What gets in the way for a bar or café
The phone rings during the rush
At 7 pm on a Friday, nobody behind the bar has time to take a booking. The call rings out, and the group of eight books the bar across the street.
Groups are not a table for two
An after-work party of fifteen or a birthday takes a good part of the room. You need to see it coming, approve it and know where to seat it.
Keeping room for walk-ins
Opening the whole room to bookings means turning away regulars who drop by. You need to make only part of it bookable.
Nights that fill up
Match, gig, quiz: every request lands on the same night. Without a clear list, the same table gets promised twice.
How it works with Voxtya
- Pick how people book. Simple mode: a maximum capacity per time slot, in number of guests. Floor plan mode: your areas (room, terrace, mezzanine), your tables and their seats, with automatic seating at a free table.
- Keep room for walk-ins. In simple mode, set an online capacity lower than your real capacity (for example 30 bookable seats out of 60). In floor plan mode, only declare the tables you open to bookings. A booking holds its seats for its whole duration, not just at arrival time.
- Manage groups. Set a maximum party size: above it, the page asks the customer to contact you. Require manual approval from a given number of guests (for example 8) and let small tables confirm automatically.
- Set your bar hours. Time slots per day (from 5 pm on weekdays, from 3 pm on Saturdays), a booking duration (for example 2 hours) that frees the table afterwards, a minimum notice and your closing days.
- Confirmation, reminder, cancellation. Customers get an email confirmation then a reminder the day before, with a link to cancel within the notice you set. On full nights, the waitlist keeps requests on hold.
- Private hire on request. The quote request form, included in the service, collects the date, number of guests, budget and message: you reply with your offer.
Try the example
Try a booking page with a floor plan
Le Bistrot du Marché, a fictional restaurant in Lyon, uses floor plan mode: 9 tables in two areas. For a bar, it works the same with a “Terrace” or “Bar counter” area.
In practice
| Situation | Possible setting |
|---|---|
| Weekday after-work | Slots from 5:30 to 8 pm, 2-hour duration, automatic confirmation up to 7 guests |
| Saturday night | Reduced online capacity to keep the bar and part of the terrace for walk-ins |
| Match or gig night | Listed in the events agenda of your website (Website service), with the booking link |
| Birthday for 20 | Above the maximum party size: private hire request through the form |
Example settings: change them any time from your account.
Cocktail bar, wine bar, café: what changes
- Cocktail bar: bookings are mostly for groups and busy nights; keep the bar counter for walk-ins and make tables bookable.
- Wine bar: usually seated, with sharing boards; a longer booking duration (2.5 hours) avoids turning tables too early. The page Google reviews for wine shops covers the shop side.
- Café and tea room: online booking is for weekend brunch and small groups; on weekdays you can simply close the morning slots.
After the night out, the review request can be emailed the next day (delay adjustable): see Google reviews software for bars and cafés and the wheel of fortune for bars. For the menu and the events agenda, the bar and café website.
How much it costs
Bookings
€29/month
€23/month billed annually
Website + Bookings
€49/month
€39/month billed annually
No commission, no commitment, 30-day free trial (card required, nothing is charged before the trial ends). All prices: Pricing page.
30 days free
Booking software · Bar and café
Tables and terrace, groups approved by hand, room kept for walk-ins, no commission.
Read and try next
- Online booking without commission: how to set it up
- Booking cancellation policy: what to write and how to enforce it
- How to get more Google reviews for your bar or café
- Free Google visibility check
- Voxtya for a bar or café
- Google reviews for a bar or café
- Wheel of fortune for a bar or café
- Website for a bar or café