Two weeks before the final
A big final is coming and your phone does not stop. Everyone wants a table with a view of the big screen. Groups book on the phone, by message and at the bar, and you write them in the diary. Some want to know whether food is included. Some ask to hold a table for twenty people.
On the day, the pub fills an hour before kick-off. Three booked tables are empty at kick-off because those groups never turn up, and nobody knows whether to give them away. A group that booked by message is not in the diary. People with no booking stand at the back and buy fewer drinks because they cannot see.
Why match days are hard to book
A match-day booking is not like a dinner reservation. The whole room wants the same slot, table position matters because of the screens, and groups are bigger and change size at the last minute. Most pub table booking tools are designed for dining, with time slots and covers, not for a single fixture where people arrive early and stay for hours.
No-shows are common because booking costs nothing. People book in several pubs and choose on the day. Without a deposit or a clear release time, you cannot fill those tables with confidence.
The cost of a chaotic match day
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| No-shows on the best tables | Lost trade on the busiest afternoon |
| Bookings in several places | Tables promised twice |
| No table plan with screen views | Arguments about who was promised what |
| Staff taking bookings all week | Time lost answering the same questions |
| No food pre-orders | Kitchen overwhelmed at half-time |
Big fixtures are some of the few days in the year when the pub could be full from open to close. Every empty booked table at kick-off is trade you turned away at the door, and every customer who stands at the back unable to see is less likely to come back for the next one.
There is a staffing side too. Without knowing how many are really coming, the rota for match day is a guess, and it is usually wrong in the direction that makes the bar queue longest.
Match-by-match bookings
- A match calendar on your website lists upcoming fixtures you are showing, and staff can add or remove matches.
- For each fixture, a table plan shows which tables can see which screens, and customers choose a table size or area when they book.
- You choose the booking rules per match: free, a deposit taken through Stripe and redeemable at the bar, or a pre-paid package such as a table with food.
- Confirmation and reminders go by email or text, with a clear note of the time by which the table must be claimed.
- On the day, staff see the plan on a tablet, mark tables as arrived, and release unclaimed tables at the time you set.
- Food pre-orders can be taken with the booking, so the kitchen knows what to prepare for half-time.
- After the match, bookings, no-shows and trade are recorded against the fixture, so you know which matches are worth the effort.
What you show and how you show it depends on your own subscriptions and licences, which are for you to manage. We build the booking side.
The next final
Bookings open on the website with a small deposit. The best tables go in the first day. On the day, staff mark arrivals on the tablet. Two tables unclaimed at the release time are given to groups waiting at the door. The kitchen has the pre-orders. The deposits redeemed at the bar show up in the till.
- Every match booking in one place
- Fewer empty tables at kick-off
- A plan that shows who sits where and what they can see
- A record of which fixtures fill the pub
Is match day like this at your pub?
- Big fixtures bring a flood of table requests by phone and message.
- Booked tables are empty at kick-off.
- You have promised the same table twice.
- Your booking tool is designed for dinner, not for a match.
- The kitchen is swamped at half-time with no warning.