QUITE simply, people expect to be able to book pretty much everything online these days.
That’s true of everything from where we shop to where we sleep. And restaurants are also increasingly keen to offer diners the ability to make their table bookings without ringing a closed venue in the morning to seal the deal.
Nick Tynan is hoping to increase the number of North East restaurants who provide this service through Going Out UK, a project which allows automated booking through the computer or mobile as well as offering deals and ratings. The service is also available in Glasgow.
He said: “A lot of restaurants only open for evening service so it can be difficult to book until it opens its doors. However, pretty much every restaurateur carries an iPhone or Android, so they can still keep track of bookings through this system through notifications.
“Things like Toptable do this well, but we didn’t think Newcastle and Sunderland had a great representation of restaurants on there. We’re working with the NewcastleGateshead Initiative on this, and we’re also trying to sign up venues in Morpeth, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth.”
Tynan left the motor trade after 20 years last year to set up a Gosforth ORCA Local scheme, which allows businesses to offer discounts which could be viewed online.
He is now focusing on the potential of his restaurant booking venture, which operates on a performance basis so restaurants do not pay any costs until reservations are made through the system. It enables diners to see the nearest restaurants, their ratings, how to get there and how to make contact. It also features the latest offers, and incorporates a GOUK social network for users to chat.
From a restaurant owner’s point of view, Tynan said Going Out UK worked with venues to arrange the system in the best way for them, allowing them to set options such as how quick the turnaround between tables might be. It has been working with a group of restaurants for five months to see how they use the service.
He said: “A lot of the ones we’ve seen use a paper diary alongside it until they get used to the system. The ones we’ve talked to recently have seen the benefits of the scheme really quickly.”