How to run a restaurant in the face of uncertainty
The hospitality industry is being hit hard. With small margins, any sustained drop in covers has a big impact. Nearly every restaurant has felt the impact and preparing for likely shifts to come. No matter what scenario you’re in, OpenTable is here to offer steps you can take based on what we’re seeing in the industry at large.
Updated July 7, 2020
Featured Resources
- If you’re in a city with forced shutdowns, change your schedule in OpenTable by adding a specific day schedule for the duration of the shutdown.
- If you’re in a city with mandatory capacity or large gathering restrictions, reconfigure your availability and adjust your floor plan to reflect changes.
- If you’re in a city that allows delivery or takeout, showcase those options.
- Stay aware of regulatory changes by contacting your local government business bureau.
2. Connect with guests
Guests’ behaviors are changing. You’ll want to stay in touch with guests who’ve already booked, while continuing to be discovered by those looking to dine out in cities where restaurants remain open.
- Call or email guests to cancel reservations, and remember to pause automated email campaigns.
- Keep guests informed about what services you’re offering, hours of service and precautions you’re taking on your OpenTable profile and your website.
- Update guests as you continue to shift your operations via email. Here’s how you can export your guest list.
- Monitor guest feedback and respond to guest concerns across all your channels.
3. Meet guests where they are by adjusting your services
People are understandably nervous. Make it easy for people to choose your restaurant and realign the way you operate during these uncharted times.
- Offer different table types to guests looking to keep their distance or even dine outdoors
- Turn on delivery and takeout options to let people know they can enjoy your delicious food without going out (see tips for moving to delivery and pickup only).
- Remind guests that they can support your restaurant by buying gift cards to use in the future.
- If you’ve converted your restaurant into a market, offer reserved shopping times and an online waitlist to manage shopper expectations and help your community maintain social distancing. (See how other restaurants are getting creative).
- Make sure you continue to manage your availability as mandates get expanded (see how to change for special days in OpenTable.)
- As you close availability, make sure you cancel any existing reservations so guests know.
- Simplify your menu items and consider pausing capital expenses.
4. Support your staff
With closures for dine and an increase in delivery and takeout orders, you will likely have a shift in staffing needs and staff members are likely to be concerned. There are ways to take care of them.
- Consider setting up or choosing an existing fund you want diners to support, using a fundraising platform such as Facebook , Fundly , or GoFundMe.
- Show diners how to give back to your restaurant on your OpenTable profile.
- Share unemployment and financial aid resources with your staff members to help them get through these tough times.
- Consider starting a GoFundMe or other relief fund to support the community.
- Have an on-call program so staff can get extra shifts if others are sick.
5. Encourage increased cleanliness
The more you can do to go above and beyond to protect your guests and reassure them about your hygiene efforts, the better.
- ServSafe is offering free online courses for restaurant staff about food handling precautions for takeout and delivery.
- Increase sanitation by keeping hand sanitizer at the entrance.
- Clean counters, handles, and bathrooms more frequently and thoroughly.
The state of the restaurant industry
As the COVID-19 pandemic keeps people home and some cities, states, and countries limit restaurant operations, our community of nearly 50,000 restaurants faces unprecedented challenges. We’ve summarized the data from the restaurants on our platform of year-over-year seated diners and are updating it daily.
“The world’s health and the health of our industry is at the front of our minds now. In times of economic uncertainty restaurants get hit hard. While we don’t know the complete impact at this time, one thing is for certain, we have the backs of our nearly 50,000 restaurant partners. We are in this together.”
Andrea Johnston, OpenTable COO