Double bookings happen when bookings arrive through more than one channel and nobody sees all of them at once. To stop them, keep every booking (website, phone and walk-in) in one live list, assign tables as bookings come in rather than on the night, and let online booking close a time slot automatically when it is full.
Where double bookings come from
The usual causes are simple:
- Two diaries. The phone bookings are in a book; the website bookings are in an inbox. Both say table 12 at eight.
- Two people, one diary. A busy host and a manager both take calls and write in pencil.
- Online booking that doesn’t know about walk-ins. The website keeps selling a slot that is already full in the room.
- Tables assigned too late. Bookings are taken as “four at eight” and tables are juggled when guests arrive.
Keep one source of truth
Everything should go into one list the whole team can see, the moment it happens. That includes:
- bookings from your website;
- bookings taken on the phone;
- walk-ins, as they are seated;
- changes and cancellations.
If a phone booking is written on a sticky note “to add later”, it will eventually clash with something.
Assign tables when you take the booking
Saying “a table for four at eight” is a promise you might not be able to keep. Assigning the actual table when the booking is made, or letting the system do it, shows straight away whether that table is free.
Let online booking close itself
Online booking should stop offering a time when it is full, including tables taken by phone bookings and walk-ins. On peak nights, many restaurants also limit how many covers can book online for each slot, so the kitchen isn’t hit by thirty covers at once.
Make changes in one place
Most double bookings at a restaurant that already uses a system come from changes: a guest moves their booking by phone, and the old one stays in the list. Train the team to change the existing booking instead of creating a new one.
When it happens anyway
If two parties arrive for one table:
- Apologise to both, calmly and quickly.
- Seat whoever you can, and offer the other party a drink at the bar while you find the next table.
- Find out how it happened afterwards and fix that step.
How ForStars fits
ForStars keeps website bookings, phone bookings and walk-ins on one live floor plan that updates on every device. Occupancy alerts warn before a slot overfills, and peak auto-blocks pause online booking for a busy slot on their own. See features.
Questions owners ask
Is overbooking ever a good idea?
Deliberately booking more covers than you have seats, in case some don’t show, tends to backfire on the night everyone turns up. A card on file protects you from no-shows without the risk; see how to reduce no-shows.
Can staff still take phone bookings with an online system?
Yes. Phone bookings go into the same system, so they block the table online too.