Bookings
Managing bookings
Enable bookings, set your service times and capacity, choose between automatic or manual confirmation, and keep track of your daily schedule.
To enable and configure bookings, go to Restaurant Settings. Once set up, your customers can book directly from your menu, and you can manage everything in one place under Restaurant → Bookings.
The availability of bookings depends on your package. If you cannot see this option, please check your package on the Manage my subscription page.
Define your services
A ‘shift’ is a time slot open for bookings. In Restaurant Settings, create your shifts on a day-by-day basis and set a seating capacity for each one.
- Opening hours — for example, lunch from 12:00 to 14:00 and dinner from 19:00 to 21:30.
- Capacity — the maximum number of covers for this service. It is updated as bookings are made: once capacity is reached, the time slot is no longer offered to customers.
Automatic or manual confirmation
You choose how requests are handled:
- Automatic — the booking is confirmed immediately, without any action required on your part.
- Manual — each request appears in your calendar and awaits your confirmation.
The anti-no-show feature (optional)
To minimise the number of empty tables, you can ask for a card details when a booking is made. No amount is debited at the time of booking: Stripe simply records the customer’s card details.
- In the event of a no-show, a pre-determined amount is debited from the registered card.
- The policy (price and terms and conditions) is fixed and accepted by the customer at the time of booking, in a fully transparent manner.
The anti-no-show feature is powered by Stripe. Please ensure you have connected your account: see Connect Stripe.
From the customer’s perspective
From your online menu, the customer clicks on ‘Book’ (page /reserve), chooses a time slot from your available slots and confirms. They receive an automatic reminder the day before their visit.
Keep track of your diary
Under Restaurant → Bookings, you’ll find all the bookings for the day. You can:
- Confirm a request (in manual confirmation mode).
- Seat a customer at their table upon their arrival.
- Complete your booking once you have finished your meal.
- Add a walk-in, i.e. a customer who has arrived without a booking.
On your seating plan, a table with an upcoming booking appears as ‘reserved’ — a handy visual cue to help you organise your service.
Does this article not answer your question? Please email us at contact@winslor.com.