SevenRooms vs. OpenTable - which platform will be better for my business? This is a common question restaurant owners ask when looking to improve their online reservations and guest experiences.
Both OpenTable and SevenRooms offer tools for the hospitality industry - online ordering, reservations, guest management, marketing, and more. While they can both be used to optimize a business’s guest experience and online presence, each platform has other key capabilities that set it apart.
Let’s look at both options, break down their functions, and determine which solution is better for you. As a side note - if you regularly host events at your restaurant, check out Perfect Venue’s platform for event management.
About SevenRooms
SevenRooms is a reservation and guest management platform designed for restaurants. Hospitality operators use it to gain deeper insights into guests and improve the guest experience. More specifically, the solution provides tools to acquire and retain customers online and improve production management.
Using the software’s functionality, restaurants can offer online reservations, scheduled deliveries, and pickups to customers. There are also features to support waitlist management, events and experiences, and secure online payments.
SevenRooms primary difference with OpenTable is that it does not have a guest facing app so it will not help drive new diners. However, it has more robust backend analytics than OpenTable.
Who is it Suited to?
SevenRooms is suitable for larger hospitality operators looking to streamline operations, build an online presence, and develop customer relationships. SevenRooms customers include restaurants, hotels, enterprises, nightclubs and bars, sports and entertainment venues, membership clubs, breweries, and wineries.
Top Features
Let’s break down a few of the platform's key features:
- CRM: At its core, SevenRooms is a CRM system for the hospitality industry, helping venues understand how to serve their guests. You can use the CRM to build guest profiles, customize guest tags, and for database segmentation.
- Delivery and pickup: Restaurants can use the digital ordering tool on their websites and third-party systems. Guest data is collected with each order.
- Reservations: An online reservations tool that collects useful guest data.
- Waitlist management: Online waitlists that guests can join through the queue management app.
- Events and experiences: Create online events that guests can book.
- Mobile online ordering and pay: Contactless tools let guests order and make secure online payments through QR codes on their devices.
- Operations tools: Connect to your POS system or your pickup and delivery process to streamline operations.
- Feedback: Automated feedback forms to capture guest feedback.
- Review aggregation: Track and analyze all of your online reviews.
- Marketing automation: Set up automated marketing workflows to communicate with guests. Segment your leads and access marketing stats to inform marketing strategies.
- Reporting features: To better understand your customers.
Despite the long features list, we can’t help but notice that this software leans towards marketing. For venues interested in solutions that support event planning and organization, it appears that several critical features are missing, including templates, automatic emails, and a centralized calendar view.
Pricing
SevenRooms isn’t transparent with pricing, and you will need to contact their team to get a quote. However, we hear that pricing starts at around $6,000/year.
While they don’t offer a free version of the software, you can trial it for free before signing up.
About OpenTable
OpenTable is an online reservations system for the restaurant industry. The software includes an app that customers can use to discover restaurants in their area. The app is a space where diners can read restaurant reviews, make direct online bookings, and process secure online payments.
For restaurants, OpenTable provides data on guests and bookings. Venues can capture guest information to understand their customers, manage bookings, and attract new diners.
Who is it Suited to?
OpenTable is suitable for restaurants, bars, cafes, and other hospitality businesses that want to streamline their booking process. The online reservation system is also used by customers looking to discover and book restaurants.
OpenTable has an extensive network of users and venues, so it’s an ideal platform for improving restaurant visibility - this is its main advantage over SevenRooms.
Top Features
OpenTable’s features aim to improve a restaurant’s online presence. The list includes:
- Reservations: First and foremost, OpenTable is an online reservations solution with an extensive network of users worldwide.
- Marketing: Thanks to the platform's large network, listing on OpenTable can increase brand visibility.
- Operations: Access online waitlists and accurate turn times to improve operations.
- Takeout: Customizable takeout menus, advance ordering, and more.
- Experiences: Restaurants can advertise their own branded event on OpenTable.
- Reputation: Reputation management tools to manage your online presence.
- Relationships: Tools to reward loyalty and improve guest relationships.
- Integrations: OpenTable integrates with POS system email marketing platforms, content management systems, and booking ad delivery partners.
In general, OpenTable’s features focus on taking reservations. If this isn’t your software end goal, it’s worth considering an alternative.
Pricing
Unlike SevenRooms, OpenTable is more transparent with pricing. It has three different pricing plan options:
- Basic: Free for 30 days, then $1.50 per network cover or $49/month flat fee
- Core: $249/month
- Pro: $449/month
SevenRooms vs. OpenTable - Which is Best?
Comparing OpenTable vs. SevenRooms shows how similar, yet different, these platforms are.
SevenRooms offers a more comprehensive tool for understanding and managing guest data to improve marketing and the guest experience. It’s mainly a CRM for the hospitality industry. You can use it to take control of third-party services, schedule reservations, and develop guest relationships.
On the other hand, OpenTable is more focused on online bookings and increasing visibility for restaurants. It also offers insights into guests, but not to the level that SevenRooms does.
So, if maximizing restaurant reservations is your goal, then perhaps look into OpenTable. If you want guest engagement solutions to support retention, then SevenRooms may be better.
If you’re after an event management platform where you can receive inquiries, send proposals, get paid, and more, try out Perfect Venue. We can offer you affordable pricing, intuitive features, attentive customer support, and more. Did we mention the free trial - no demo required?
