you want reservations in the same system as your ordering, Restaurant by DTS includes table reservations on every plan, including the Free plan: an online booking page, confirmation and reminder emails, guest cancellation, blocked dates and phone bookings. The same platform runs QR table ordering and a takeaway webshop, and there is no commission on sales. See pricing for the plans.

Frequently asked questions