New on the menu for Toast? Reservations
Summary:
1. Toast’s business has seen significant growth since the pandemic eased. They have added new features such as taking catering orders, employee scheduling, and ingredient price tracking. In 2022, the company brought in $2.7 billion, and analysts forecast a 33 percent gain to $3.6 billion this year.
2. Toast is expanding into the reservations business and taking on popular apps like OpenTable and Resy. The new feature, called Toast Tables, allows restaurants to let diners make reservations or join a waiting list from their website or app. It can also be integrated into Google Search and Google Maps listings.
3. OpenTable and Resy are already dominant players in the reservation space. OpenTable, founded in 1998 and acquired by Priceline in 2014, is the market leader by volume with 36.1 million visits to their website and mobile apps in March. Resy, founded in 2014 and acquired by American Express in 2019, had 10.6 million visitors in March.
4. Toast already has a significant amount of web traffic. In March, they had 42.1 million visits, according to Similarweb.
5. Analysts believe that adding reservation services will help Toast grow, but it is not considered a game-changing revenue stream. Toast has a history of adding new services successfully, such as online ordering and operations management.
6. Shares of Toast fell 2.43 percent to $17.25 in market trading on Tuesday. However, shares have only declined 2 percent so far in 2023.
Questions:
- How has Toast’s business been performing since the pandemic eased?
Toast’s business has been booming, driven by new features added for restaurant clients and saw revenue of $2.7 billion in 2022. - What new feature has Toast added?
Toast has added reservation services, called Toast Tables, to compete with OpenTable and Resy. - Which apps is Toast competing against with their new reservation services?
Toast is competing against OpenTable and Resy. - Who is the market leader in the reservation space?
OpenTable is the market leader with 36.1 million visits to their website and apps in March. - How many visitors did Resy have in March?
Resy had 10.6 million visitors in March. - How much web traffic does Toast already have?
Toast had 42.1 million visits in March. - What do analysts say about adding reservation services to Toast?
Analysts believe that it will help Toast grow, but it is not considered a game-changing revenue stream. - What happened to Toast’s shares in market trading on Tuesday?
Toast’s shares fell 2.43 percent to $17.25 on Tuesday. - What is the current decline in Toast’s shares for 2023?
Shares have only declined 2 percent so far in 2023. - What is the email address to reach Aaron Pressman?
Aaron Pressman can be reached at [email protected]. - What online platforms does Taps + Tables integrate with?
Taps + Tables specializes in integrations with various restaurant and brewery software systems. - What are some examples of the software systems that Taps + Tables integrates with?
Taps + Tables integrates with automated daily menu imports from Toast, Toast gift cards, Toast Delivery Services, and more. - What services can restaurants connect to with Taps + Tables?
Restaurants can connect to DoorDash, Uber Eats, and other food delivery services. - What are some advantages of integrating current tech stack into a website?
Integrating current tech stack into a website can take it to the next level and save time every day. - What types of systems can Taps + Tables integrate with?
Taps + Tables can integrate with menu systems, takeout/delivery systems, and reservation systems.
New on the menu for Toast? Reservations
Since the pandemic eased, Toast’s business has been booming, driven in part by new features it added for restaurant clients like taking catering orders, employee scheduling, and ingredient price tracking. The company brought in $2.7 billion in 2022, up 60 percent from 2021; analysts forecast another 33 percent gain to $3.6 billion this year.
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New on the menu for Toast? Reservations.
The Boston-based restaurant tech platform has added reservation services. But beating OpenTable and Resy won’t be easy.
By Aaron Pressman Globe Staff, Updated April 25, 2023, 2:22 p.m.
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Boston restaurant technology company Toast is expanding into the reservations business, taking on OpenTable and Resy, popular apps with deep-pocketed owners.
The new feature, dubbed Toast Tables, extends Toast’s cloud software so that restaurants can let diners make reservations or join a waiting list from a website or app. The feature can also be integrated into a restaurant’s listings on Google Search and Google Maps, Toast said.
“Reservation and waitlist management capabilities have moved from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have’ for many restaurants in recent years,” Toast chief operating officer Aman Narang said in a statement.
Since the pandemic eased, Toast’s business has been booming, driven in part by new features it added for restaurant clients like taking catering orders, employee scheduling, and ingredient price tracking. The company brought in $2.7 billion in 2022, up 60 percent from 2021; analysts forecast another 33 percent gain to $3.6 billion this year.
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Breaking into the reservation space, already dominated by the two top players, won’t be easy.
Founded in 1998, San Francisco’s OpenTable was the pioneering online reservation service. The company was acquired for $2.6 billion in 2014 by Priceline, now known as Booking Holdings. Resy was founded in 2014 in New York and acquired by American Express in 2019 for an undisclosed amount.
OpenTable is the market leader by volume, with 36.1 million visits to its website and mobile apps in March, up 3 percent over the past six months, according to data from research firm Similarweb. Resy had 10.6 million visitors in March, up 2 percent.
Toast, which takes online orders for restaurants, already has more Web traffic with 42.1 million visits in March, according to Similarweb.
Analyst Eugene Simuni at SVB MoffettNathanson, noted that Toast has been successful in the past by adding new services such as online ordering and operations management.
“This is just another one like that will also help them grow,” he said. “It strengthens their platform and a makes it a little more attractive. The revenue stream is small, though. It’s not game changing.”
Shares of Toast fell 2.43 percent to $17.25 in market trading Tuesday. Shares have declined 2 percent so far in 2023.
Aaron Pressman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ampressman.
Integrate all of your restaurant + brewery software into a single website
Get better data, increase web traffic, and boost profitability
There are many software systems behind the modern restaurant and brewery.
Trying to tie them all together is something that takes time and patience.
Taps + Tables specializes in restaurant and brewery software integrations so that your website branding is all yours, but the power behind it is drawn from all of your third-party add-ons.
The below are just some of the systems that we’ve integrated in the past. Have something not on the list you want to be a part of your site? Just ask!
We power your website with the tools you’ve already selected, making your site easy to build, easy to use, and easy to maintain.
Take a look at some of the software platforms that Taps + Tables integrates with below.
Take your website to the next level while saving yourself time every day by integrating your current tech stack into your website. Let Taps + Tables show you how.
Menu Systems
- Automated daily menu imports from Toast
- Use Toast gift cards
- Use Toast Delivery Services
- Loyalty program
- Gift cards
- Up to the minute tap list on your site
- Pull info on your beers from Untappd
Takeout / Delivery
- Connect your restaurant to DoorDash, Uber Eats and others
- Increase revenue with a trusted food delivery service
Reservation systems
- Use popular reservation widgets on your site
- Get a discount from your reso system having links coming from your site
- Custom events, pre-charges, and ticketed events available
Private events
- Manage your dining rooms
- Collect all necessary data from potential customers
- Calendars, menus, contact CRM and more
Event calendars & ticketing
- Add your restaurant or brewery calendar to your website
- Sell tickets to concerts or dinners
- Promote one-off or recurring events
- Many platforms available
Email list management
- Collect email addresses through forms on site
- Let us design templates for email blasts
- Custom drip campaigns to stay in touch with new customers
Loyalty + Rewards Programs
- Collect frequent customer information for targeted campaigns
- Rewards points collected and tracked through free customer app
- Push notifications, texts (SMS), emails through app
- Online ordering for takeout and delivery available
Custom integrations
If you are using something that offers an open API, we can plug it into your site and make it work for you the way you want it to. Let’s talk!
Toast to a smoother FOH with our new integration
Great news! Yelp has partnered with Toast, the most popular point of sale (POS) system out there. Toast will now fully integrate with Yelp Guest Manager to provide a seamless, smooth interface for the perfect front-of-house (FOH) experience. It’s here, and we’re pretty excited. So we’d like to tell you all about it.
We’ve been working with Toast to ensure perfect integration with Guest Manager. Users of Guest Manager have been asking us to provide this feature for a while, and we’re happy to oblige. Yelp Guest Manager Plus customers will be able to access the integration beginning May 1, 2023—which is pretty soon.
So if you’re looking to centralize your FOH tech and make your service as efficient as possible, you’re in the right place. Let’s jump into what restaurateurs can expect and just how this match made in heaven will look on Earth.
Streamlining FOH operations
Having a POS system that integrates with Guest Manager makes life easier. Previously, restaurants that wanted to use Guest Manager and Toast had to use two different systems, which was a draw on time and energy. We get that. Combining the two services into a single centralized system was the only clear option. So that’s what we’ve done.
Whereas previously servers using Guest Manager and Toast would have to mark tables on two separate screens, they’ll be integrated into one system. Busy restaurants and their staff are always pressed for time. Combining the two saves time, prevents mistakes, and helps centralize data to be analyzed later.
Chaos is a constant in a restaurant—often fun, energizing chaos, but it’s hectic nonetheless. Reducing that chaos wherever possible to ensure that your restaurant can run smoothly is the way forward. The less your FOH staff has to worry about, the better they’ll serve your customers, leading to happier diners and frequent returns.
Building confidence
When restaurant staff begin a shift knowing the tools they have are the right ones for the job, they’re more confident. Confidence shows in service—customers know when staff are stressed or happy. Staff who feel well supported are also more loyal to their workplaces, reducing turnover. More efficient tools help reduce mistakes, which makes both staff and customers happy. And that’s definitely the case with Guest Manager and Toast pairing, which will consolidate inputs.
Having the right tools is crucial to success in any endeavor, and that’s especially true in the service industry right now, which is undergoing a tech arms race of sorts. Staying ahead of the curve can put you ahead of competition and bring customers in the door—and help ensure they come back. Turning new diners into repeat customers is the way to consistent success and increased profits.
Servers can rely on some of the best guest data tools in the business. This data helps servers understand their customers. Remembering a customer’s favorite drink or their birthday, for example, can lead to exceptional guest experiences. When people feel remembered, they feel appreciated and they want to keep coming back. A token of recognition, like a complimentary dessert on their birthday, is a sure way to endear diners to your restaurant.
What does a great FOH system look like?
A great FOH system prioritizes guest experience above all else. That means making it as easy as possible for guests to access your restaurant and enjoy their time dining. Your FOH system helps make that all-important good first impression, so having your ducks in a row means happy customers.
Being able to accept online reservations, waitlists, and check-ins is crucial. Long gone are the days of messy phone calls and paper reservations or walk-in waitlists. Instead, guests can now make reservations that get entered into the restaurant’s system automatically. Similarly, guests can check a restaurant’s wait times and hop on a waitlist without even visiting the restaurant first, cutting down on the amount of time guests spend uncertain and hungry. Of course, getting those wait times right is important. Fortunately, Yelp Guest Manager quotes wait times with up to 96% accuracy.¹
Guest Manager seamlessly handles all that to save FOH staff time and headaches. For smaller restaurants especially, this can mean a lot of time saved for servers, who often double as hosts.
A good FOH system also helps a restaurant boost its online presence. When paired with Yelp Ads and the Yelp Business page, Guest Manager can be a powerful ally. Restaurants that start using Guest Manager paired with Yelp Ads experience up to 2.3 times the traffic on their Yelp Business Page.²
For restaurateurs wondering just how broad Yelp’s reach is, well, it’s pretty significant. Just for reference, Yelp reaches more consumers online than OpenTable.³ You’d be able to reach the largest restaurant guest network in the U.S. with Yelp Guest Manager plus Reserve with Google. Just think about how much easier your marketing efforts could get with instant access to that type of audience.
Integrating Yelp Guest Manager and Toast makes for a perfect match—both for customer experience and restaurant efficiency.
Who is eligible for the Yelp + Toast combo?
Restaurateurs with a Yelp Guest Manager Plus subscription who use the Toast POS system and are subscribed to Toast Partner Connect are eligible for the coming upgrade. If that sounds like you, then you’re in the money.⁴ Speaking of money, there’s no change in pricing when you upgrade.
Whether you’re running a new operation, a local restaurant, or a multi-location restaurant, Guest Manager paired with Toast will make life easier. You can count on that.
Toast to a smoother FOH
If you’re ready to get to the next level of FOH management, this news is for you. Using great tools is a good look. Customers might think you’re pretty clever too. If you’re interested in switching over to the best in the biz, be sure to reach out to us for a free demo .
