Take Table Reservations on WhatsApp with Eat App

This recipe takes a table request on WhatsApp, Instagram or web chat to a confirmed reservation in Eat App. Part of the Eat App integration.

What happens today

At 6pm a guest messages: “table for 4 at 8 tonight?” The host is seating guests and the phone is ringing. The message is read at 7.30pm, the 8pm slot has gone, and the reply offers 9.15pm. The guest has already booked somewhere else.

The flow that works

The guest asks for a table. AeroChat gets the date, time and party size, asking only for what is missing.
It checks availability in Eat App and offers the time, or the two nearest free times.
The guest picks one. AeroChat creates the reservation in Eat App with the name, phone number and notes.
It confirms the booking with the address and your hold policy.

The recipe

Copy this into AeroChat

When a guest asks to book a table, follow these steps.

Find out the date, time and number of people. If they say “tonight” or “this Friday”, work out the date.

Check availability in Eat App for that party size. If the time is free, offer it. If not, offer the two nearest free times on the same day.

When they choose, ask for the name for the booking and whether there is an occasion or a need we should know about, such as a birthday, a high chair or an allergy.

Create the reservation in Eat App with their name, phone number, party size and notes.

Confirm the date, time, party size and our address, and tell them we hold the table for 15 minutes (example).

For groups of more than 10 (example), do not book. Collect the date, size and occasion and hand the conversation to our team. Never book a time Eat App does not show as free. Reply in the guest’s language.

Change the group limit and hold time to your own before you paste it.

What to connect

Eat App. Ask Eat App support or your account manager to turn on API access and give you the API key. Enter it in the AeroChat dashboard when asked. Set how many covers you release for booking in Eat App itself, if you also take walk-ins.
Your menu and policies. Upload your menu, opening hours, address and hold policy to the AeroChat knowledge base.

Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.

Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.

What you still decide

The largest party that can book in chat.
How many covers you release for booking.
How long you hold a table, and whether special dates need a deposit.

The result to expect

Requests that arrive during service get a reservation in a minute instead of a reply after the rush. Your host stops typing messages during the busiest hour. Compare reservations made by message for a month before and after.

Next: change or cancel a reservation. See also: restaurant table reservations.