Online restaurant bookings soar in NZ

Online restaurant bookings soar in NZ

Diners start to enjoy the ease and freedom of online booking 24/7 Going online to book flights, hotels and rental cars is common practice now, but New Zealand’s dining out culture is also going digital, encouraging the country’s restaurants to make booking easier by going online.

Hundreds of New Zealand’s busiest, most popular restaurants now offer an online “Real Time” table booking service instead of just the traditional phone call.

Booking online guarantees the best table is available together with instant confirmations onscreen to mobiles and tablets any time of the day.

New Zealand’s leading provider of online restaurant reservations software, Eveve, was responsible for booking three quarters of a million diners into restaurants across the country in 2014, and that number is growing everyday as more restaurants embrace the online reservation system.

Eveve co-founder and chef/restaurateur Mark Gregory said the company anticipates generating up to 1.5 million diners into the country’s restaurants in 2015.

“The sheer number of diners booking online throughout the world is exploding and New Zealand is fast catching up,” Gregory says.

“Some people will always prefer to ring the restaurant, but convenience is why people are choosing to book online. Digital booking is available 24/7 and saves restaurants from answering the phones during busy, noisy service hours when staff are running around looking after their guests.”

Eveve co-founder Richard Small said:

“Many restaurants are still only using their paper diaries, but we are working hard to encourage the industry to change to simple digital diaries that make it easier for their customers to book and receive confirmation instantly. It can be a little scary, but once restaurants do make the change to digital, they never look back.”

Many of New Zealand’s most popular and celebrity chef restaurants are on-board, including Auckland restaurants; The Grove, Clooney, Euro, Grand Harbour Chinese, Afternoon Tea at The Stamford, Cassia, Logan Brown in Wellington, Poderi Crisci on Waiheke, Palate in Hamilton, Spice Paragon in Christchurch, Glenfalloch in Dunedin, Rata Dining or Pier 19in Queenstown.

In December alone, top Auckland restaurant Ostro booked 3400 diners online through Eveve.

Gregory adds:

“Many years ago a restaurant simply opened its doors and customers came in, then came the telephone and we all started advertising in Yellow Pages. Today in the digital age how customers search and book not just restaurants but almost anything, has changed pretty much forever. That said amazing food, great service in a caring restaurant are still the hall marks for a wonderful experience.”

Eveve’s “Booking Partner Network” generates additional reservations; these include many of the Internet's most popular global and local brands. Diners can book restaurants directly from Google search, Facebook, Restaurant Hub, Yellow Pages, Finda, View and Menus. This works in a similar way to booking a flight or accommodation, for example, via Webjet, Trivago, Trip Advisor or Wotif.

ENDS/

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