One of the top ways to increase restaurant sales is to through online reservations.
The process should be easy and straightforward for both your guests and for you as a restaurant manager or operator.
Getting online bookings is best managed using restaurant reservation software. This type of system not only helps you get and manage online reservations, but also helps you build long-term relationships with guests. Some reservation systems also help you manage aspects of your restaurant’s marketing strategy.
Considered by many a good front-of-house reservation system, OpenTable has a few downsides like a hefty price tag ($329 per month!). Not to mention cover fees!
In this article, we’ll be looking at top OpenTable competitors and alternatives and what each has to offer.
OpenTable is an online restaurant reservation management system. It is designed to help restaurants manage various front-of-house operations.
OpenTable’s top features include:
Shift management
Reservation and seating management
Reporting features
Guest profile database
Booking widget (customizable only in Pro)
Restaurant discovery platform in the United States
While every software has its perks, there are downsides. OpenTable’s top shortcoming are:
Expensive, amounting to $179 per month for its Core tier and $329 per month for its Pro tier)
Cover fees of $1.50 for every cover made through the app
Hidden costs
Better benefits only in Pro
Additional fees for various integrations
Limited customer support
OpenTable helps you as a restaurant in many ways. Assuming you don’t mind paying hundreds of dollars in cover fees and hidden costs each month. And assuming limited customer support isn’t something you regularly rely on.
Despite being on the market for over 25 years, OpenTable may be a good option for some but not a great one for many.
Reviews on Trustpilot show the company has an overall rating of 1.5 stars from a total 169 reviews, mainly from consumers. It has an overall customer satisfaction result of ‘bad.’
On Capterra, OpenTable has an overall rating of 4.7 stars from 1,280 reviews.
Looking at OpenTable alternatives and competitors is generally a good idea, ensuring you’re aware of the latest restaurant and hospitality offerings. It also ensures you’re using the best reservation management system for your restaurant.
Zero-commission online bookings
One of the biggest disadvantages of using OpenTable is the cover fees they charge for every reservation.
The benefit of getting your restaurant before more guests can also be a disadvantage, costing you hundreds of dollars each month!
Many OpenTable competitors offer zero commissions on online bookings.
Stronger customer support
Customer support is integral to the restaurant business. Whether you’re managing a single venue or a chain of restaurants, customer support helps you retain guests. The same applies to restaurant reservation management systems.
These types of systems need strong, if not stellar, customer support to
Answer all your questions in a timely manner
Help train your staff to use the software
Explain and keep you updated new features
Take your suggestions and feature requirements to the product team
This is what one customer has said about OpenTable’s customer support via Trustpilot.
Clearer costs and fees
Many of OpenTable customers are unhappy by the company’s hidden fees. Particularly their SMS fees, which customers incur, and their pop-up fees (for restaurants).
One restaurant owner notes on Capterra that
“[OpenTable is] very expensive with variable cost depending on bookings from OpenTable platform versus the restaurants own booking networks. Huge market control makes it almost impossible to succeed as a restaurant if you are not using them. No clear or transparent way to accurately sort what reservations were made through OpenTable and what weren't when invoicing. There is no option to rate diners the same way as restaurants are reviewed so you can select the best customers and decline and the rest during busy times.”
On the other hand, several restaurant guests report being scammed by OpenTable, indicating they’ve collaborated with dishonorable SMS providers. Many guests report deleting the OpenTable app and not using it again after a bad experience, advising others to do the same.
Guest experience management features
A great guest experience has the power to keep guests coming back, increasing your revenues and overall guest retention.
A 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by 25% to a whopping 95%!
OpenTable’s guest experience features are limited, giving its competitors the opportunity to shine and stand out.
Restaurant marketing software
Some restaurant reservation systems and OpenTable competitors offer marketing features, including email and SMS marketing for restaurants.
Instead of having to sign up for multiple marketing systems, these competitors allow you to manage marketing and operations from a single platform.
Now, let’s look at OpenTable competitors and alternatives and see what each has to offer.
Servme is a leading reservation, table management, and waitlist system available and one of OpenTable's top competitors.
Servme prides itself on stellar human customer support. The company’s product team supports customers and the customer success team with new features and updates to current features. It’s how our Manager’s Notes feature came to life.
Top features
Support customer success team: Servme’s customer success team, fluent in multiple languages, is available to answer questions at any time. Their customer success team offers training for new customers and new features.
Dynamic restaurant reservation software: Servme offers F&B concepts a reservation and table management system that comes with a fully-customizable reservation widget, waitlist management, restaurant analytics, and more.
Track source of bookings: Unlike OpenTable, Servme helps restaurant managers and marketing managers track where their online bookings are coming from. You can see the sources listed with the icons on the side, showing you if reservations are coming from Facebook, Instagram, Reserve with Google, or other booking integrations.
50+ integration options: Servme can integrate with over 30 restaurant point-of-sale (POS) systems, booking channels such as Tripadvisor and Zomato, among others. Hotel F&B concepts can integrate with Servme using Oracle’s property management system, along with phone integrations.
Automated seating and capacity management: Servme’s table and event management system helps restaurant managers seat large groups quickly and efficiently. A host can simply enter the number of people who wish to be seated and Servme’s system will inform them of the best seats for this group without hurting restaurant flow.
Zero cover fees: One of the top problems restaurants face with OpenTable is cover fees and commissions. Servme has a zero-commission-fee policy for all online reservations. The exceptions are for integrations for Tripadvisor and Zomato, which charge commissions, independent of Servme.
Advanced CRM: Restaurants can create dynamic and detailed guest profiles featuring information like dietary restrictions, allergies, food and seating preferences, and more. In addition, Servme’s restaurant CRM helps hosts and marketers create and manage guest experiences in-house and after the guest leaves through automated guest surveys.
Marketing features: Servme offers SMS and email marketing for restaurants, with readymade but customizable templates. F&B marketing managers can create and manage various restaurant email campaigns from the Servme dashboard. They can also segment guests using auto-tags and guestbook features.
Further reading: Discover How to Make the Most of Servme’s Restaurant Table Management Software
Sevenrooms
Sevenrooms is a reservation system popular with restaurants in the United States. It offers marketing features,
However, a Sevenrooms subscription can set you back by staggering $700 per month. Their website does not clarify how much it costs to use Sevenrooms but online reviews indicate a hefty price tag.
Top features
Marketing features: Sevenrooms helps F&B concepts manage email and SMS with built-in marketing features and guides.
Event and reservation management: Besides marketing, Sevenrooms helps restaurants create and manage events for large groups. Their reservation software allows restaurants to collect online prepayments and deposits.
Waitlist features: Their software combines reservation and waitlist management, helping reduce wait times and increase table turnover.
Resy
Customers often ask ‘What is the difference between OpenTable and Resy?’
That’s because as an OpenTable competitor, Resy has several features in common with OpenTable. However, unlike OpenTable, Resy offers commission-free reservations.
Top features
Diner network: Like OpenTable, Resy lets restaurants list their venues via its diner network to get more bookings.
Digital menus: Resy helps restaurants create various digital menus for their different events and meals. It also allows guests to make online orders with digital menus.
Various integration options: Resy offers a wide range of integrations including marketing integrations such as Facebook and Google. As an American Express company, Resy offers AMEX partnership options alongside other integrations.
Further reading: Increase Direct Reservations using Facebook & Instagram with Servme
Tock
One of the best table management systems and an OpenTable alternative is Tock, which helps F&B operators manage bookings, collect deposits, and reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations.
Top features
Prepaid options: Tock allows restaurants to collect reservation fees and online deposits, ensuring less revenue lost from no-show guests.
No cover fees: Tock doesn’t charge cover fees or commissions. However, they do charge a percentage on pre-booking payments. The percentage varies depending on the pricing tier. For the ‘Basic’ and ‘Essential’ tiers, Tock charges a 3% prepayment fee. This fee drops to 2% for ‘Premium.’ Their ‘Premium Unlimited’ plan does not include prepayment charges but has a starting price of $769 a month.
High-end features: Many of Tock’s reservation management features cater to high-end, luxury restaurants, which may not be suitable for smaller eateries.
Eat App
Another OpenTable competitor is Eat App, a table management system that helps restaurant managers streamline operations. Eat App combines restaurant analytics, management, and marketing in a single platform.
Top features
Commissions policy: Eat App has tiered-pricing with zero commissions on a specific number of covers. For example, if a restaurant gets 50 covers per month, they will not be charged any fees. However, if they get up to 500 covers, they will be charged $69 per month, and so on. For unlimited covers per month, restaurants have to pay $139 each month.
Guest profiling features: Eat App’s restaurant CRM allows restaurants to create a guest database with preferences.
Reservation management: Eat App offers reservation management software so guests can get online bookings from multiple sources.
Further reading: The 7 Best CRM for Restaurants Compared [2024]
TableCheck
Online restaurant reservation management platform TableCheck is a rising competitor to OpenTable, particularly because of their guest experience offerings.
Top features
Guest experience features: TableCheck offers guest experience management features such as automated guest surveys.
Waitlist features: TableCheck offers a robust waitlist management solution that engages guests while they wait for a table.
Marketing features: Like other reservation apps on this list, TableCheck offers restaurant marketing automation features such as email and SMS.
Further reading: How to Increase Restaurant Reservations: 13+ Revenue-Boosting Tips
ResDiary
Last but not least, ResDiary is a popular OpenTable alternative. This restaurant management system also boasts a diner-facing platform.
Top features
Diner platform: ResDiary’s customer-facing platform is called Dish Cult. It’s a place where restaurants can list their venues and get online bookings via a desktop and mobile app. However, Dish Cult is only available to ResDiary users.
Reservation widget: ResDiary offers a customizable reservation widget, where guests add their information to making online bookings.
Special event management: ResDiary users can manage bookings for large groups. They can also use filters to identify corporate and private events.
Want to see Servme’s restaurant reservation, table management, and waitlist software in action? Switch from OpenTable to Servme with ease.
Mohammed Rafy
Table Management
