Paper reservation book vs a reservation system
When a paper book, a spreadsheet or a WhatsApp chat is enough, and when your restaurant has outgrown it.
The short answer
A paper reservation book is free, fast and needs no training, and for a small place with a few bookings a night it can be enough. A restaurant reservation system keeps the same bookings against your real tables, takes bookings online when nobody can answer the phone, stops double seating and remembers every guest. The usual moment to switch is when bookings start arriving from several places at once.
Side by side
| Paper book or spreadsheet | Reservation system | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | A monthly fee |
| Bookings after hours | Only if someone answers the phone or WhatsApp | Guests book online at any hour, from times that are really free |
| Double bookings | Easy when two people write in the book | A table is held while one guest confirms, and an occupied table can't be seated again |
| Walk-ins | Squeezed in by eye | The floorplan shows which tables are free now |
| Remembering guests | In the staff's memory | A guest profile with visits, notes and allergies |
| Several staff at once | One book in one place | Everyone sees the same bookings on their own screen |
| Where guests came from | Unknown | Every booking has a source |
| If the book is lost | The history is gone | Stored and exportable |
When paper is enough
If one person takes every booking, you rarely have more than a handful a night, and guests don't ask to book online, a paper book does the job. Keep it next to the phone, write the party size and a phone number, and cross out cancellations.
Signs you have outgrown it
- Guests ask for a booking link, or book by Instagram message and wait for a reply
- A table has been promised twice on a busy night
- More than one person takes bookings, by phone, WhatsApp and at the door
- Walk-ins wait while someone works out which table frees up first
- You can't tell who your regulars are, or where new guests heard of you
- You spend on ads or creators and can't see which ones brought bookings
How to move from paper to a system
- List your tables with their seats, and draw roughly where they are in the room.
- Decide your service times and how long each party size usually stays.
- Enter the upcoming bookings from your book once, so tonight's service is ready.
- Import any guest list you keep in Excel.
- Put your booking link on Google, Instagram and your website, and tell your team the book is retired.
Where Kolshi fits
Kolshi Table is a restaurant reservation system built in Dubai. Our team sets up your tables and service times with you, imports your Excel guest list and trains your staff at your restaurant. Hosts do the same things as with the book, finding the booking, seating the guest and adding a walk-in, on an iPad or phone instead of a page. If you are moving from another system rather than paper, see how switching works.
Common questions
Is a spreadsheet better than a paper book?
A shared spreadsheet can be searched and seen by more than one person, but it doesn't know your tables, can't take bookings online and won't stop two people giving away the same table.
Will my staff find a reservation system hard?
Hosts do the same jobs as with a book: find the booking, seat the guest, add a walk-in. With Kolshi, the Kolshi team trains your staff at your restaurant before you go live.
Can I keep the paper book as a backup?
You can, but two places to write bookings is how double bookings happen. Pick one place where every booking goes, and keep the old book for history.