Real numbers from a real Garden Route restaurant
More Reservations
Online bookings vs phone
Fewer No-Shows
With SMS reminders
Saved Weekly
No more phone tag
Google Rating
Up from 4.2 stars
Our client runs a popular 80-seat restaurant on the Garden Route. During peak tourist season (December-January), they're one of the busiest spots in town. But their reservation system was stuck in the 1990s - a physical booking diary and a phone that never stopped ringing.
The problem: Staff spent 3+ hours daily answering calls, manually checking availability, and scribbling bookings in a diary. Double-bookings happened weekly. No-shows cost them thousands in lost revenue. And potential customers who couldn't get through? They just went somewhere else.
Waiters were answering booking calls mid-service, degrading the dining experience for guests already in the restaurant.
25-30% of reservations simply didn't pitch. No reminders, no way to fill cancelled tables, no accountability.
Paper diaries + multiple staff = chaos. At least once a week, two parties would arrive for the same table at the same time.
Tourists planning trips from Joburg or Cape Town wanted to book at 10pm. But the phone went to voicemail at 6pm.
Their menu changed seasonally, but the PDF on their Facebook page was 2 years old. Customers arrived expecting dishes that no longer existed.
Modern, fast, and built to handle peak season traffic
Frontend & SSR
Database & Auth
Live Availability
Automated Reminders
Styling
Edge Hosting
Why this stack? Next.js gives us lightning-fast page loads (critical for mobile users on the go). Supabase handles real-time availability updates so two people can't book the same table. And edge hosting on Vercel means the site loads fast whether you're in Mossel Bay or Munich.
Every feature designed to fill more tables with less effort
Customers see live availability and book instantly - no phone calls, no waiting. The system knows table capacities, existing bookings, and blocked dates. Select party size, pick a time slot, done. Works beautifully on mobile because that's how 78% of their bookings come in.
Every booking triggers a confirmation email. Then 24 hours before: SMS reminder. 2 hours before: final reminder. Each message includes a one-tap link to cancel or modify. No-shows dropped from 28% to 11% in the first month.
A simple admin panel lets staff update the menu in minutes. Add seasonal specials, mark items as sold out, update prices. Changes go live immediately. No more "sorry, we don't have that anymore" conversations.
Dedicated section for private dining, wine evenings, and special events. Customers can enquire about exclusive bookings with all details captured - no back-and-forth emails. The restaurant can showcase upcoming events and take deposits online.
A clear daily view of all bookings: who's coming, what time, party size, special requests (allergies, birthdays, anniversaries). Staff can add walk-ins, modify bookings, and see real-time cover counts. Export to print for old-school backup.
High-quality food photography integrated throughout the site. Each menu item can have its own photo. Because people eat with their eyes first - and Instagram-worthy dishes drive bookings.
When two tourists in different cities try to book the last 7pm table simultaneously, who wins? Without proper handling, both could complete bookings - disaster. We implemented optimistic locking at the database level with Supabase's row-level security.
During December peak, the restaurant might have 150+ bookings per day - that's 450+ SMS messages. We needed reliable delivery without breaking the bank.
78% of bookings come from mobile devices - often from tourists researching on the go. The booking flow needed to be thumb-friendly and fast, even on spotty 3G.
When tourists Google "best restaurant Garden Route" or "dinner Mossel Bay", we wanted our client showing up. Good food deserves good visibility.
24/7 online booking captured customers who previously gave up after getting voicemail. Tourists from other provinces now book weeks in advance.
Automated reminders and easy cancellation meant people either showed up or freed the table for someone else. No more empty tables with reserved signs.
Staff no longer spend half their day on the phone. That time now goes to what matters: serving guests and improving the food.
Better service (staff not distracted by phones) + no overbooking disasters = happier customers = better reviews. The virtuous cycle in action.
The owner's words: "I used to dread December because it meant chaos. Now it's our most profitable month and I actually enjoy it. The system just handles everything - I get a notification when someone books, and the reminders mean they actually show up. Why didn't I do this years ago?"
What we learned building booking systems
If your booking system isn't butter-smooth on a phone, you're losing customers. 78% of hospitality bookings happen on mobile devices. Design for thumbs first.
SMS costs a few cents. A no-show costs hundreds in lost revenue. Automated reminders aren't a nice-to-have - they're essential for any booking system.
Your phone might close at 6pm, but your customers are browsing at 10pm. Online booking captures demand you never knew existed.
Nothing frustrates diners more than arriving excited for a dish that doesn't exist anymore. Give staff an easy way to update menus, and they'll actually do it.
Whether you run a restaurant, guesthouse, tour company, or any hospitality business - we can build a booking system that works while you sleep. Let's talk about what you need.
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