2,000 restaurants use Livebookings

More than 2,000 restaurants have now joined Livebookings' cloud computing system, the service that enables managers to access their bookings through the internet.

The online booking and marketing programme will now be rolled out to 8,000 restaurants worldwide.

Users can view the status of their bookings, customer feedback and marketing on one screen. The reservation book, marketing calendar, bookings analytics, social networking applications and Livebookings Barometer are all set to a single real-time dashboard. This makes it easier to take more bookings, manage reporting and promote businesses effectively.

The Barometer component has recently been added and allows managers to find out what diners really think and benchmark their venue against the competition. The reporting tool means managers can look at booking levels in real time, fill quiet times, analyse the success of offers and pinpoint which customers would be most valuable to target for repeat business.

Livebookings says its system will save users time, increase venues' visibility and enable managers to focus on optimising capacity, profitability and customer satisfaction.

Online bookings increased by 40% in 2010 compared to 2009 and Livebookings delivered seven million diners last year.

"Better use of customer data is key to the success of tomorrow's restaurant," said Livebookings CEO Colin Tenwick.

"The restaurant sector must continue to innovate and we believe by streamlining operations and replicating the success of other industries that have moved to the cloud, restaurants will make the most of managing valuable customer data as well as matching consumer demand for an online presence."

The service will be launched to uK restaurants first, followed by markets such as Germany, Sweden and the US later this year.