Connecting the Dots: Adding ConnectSmart® Host to Your Front-of-House Operations

Host stands are no longer just podiums where guests are greeted, and silverware gets rolled: they are a critical piece of restaurant operations. They provide guests a first impression of your restaurant; it’s where hosts greet guests, check-in reservations, provide quotes for the waitlist, rotate sections to avoid overworking servers, pace seating to avoid overwhelming the kitchen,and direct off–premises guests and delivery drivers to pick up their orders. Host management is vital to a successful business!

Why would you ask someone to do all of that alone? Adding host stand solution software has become an indispensable tool for restaurants and hospitality businesses. Beyond quoting and seating, it can offer robust features for accurate quoting and reservations, streamlines operations and enhances the customer experience for both dine–in and off–premises guests. It’s like giving your host super-powers!

Adding ConnectSmart® Host to your restaurant provides all those things and more!

Key Features of ConnectSmart® Host

Accurate Quoting

Use data-driven insights to accurately predict quote times.

• Provides accurate quote times, preventing guests from walking away or becoming frustrated with an inaccurate pickup time.
• If guests join an online waitlist, an accurate quote is critical. Once a party walks in, they have information on their phone about their place in line and how long they have left to wait.
• Efficiently manages the waitlist by offering options like SMS text message notifications, two-way messages (if desired), and self-arrival for off–premises orders.

Reservation Management

Manage all of our reservations to keep your host stand organized and tidy. No more lost post-it notes from a phone call someone took during an earlier shift. A solid host management platform means you are able to have:

• Fully customizable availability plans for reservations. This ensures restaurants aren’t overwhelmed with reservations and have no room for walk-in parties.
• Provides multiple ways for guests to book a reservation:
  • In house
  • On your website
  • Via a third-party partner
  • Using a browser widget
• Creates custom availability plans for events (concerts, ball games, parades, etc.) or calendar events to ensure guests are informed on what’s available during those times.
• Uses the table assignment wizard to assign tables based on party size and preferences, optimizing seating arrangements.

Reporting and Analytics

Data is king; ConnectSmart® Host helps you make the most of your front-and-back-of-house data.

• Customizes a dashboard of metrics for the host stand and displays them in the kitchen, too (if also using ConnectSmart® Kitchen).
• Host stand metrics that allow operators to review longest waiting periods, quoting variances, table efficiency, and guest statistics such as where they joined the waitlist or booked their reservation.
• Build your guest book by storing customer information, preferences, and detailed guest and visit notes to personalize service.

Add an API to take advantage of a Customer Relationship Management Solution (CRM)

Our flexible API integrations mean you can customize ConnectSmart® Host for your restaurant.

• Implements a loyalty program to reward repeat customers and encourage return visits.
• Uses an API to help with marketing.
• Sends targeted marketing campaigns, such as promotional emails or SMS messages, to reach specific customer segments.

Benefits of ConnectSmart® Host

ConnectSmart® Host is part of a suite of solutions that connect the kitchen to the front of house and the dining room to the kitchen. Kitchen teams can see the waitlist, number of open menus, and more from any kitchen station. This prevents shouting and keeps kitchen teams in position.

The host also has insight into the kitchen when it comes to seated tables and their meal–stage status. Hosts can also see the status of off-premises orders, without walking out of position only to come back empty handed because an order wasn’t ready.

The obvious benefits of adding a host stand solution are still there, too:

• Streamlines operations, improves quoting, and increases table turns.
• Improves customer experience when greeting and seating guests, as they have access to customer and visit information to make the experience even better!
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Gain valuable insights into business performance to make informed decisions.

If you already have ConnectSmart® Kitchen, choosing the right host stand software is an easy decision. Streamlined operations from front to back and dine-in to off-premises is possible when your restaurant operations are connected!

Look for a solution with a history of innovation, award–winning support, and training resources to help you and your team make the transition from pen and paper or printed receipts to technology that is best in class. From the front door to the kitchen and beyond, ConnectSmart® Host is more than just a reservation system – it’s a comprehensive solution designed to help your restaurant operate at its best. Ready to take your restaurant to the next level? Discover how ConnectSmart® Host can transform your business today!

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