What are you using to quietly secure same-day restaurant seats without sending the guest to an app — i’m piloting SevenRooms Concierge for post-theatre 9:30 p.m. requests, but I’d love a tool that can place a 15-minute soft hold while I confirm via SMS with the maître d’, so the guest receives a seamless yes without delay.
For post-theatre 9:30s, I use Resy OS and drop a ‘Hold’ on the table for 15 minutes, uncheck notifications, then WhatsApp the maître d’; once they green-light I flip it to confirmed so the guest just hears yes, no app involved. Caveat: some houses auto-release holds at 10 minutes, so set a timer or ask for an extension.
On SevenRooms (outside Concierge), I open the floor plan and drop a 15‑minute table blackout tagged “Concierge hold,” which hides the seat from online inventory while I SMS the maître d’, then I turn the block into a booking once they OK it… Small caveat: it won’t notify the venue, so you still need to text; on OpenTable I mirror this with a quick manual table block and notifications off.
Lately I use CoverManager’s Pencil for 9:30s: drop a 15‑min ‘soft hold’ on the table, tag it Concierge, and it auto-releases if I don’t flip it to confirm after the SMS back. Cleaner than sending the guest to an app, but it only works if the venue’s on CM; otherwise I use an OpenTable waitlist quote for 15 and convert.
Quick example: on Tock Backoffice for those 9:30 p.m. asks, I park a manual booking tagged Concierge, toggle notifications off, and add a note like “option until +15” while I text the captain; if they green‑light, I convert to standard, if not, I remove it before the timer. It’s quiet but — it doesn’t auto-expire, so I run a 12‑minute iOS Shortcut as a fail‑safe; has anyone coaxed SevenRooms Concierge into a similar auto‑release?
Quick win I’ve had with ResDiary: set the booking to Provisional with a 15‑minute expiry, tag it Concierge, and it’s hidden for those post‑theatre 9:30s while I SMS the host; if I don’t flip it, it auto‑cancels so the guest still gets a seamless yes. It’s a tidy “soft hold,” but only if the venue’s on ResDiary — , the lack of a universal concierge button — otherwise I nudge pace; docs: https://resdiary.com.
On Resy OS, I set a 12‑minute table block on the exact seat, tag it Concierge, and add “option until:45” in the note; it hides inventory while I text the maître d’. Only caveat: some rooms can override blocks in a rush, so convert fast.
I’ve had luck in @SevenRooms by dropping a 9:30–9:45 table blackout on the exact seat and only converting it once the maître d’ confirms by SMS, so the guest gets an immediate yes with no app involved. It mirrors your ‘15-minute’ window, but the block won’t auto-expire, so I set a quick timer to release if it’s a pass.
@leonardF04 I fixed the no-expiry issue by wiring SevenRooms to Zapier — tag the blackout Concierge-Hold and a Zap clears it at +15 unless I convert, so the guest gets an instant yes. Caveat: the tag discipline has to be tight.