Food Services, Social Distancing, and How Table Reservations Solutions Can Help

Under normal circumstances and conditions, reservation and table management solutions serve to create the most efficient use of space, wait times, and traffic flow. Now in the age of social distancing when conditions are not ideal, and when many organizations are looking to resume operations in higher ed, restaurant and other hospitality environments, managing line-ups and traffic takes on a whole new importance.

So, how do advanced table and dining management solutions make this more efficient to serve the standard challenges foodservice operations face, as well as the new ones presented by social distancing requirements? Here are some selected benefits that these kinds of solutions can unlock.

Guide how to manage traffic flow and space management

The right reservations and table management solution helps to align its capacity for booking along with prescribed social distancing limitations. That allows staff to more effectively manage how many guests can be in one space at any given time on a viewable schedule as to who is being served and who is about to be served.

Messaging and texting functionality also allows teams to better communicate with guests who are waiting for a table, so that they are alerted to when it’s their turn to enter. A visual floor map of a location helps to put all this into a user-friendly layout, so that it’s easier for staff to concentrate on serving guests and property maintenance without being preoccupied about social distancing demands. When a reservations and table management solution is implemented, the system does that for them.

Redefine where service can be staged

Social distancing requirements have called for food services organizations and food and beverage operations in other sectors to rethink their spaces as a whole. This often means that spaces that aren’t normally associated with delivering these kinds of services – like a college gym, or an outdoor space for instance – need to be adapted to that purpose. With the right technology that exercise is much more easily achieved.

Any decent reservations solutions for food services will allow for floor mapping of any given space, including those that are not normally used as the site for delivering that kind of service. This lends a great deal of operational flexibility to implement as needed when spaces like this need to be adapted for food services and helps to provide a more relaxed environment for guests, too.

Organize reservations according to governmental guidelines

Reservations management solutions should enable food services operations to more easily align with regional or municipal guidelines. During a time when college and university spaces and other sectors are beginning to open up, this is essential. What’s needed is a strict level of precision which is difficult if not impossible to achieve on the fly.

Guidelines of this sort will vary from region to region. With those varied restrictions and maximum attendance numbers in place, a reservations management solution should allow organizations to adhere to those governmental policies restrictions in each concept automatically. Once again, the software does the heavy lifting, and staff can concentrate on what they do best – make guests feel comfortable and to create the best possible experience during their time in each location.

Achieving precision and flexibility in all conditions

The right reservations management solution allows food services operations to manage wait times, bookings, and overall best use of a space in all conditions. In spaces like college cafeterias, your local restaurant, or any other space where social distancing is a mandate, having that kind of specialized functionality to hand is paramount to success.

To find out more about what an advanced table and reservations management solution can do for food services organizations and other spaces, read more here.