Your business, your money: stop paying commissions on your restaurant's reservations

The more demand, the higher prices go. It's the market. Or so they say.

Restaurateurs who work with commission-based booking platforms experience something similar during peak season. The more reservations at their restaurant, the more commissions they have to pay.

Today you'll find out what these platforms do to charge extra commissions, and you'll discover the benefits of working with a commission-free reservation system for restaurants.

3 ways they raise your commissions

"Leak points" for booking commissions

Let's start by looking at a real example of a restaurant in Seville with its own website that works with one of these platforms that charge commissions when they "secure a reservation".

Let's pretend we're a customer searching on Google to book a table at that restaurant, which we'll call "Your Restaurant".

The platform pays for an ad to appear as the 1st option

The first leak point is the most aggressive. The company pays Google so that the 1st booking option is their platform.

Further down appear redirects to the app and other restaurants on their portal.

Leak points on Google My Business

If we keep scrolling down, we'll reach the Google My Business listing for Your Restaurant.

2 new commission leak points appear: Google's reservation button and, further down, another button to book a table.

5 commission leak points and redirects to other restaurants

After a lot of scrolling, we finally reach the restaurant's website.

If we had clicked on any of the previous options, could it really be considered that they secured a reservation for them?

Hey! It doesn't end here

Some users of these platforms recognise the look of the booking engine and, even if they started on your website, they may end up being diverted to the portal to complete the reservation, in search of discounts and promotions.

Building customer loyalty will cost you money

Charging commissions for new customers? Fine, that's understandable.

But if this new customer ends up satisfied and wants to book again, what's the point of charging a commission for someone who wants to return? The credit for their return belongs to the restaurant.

Your customers = their customers and your competitors'

These platforms will try to get your former customers to book through them. You'll have to pay commissions for reservations that were already yours.

What's more, their data will become the company's property. This means that your competitors will be able to reach them with discounts, promotions and marketing actions if they're also on the platform.

3 benefits of commission-free reservations for restaurants

Now that you know what these platforms do to maximise commissions, we're going to explain 3 benefits of working with a commission-free reservation system for restaurants:

Greater profitability

Commission-free restaurant reservation systems are the only ones that guarantee 100% profitability, since you'll always be able to get the highest financial return from the tables in your venue.

Commission-free reservations in restaurants

Commission-free reservations in restaurants represent an innovative solution for optimising customer management without taking on additional costs. This model allows restaurants to receive and manage reservations directly from their own platform or through technological integrations, eliminating intermediaries and reducing expenses. By implementing systems that don't rely on commissions, businesses can reinvest these savings in improving the customer experience, optimising operations and strengthening their brand. In addition, this autonomy reinforces the direct relationship with diners, fostering loyalty and increasing long-term profitability.

Avoid surprises in your end-of-month invoices

Keeping track of commissions can be a complicated task during peak season, and in busy periods you can get a very unpleasant surprise when you see the invoice at the end of the month.

Flat-rate reservation systems give you the peace of mind of knowing how much you'll spend each month on managing your reservations.

Build customer loyalty

Your customers stop being yours when you work with a commission-based reservation system for restaurants. On a platform shared by thousands of restaurants, there's not much you can do.

The database and CRM of a commission-free reservation software belong solely to the restaurant, so it can get to know and build loyalty with its customers with complete independence

How to start working with commission-free reservations

At this point, you'll be wondering how you can start working with reservation management software that doesn't charge restaurants commissions.

At CoverManager we offer the alternative in Technology for the Hospitality Industry so that restaurant professionals can improve their profitability and build customer loyalty without depending on large platforms.

Our goal is to guarantee restaurateurs a secure and transparent tool, one that seeks to maximise revenue and reduce costs to obtain the greatest benefit.

If you're tired of paying commissions on your restaurant's reservations, click on this link and fill in the form to request more information.