‘Reserve for Google’ now open for SA diners – here’s how it works

Great news, South African diners can now make restaurant reservations directly through Google Search, Google Maps or Google Assistant with Reserve for Google.

South African company Dineplan has introduced reservations management software which has been integrated with Reserve for Google.

Dineplan originally developed back-end software for restaurants to use as their electronic reservation book and later enabled instant bookings for diners via the Dineplan booking widget on restaurant websites.

The Reserve for Google feature allows customers to search for availability at their favourite restaurants and make a reservation via Google by clicking the “reserve a table” button under the business profile of their favourite restaurant.

The “reserve a table” button will open up a page which allows the customer to fill in details of their reservation, such as the number of guests, the date of the reservation and the time of reservation.

If the customer’s desired booking times and dates are not available, they can choose another suitable available time slot, with options provided in various areas of the restaurant.

Talking to Mybroadband, Dineplan said the software helps customers plan their week and stay notified of their reservations.

Customer can also download the DinePlan app to make instant bookings or request bookings at restaurants from their smartphones. The app allows for customers to cancel, confirm or change their initial reservations.

“This will be hugely beneficial for restaurants as the convenience of booking online will help to drive more bookings and people into restaurants, all of which comes at a difficult period for restaurants in general with the Covid-19 pandemic,” Dinepan director Martin Rose said.

More than 300,000 bookings are already made at popular restaurants through Dineplan, 30% of which are made online.