Since launching Yelp Guest Manager, the Yelp for Restaurants team has continued to innovate to help restaurateurs simplify their front-of-house operations, deliver great guest experiences and grow diner traffic. Today, we’re announcing a series of new integrations and features for Yelp Guest Manager that will give restaurants access to the largest diner network,* and provide their front-of-house staff with even more control to help them run a smoother shift, turn tables more efficiently, and serve even more guests. Yelp Guest Manager now integrates with Toast to equip hosts with insights from the point of sale system; as well as integrates with Reserve with Google to enable diners to easily reserve a table, or join a waitlist, with restaurants in Yelp’s network directly from Google Search and Maps. Through our newest updates to Yelp Guest Manager, restaurant partners will now also be able to reduce empty tables by customizing credit card holds by shift, as well as better view and customize reservations directly from their Yelp for Business account.
As restaurants digitize their operations, they’re looking to create a seamless and connected guest experience. Today’s news helps restaurants achieve just that, according to Reggie Guerrero, corporate operations manager at Shabuya and Yelp Guest Manager customer: “Yelp Guest Manager helps us to keep our front-of-house running smoothly. These new integrations with Toast and Reserve with Google will add simplicity to our daily operations and help us reach and seat more diners.”
Streamlining Front-of-House Operations With Toast Integration
As staffing shortages continue to be a challenge across the restaurant industry, streamlining front-of-house operations has never been more critical. Yelp’s new integration with Toast – a cloud-based, all-in-one digital technology platform purpose-built for the entire restaurant community – helps Yelp Guest Manager clients seat guests efficiently and is designed to allow hosts to focus on hospitality and create better guest experiences. Restaurants can expect:
- Improved operational efficiency: Data integrations that help restaurants connect their tech stack and stay on top of the floor state
- Seat guests more efficiently by optimizing table turns: Automated table status updates frees up staff to focus on hospitality and seating guests quickly
- Integrated Data: Combining front-of-house and point of sale data surfaces dining trends and helps restaurants to strengthen guest relationships
Access the Largest Restaurant Consumer Network in the US with Yelp Guest Manager
Through Yelp Guest Manager’s new integration with Reserve with Google, more diners than ever before will be able to make a reservation or join a waitlist directly online at Yelp-served restaurants through Google Search and Google Maps.
For restaurants using Yelp Guest Manager, consumers will see either the current wait time or be prompted to make a reservation. After consumers make a booking, they can check details or manage their booking in the Yelp app.
New Yelp Guest Manager Features Provide Greater Control Over Front-of-House
Yelp Guest Manager helps restaurants manage their front-of-house operations and serve more diners. In addition to new integrations, Yelp Guest Manager has rolled out new features to help restaurateurs plan ahead to help increase efficiency, give staff more control, and prevent lost revenue due to empty tables:
- Credit Card Holds with Customizable Policies: With the latest update, restaurant owners can set credit card holds with policies for weekends, holidays, or special events, as well as customize what and when customers are charged for no shows or late cancellations.
- Advanced Reservation Planning Updates: Restaurant owners can now customize reservation settings, from diner reminders to host notifications. New updates also allow staff to easily search for upcoming reservations by guest’s name or phone number, making it easy to view, update or edit the reservation stat. Hosts can also now more easily plan upcoming reservations with Reservation Timeline, allowing them to smoothly accommodate walk-ins and reservation guests during service.
- Improved Table and Floor Management: New Table Suggestions ease FOH staff workload by auto-assigning each reservation based on party requirements, table size, and availability. It also warns hosts of scheduling conflicts, to prevent overbooking. Updated easy drag and drop features allow hosts to easily seat parties, combine, or change tables without extra taps. Managers can now assign upcoming reservations and block tables days in advance to prepare staff for the shifts ahead, as well as adjust restaurant capacity. Manager Table Blocks also keep certain tables from being booked online each day to reserve for walk-ins or VIPs during a chosen time period.
- Shift Management Improvements: New shift management features enable team leads to better prepare FOH staff based on the daily needs of the restaurant. New functionality includes the ability to build weekly recurring schedules, create one-off shifts for special days, and manage cover flow in advance to prepare for guests before their arrival.
As restaurants continue to embrace technology to improve operational efficiency, enhance the guest experience, and increase diner traffic and omnichannel models, they need a comprehensive solution, like Yelp Guest Manager, to help them manage every aspect of their front-of-house in a seamless and efficient way. To learn more about how to activate these integrations or access these new features, head to Yelp for Restaurants.
*Comscore Media Metrix®, based on Yelp and Reserve with Google collective monthly average number of visitors in the U.S. 2022 when compared to other Reserve with Google integrations.
