Create a booking
Add a reservation for a guest who calls, writes or visits, and choose the date, time, tables and guest details.
You can add a booking from the booking monitor in a few clicks. Dineout suggests tables for you and warns you if you are about to double book.
Start a new booking
Open Monitor. Click New booking at the top right.
You can also click an empty spot on the timeline. The time and table are then filled in for you. In the rooms view, click a table and click New booking.
Set the date, time, duration and guests
Choose a Date, a Time, a Duration and the number of Guests.
- Dates start from today. Use the calendar button to pick a date further away.
- Times go in steps of 15 minutes.
- Duration starts at your online seating duration. See Online booking settings.
- Guests starts at 2.
Check the tables
Dineout picks suggested tables when you change the time or the number of guests. Under Tables you can see the minimum and maximum guests for the tables you picked.
- Selected tables are green.
- Red tables are not free at that time.
- A small green dot marks a suggested table.
Click a table to add or remove it. Use Select suggested or Select all available to pick several at once. If you opened the form from a table, that table is chosen and Dineout does not change it for you.
Add the guest details
Fill in Guest name, Mobile and Email. Add an Employee name if you want to record who took the booking. Fields marked with a star are required.
Tick Send SMS and Send Email to send the guest a confirmation. The mobile number must be valid and able to receive texts.
Add notes (optional)
Click Add guest note for something the guest asked for. Click Add internal note for a note only your team sees.
Save
Click Save. The monitor jumps to the new booking.
Status of the new booking
A new booking starts as New booking. You can change Status before you save, for example to put the guest on the waiting list. See Booking statuses explained and Use the waiting list.
Confirmation messages
Dineout sends the email if you ticked Send Email and the address is valid. It sends the SMS if you ticked Send SMS and the number can receive texts. Send SMS starts ticked when SMS confirmation is switched on in your settings.
No confirmation is sent for waiting list bookings. If you send a payment link, the guest gets the link instead of a confirmation. See Send a payment link and Booking confirmations, reminders and staff emails.
Payment link
If your company has a payment provider connected, you also see Send payment link when you create a booking. Use it to ask for a no show fee or a pre-payment right away.
Warnings you may see
- No tables are selected. Do you want to continue? You can save a booking without a table and add one later.
- Table selection will result in double booking. Do you want to continue? One of the tables is already taken at that time. Click OK to book anyway, or cancel and choose another table.
- Restaurant is closed appears if the day is set to Restaurant closed. See Close online bookings or change one day.