Trying to stand out in the competitive London restaurant scene is no easy task, especially in popular neighbourhoods like Soho. One way fine dining spot Park Row makes itself noticeable is with a DC Comics theme heavily influenced by everyone’s favourite caped crusader, Batman.
But even with an impressive comic book angle, excellent service and high-quality cuisine, Park Row continually looks for ways to edge out the competition. That’s where OpenTable helps, providing Park Row with the tools it needs to boost demand and increase bookings.
Striking the right chord
Park Row is no stranger to restaurant reservation systems, but with OpenTable it found the Robin to its Batman. The team emphasises the exposure OpenTable offers, which is particularly important in dining hotspots like Soho, where competition for diners is high.
Director of Communications Stuart Singer says: “Tourists, which make up a significant number of restaurant guests, can type in Soho or Piccadilly when searching for a restaurant on OpenTable, and we’re there in the results. Or if they look for fine dining restaurants, again, we feature.”
The ability for guests to leave reviews is also particularly beneficial for Park Row. Singer notes that previous options didn’t have a user-review setting, so Park Row wasn’t able to display the great feedback coming from diners.
With OpenTable, however, guests can leave a review, which is visible to anyone browsing the restaurant’s profile page. Singer notes the importance of being able to see feedback. “Park Row has some of the best reviews on OpenTable, and we want people to see the positive comments,” he says.
Familiarity breeds success
Expanding reach is a primary aim for any restaurant, but there are other benefits to using a restaurant booking system like OpenTable. After using it at previous restaurants, Singer found that many of his staff were already familiar with OpenTable.
“There was no need to train people on using OpenTable, as the majority already had experience with the system. Having that understanding of how it works has improved the team’s confidence, and familiarity definitely breeds success.”
Crafting an experience
As a themed restaurant, the experience guests receive is vital to their visit. Park Row offers fans of DC the ultimate set of Easter eggs while also appealing to guests with no idea about the Batman universe.
One way it does this is by tapping into OpenTable’s Experiences feature, something Singer uses when advertising Park Row. “We can promote our unique experiences, such as Gotham City Sundays, and use the boost feature to put some promotion behind it.
“Plus, the Experiences function means we can offer pre-ticketed events and take the revenue before we open. This allows us to create a guest list and monitor all our numbers so we can assign those tickets to an existing table plan.”
The combination of features like Experiences to cater to guests’ needs and Boost campaign, which highlights a restaurant in search results, has allowed Park Row to increase bookings between 20% and 23%.
Summary
Booking systems for restaurants play an integral role in giving diners easy access to get a table. And the right restaurant reservation system can also help restaurants build profiles and bring in more business. In the case of Park Row, using OpenTable has helped increase their profile and boost bookings by almost a quarter, ensuring this DC-themed joint is always a busy spot right in the heart of central London.
Read the full story on how Park Row restaurant really came into their own with OpenTable