Over three quarters of Dutch want to be able to manage online reservations in hospitality industry themselves

Consumers book faster at restaurants with online reservation options

Over three quarters (77%) of Dutch consumers think it is important to be able to change or cancel a reservation made online in the hospitality industry themselves. Also, almost nine in ten (87%) are more likely to make a reservation at a restaurant that has an online reservation system. This is according to a collective survey by checkout and payment platform Lightspeed Commerce Inc. (NYSE: LSPD) (TSX: LSPD) and reservation software Zenchef, conducted among 1,140 consumers and 250 hospitality operators in the Netherlands.

When consumers amend their reservations, almost two-thirds (62%) do so online, with 46 per cent of them using a reservation app and 16 per cent on the website where they made the reservation. In addition, almost a quarter (24%) call the restaurant to cancel and only 10 per cent do so via email. Only three per cent do not cancel. Of the restaurant operators surveyed, 22 per cent said they ask guests for a deposit at the time of booking.  

Online booking tools can no longer be ignored in hospitality experience 

When searching for a new restaurant, various sources of information are consulted. Three quarters of consumers (76%) discover restaurants through friends and family, 68 per cent consult social media for this purpose and 59 per cent use Google. Culinary websites such as those of Gault&Millau and Michelin are also popular among consumers. As many as a third (34%) search for new restaurants on these. A fifth say they find new restaurants through apps to discover restaurants (22%), through websites such as TheFork, Resengo and Tripadvisor (21%) or through magazines or newspapers (20%).

"The positive effects of the digitisation of the hospitality sector are clearly also being felt by guests," states Edgar Rouwenhorst, CMO at Zenchef. "Online booking gives guests full control over their bookings, offering an unparalleled combination of convenience and flexibility. Booking tools linked to platforms or apps can also give restaurants access to a wider audience."

Emine Youssef, Regional Director Benelux Hospitality at Lightspeed, adds: "That consumers have become accustomed to online reservations shows how integrated these tools have now become in our society as well as in the POS systems of hospitality businesses. This not only reduces the workload of hospitality operators, but also provides them with useful information about reservations, such as guest preferences and returning customers."