Online bookings for apartments and restaurants: how they work

A guest who has found your accommodation or restaurant at ten o'clock at night doesn't want to wait until the morning to get an answer. They want to choose a time slot and be done with it. That's why online bookings They are becoming standard, but they are not the same for an apartment and for a restaurant, and poorly installed ones do more harm than if they weren't there at all. Here's how the system works and what to look out for.

Two different problems

Apartment nights. The guest chooses the check-in and check-out dates, the number of people, and you need to know whether the property is available for the entire period.

Restaurant sells a table at a specific time. The guest chooses the day, time, and number of people, and you need to know how many seats are available and how long people usually sit at the table.

Both cases share the same idea (calendar plus confirmation), but the rules are different. That's why the first mistake is to use the same template for everything.

What the reservation system must do

1. Show available appointments accurately and in real time.
2. Prohibit double bookings. While one guest is booking, another guest shouldn't be able to book the same time slot.
3. Sends a confirmation to the guest immediately, and a notification to you.
4. Collect the necessary data, but only what you need (name, contact, number of people, note).
5. It works on the phone. Most guests book from their mobile phones.
6. Enable cancellation or modification according to clear rules.

Everything else, such as advance payments or automatic reminders, comes as an upgrade.

Apartment reservations

Calendar

The calendar must be synchronized with all the channels on which you advertise. If you sell the same apartment through both platforms and your website, manual data entry will sooner or later result in a double booking. Check whether the system can be synchronized with the calendars you already use.

Stay rules

Minimum number of nights, arrival days, cleaning between guests, price difference by season. The clearer the rules are in the system, the fewer messages you have to write manually.

Inquiry or direct booking

Some properties want each guest to send an inquiry first, and then the owner confirms. That's fine, especially for smaller properties and personalized service. It's important for the guest to know what happens after sending the request: when they can expect a response and what the next step is. We write about this topic in more detail in the article on website for hotels and apartments.

Restaurant reservations

Capacity and duration

The system needs to know how many tables and seats there are and how long a group stays on average. Without this information, it's easy for the dining room to be empty at 6 p.m. and "full" at 8 p.m.

Larger groups

Reservations for larger groups, celebrations, and events usually require a special form, as you need to know the menu, budget, and rules in advance.

Confirmation and reminder

In restaurants, the problem isn't reservations, but guests who don't show up. A reminder sent a day in advance and an easy way to cancel reduce empty tables without unnecessarily reprimanding the guest.

Common mistakes

• The calendar has not been updated. The guest is making a booking, and you don't have an available slot.
• The form asks for too much information. Each additional field is a reason for a guest to drop out.
• No receipt? The guest doesn't know if the reservation was successful, so they call or make a reservation somewhere else.
• No mobile version or the booking button is hard to spot.
• The owner does not receive the notification. The reservation exists in the system, but nobody knows about it.
• Language. Foreign guests expect a website in English, which is the subject of our article on multilingual website.

What about the advance payment and the payment?

Some properties require an advance payment, while others do not. If you request it, the system should link the reservation to the payment, and the cancellation policies must be clear before confirmation. Check the refund and liability policies with an accountant or lawyer; we do not provide legal advice here.

Test as a guest

Before the launch, make a reservation yourself: from your phone, in English, for the last available slot and for a booked slot. Cancel and modify the reservation. Make sure that every email arrives and that the message is understandable.

How long it takes and what it costs

Site Starts from €20/month, and the final price is negotiated based on the scope. The reservation system is an additional feature, so we provide an estimate It's the same day. when you describe the property to us and how you currently receive reservations. The deadline for creating the website is 7 day.

What next.

Once bookings start working, you'll need guests. See how. Google and Meta Campaigns can bring in new guests, and for larger investments in the property, check EU projects and grants.

Free analysis

Do you take reservations by text and phone, and would you like to make the process more transparent? Request free analysis: We take a look at how you currently operate and propose the simplest system that suits you.

Asenvirocon, Bulevar Mihaila Lalića, Podgorica · info@asenvirocon.me · 067 222 975