For decades, bars and nightclubs have been offering VIP seating to large groups and high rollers. Traditionally, a person or their agent would make a phone call to the club. Then, the host or hostess and they would write down the reservation in their book. This system worked very well because all of the reservations were kept in one centralized location. However, it was far from perfect since human error played a role in the process. This meant that the VIP booking system worked most of the time and was fairly reliable. Unfortunately, there was no way to find out where the problem was if something was lost or entered incorrectly. This led to double booking VIP tables all the time.
Flash forward to modern times, the way people make reservations for their VIP table has drastically changed. First came website bookings that allowed customers to book through an online form. Next, we saw the rise of smartphones with a whole plethora of apps that allow you to book a table at your favorite bar, restaurant, or nightclub.
Making Sense of the Chaos
With all of these different platforms and third party platforms that allow guests to book VIP tables, keeping all of the different reservations straight has become even more challenging. Additionally, you still have a traditional phone call system in play. Obviously, you can see just how tough it is to keep things organized and accurate. So how are you supposed to avoid double booking VIP tables? By putting in place the proper systems, you can make sense of it all with ease. Here’s what you need to know.
Setup Your Reservation Software
The first thing you’re going to need to do is setup a centralized reservation software system. However, it needs to be compatible with all of the latest third party apps that can accept reservations on your behalf. There are many options out there, so just do a little research to see which will work best for you. Next, you’ll need to make sure your staff is trained to use the reservation system so all of the bookings are made correctly. Here’s what you’ll need to do to make that happen.
- Create a unique username and password for each authorized employee. This will help you track statistics and any errors made in the booking process.
- Teach your customers how to add a reservation on a specific night and identify which tables are available. You can also have different prices for tables depending on the night.
- Make sure all of the third party apps that take bookings on your behalf are integrated in real-time for accuracy.
Will This Help Avoid Double Booking VIP Tables?
Having everything setup properly and your staff properly trained is crucial. That way, every single VIP table booking should come into your system without any possible conflicts. Having a centralized reservation system such as this will allow people to book from a wide variety of sources. More importantly, everything will show up correctly. This is the only way to truly avoid double booking VIP tables without fail. Every serious bar, restaurant, or nightclub owner should carefully consider investing in such a system.
