Get back up and running

For a successful reopening, you’ll want to make sure your books are open, your staff is ready, and guests know about your offerings and the measures you’re taking to ensure a safe dining environment.

• Top tips on reopening your restaurant
• Find the tools you need to get back online and offering reservations on OpenTable

• Adjust your floor plans and table types to accommodate capacity limits and space guidelines per your local regulatory mandates
• Confirm that your special days, availability, and shift settings are up-to-date
• Prevent crowding by opening an online waitlist that guests can join remotely and be notified when their table is ready
• Decide which services make sense for your restaurant and notify people about dine-in and/or delivery or takeaway options 
• Rehire and retrain staff (see educational OpenTable videos and tips), make sure to include any new safety and sanitation protocols
• Verify user access of technologies and edit or remove if needed
• Keep organised with this comprehensive reopening checklist

Drive more revenue

With restricted capacity and evolving regulations, optimising your floor and finding additional revenue streams is more important than ever.

• Expand your outdoor dining offerings
• Turn on delivery options to serve more guests
• Secure payment up front and plan ahead with pre-paid experiences
• Remind guests that they can support your restaurant by buying gift cards to use in the future

Connect with guests

Diners are ready to put their pots and pans away and come back to your restaurant, but they first need to know you’re open. Make it easy for people to discover you and find updated information about your restaurant.

• Highlight your safety precautions on your restaurant profile to reassure your guests
• Think about marketing on the cheap: Ramp up your marketing using these practical and budget friendly tips
• Update your hours of operation, menus, and delivery /takeaway information, if anything has changed
• Customise and resend booking confirmation emails to ensure guests are aware you’re open for business (remember: OpenTable automatically confirms reservations through text and email)  
• Showcase your unique dining experiences such as prix fixe and happy hours
• Re-engage your regulars by leveraging your guest list and email integrations available to you
• Monitor guest feedback and respond to guest concerns across all your channels

Evolve your operations

As your business continues to evolve, your operations and supply chain will likely shift. Keep track of what’s working for you and your peers.

• Track how you’re doing by looking at your reports in OpenTable
• Stay updated with government mandates and resources available
• Contact your vendors and suppliers to let them know of any changes in demand
• Consider adding additional revenue streams such as meal kits, takeaway, delivery, and grocery items

The state of the restaurant industry

As cities, states and countries begin to reopen their doors, understand how the industry begins to come back. We’ve summarized week-over-week data from restaurants on our platform and update it daily.

See the latest in the data center