Take restaurant reservations on your site

With the Reservations add-on ($10 a month), guests reserve a table on your own site, in its design and in Spanish too. They pick how many they are, a day and a time, and get a table that's free for their whole stay. There's no fee per guest.

It's an add-on of its own: it isn't part of Bookings or the Business plan. A restaurant that also takes bookings for cooking classes or a chef's counter can have both.

Guests get a confirmation email and a reminder the day before, with a link to move or cancel within your rules.

The first time you open Reservations, choose Walk me through it: nine short questions, one at a time, each with a common answer already filled in (your tables and how long each is kept, the biggest party, your hours, notice, cancellations, deposits, emails and a note for guests). Or choose I'll set it up myself to see everything at once. Settings is grouped under headings, and Walk me through it there runs the questions again any time.

Without a website

A business with no website can take reservations too, on its booking page or pasted onto a website it already has. Open Reservations under Business in your dashboard menu, then Turn it on in your dashboard. It needs your Business plan or a website plan to be running first, since it's charged monthly to the card that plan uses. There's no section to add or publish: guests can reserve as soon as your tables are set up. See Take bookings without a website.

Turn on the add-on

1. In the editor, click Reservations in the sidebar, then Turn it on in your dashboard. (In your dashboard, your site's Plan page links to the same Reservations page.)
2. Click Turn on reservations.

Only the account owner can, once the site is live and your plan is running. Until it's on, your Reservations section sends you a request in your Inbox instead, like a contact form, with your phone number beside it.

Set up your tables

1. In the editor, click Reservations in the sidebar.
2. Under Tables, click Start with a typical dining room (four tables for 2, six for 4 and two for 6, kept 1 hour 30 minutes, 1 hour 30 minutes and 2 hours), or Add a table size.
3. For each size, type how many tables you have, pick how many people each seats and pick how long a party keeps one.
4. Publish.

A party gets the smallest table that seats it and is free for the whole of that table's stay. A party of 3 takes a table for 4; when those are taken, a table for 6. Two reservations can share a table back to back: one leaving at 7:30 and the next arriving at 7:30.

Only list the tables you take reservations for. Bar seats and tables you keep for walk-ins don't go here.

Set how long a table is kept

On the Reservations screen, each size under Tables has its own length, in the last box of its row: "6 tables for 2, kept 1 hr 30 min". Bigger tables usually stay longer, so give a table for 6 more time than a table for 2.

A party is kept for the length of the table it is given. If a couple is given a table for 4 because the tables for 2 are taken, they keep it for the table for 4's length. A bigger party that sends a request, because it is over the largest you take online, is held for the length of your biggest table.

The table is free again after that, so the next party can have it. Guests see only the time they arrive. A change affects reservations made after it; ones already made keep the time they were given.

Put reservations on a page

1. Open Pages, choose a page (like a Reservations page), and on the Content tab click Add a section. Pick Reservations.
2. Fill in the Heading, Intro and any Helpful details, like "Tables held for 15 minutes".
3. Click Publish.

Guests pick how many they are, a day and an open time, type their name, email and phone, and click Reserve. Times when no table that seats them is free don't show.

Set when guests can reserve

Under Settings:

1. When people can reserve: During your business hours (from Business info, with its holidays and seasons), or At set reservation hours. For set hours, add a row under Reservation hours for each day, like dinner from 5pm to 10pm. Two rows on one day leave a break between them, like lunch and dinner.
2. Last seating: how long before closing the last table is reserved, like 1 hour before closing.
3. Times every: 15 or 30 minutes.
4. Most people arriving in any 15 minutes (optional): keeps the kitchen from getting every table at once. Times that would go over it don't show.
5. Notice you need and How far ahead people can reserve.
6. Optional: Note above the Reserve button, like "We hold tables for 15 minutes."
7. Publish.

Holidays in Business info close reservations by themselves.

Bigger parties

Largest party booked online is the biggest party guests can reserve themselves, never more than your biggest table seats. For bigger parties, choose under Bigger parties:

• Call you: the form shows your phone number.
• Send a request: they pick a time and send it. It shows under Waiting for you on the Reservations screen, and you get an email with Confirm and Decline buttons. A request holds no table, so seat them as you see fit.

Take a deposit

1. Under Settings, type the Deposit per person, like 10, and choose Deposit for parties of, like 6 or more.
2. Under Reservations add-on, click Connect Stripe and follow Stripe's steps. It's the same Stripe account the online store and bookings use. Only the account owner can connect it. See Connect Stripe.
3. Publish.

Guests pay on Stripe's page, and the money goes straight to your bank. We take no cut. Refund deposits when they cancel in time gives it back by itself when they cancel within your rules; later cancellations and no-shows keep it.

See tonight's reservations

The Reservations screen opens on Tonight: each reservation by time, with how many people, their note and any deposit, and how many people arrive each half hour. Pick a day along the top to see the week ahead, or use the arrows.

• Click Seated when a party arrives. Undo takes it back.
• Click a reservation to see its details, cancel it or mark it as a no-show.
• Download (CSV) saves every reservation as a spreadsheet.

Add a reservation taken by phone

1. On the Reservations screen, click Add a reservation.
2. Pick How many people and the Date. The open times for that party show: click one, or type Or another time.
3. Type their name, and their phone or email.
4. Turn on Email them a confirmation if they gave an email.
5. Click Add reservation.

When no table that seats them is free then, it says so. Click Add it anyway to take it and seat them yourself: it won't hold a table.

Close for a private event

Under Closures and private events, click Add time off. Pick the day, and the hours if it's not the whole day. No tables can be reserved then. Time off for everyone closes bookings too.

Emails and reminders

Under Settings:

• Email guests a reminder the day before: on to start.
• Email me each new reservation: off to start, since a busy night is a lot of email. Requests from bigger parties are always emailed.
• Email me when a guest cancels or moves a reservation: on to start.
• Email me the next day's reservations each evening: tomorrow's list, with how many reservations and people.
• Guests can cancel or move a reservation online: from Any time before it starts to Up to two days before, or Never (they call you).

Link your Google Business Profile

Add your reservations page to your Google Business Profile, so people who find you on Google can reserve:

1. Sign in to your Business Profile on Google, and click Edit profile.
2. Under Contact, find Reservations (or Booking links) and add your page's address, like https://yourrestaurant.com/reservations.
3. Save.

What it doesn't do yet

Reservations up to 3,000 a month are included. Past that, the section asks guests to call you until the number drops, and we email you.

There's no floor plan, joining tables, seating areas (like "patio or inside"), walk-in waitlist or text messages yet. To ask guests where they'd like to sit, add it to your Note above the Reserve button, or ask them to say so in their note.