Montezuma’s is a Mexican restaurant chain operating in Australia for over 45 years. Since opening its first venue in 1978, it has continued to expand and now has 10 full-service restaurants.
One of Australia’s oldest Mexican franchise companies, Montezuma’s is something of an institution and generations of families continue to make it their go-to for delicious food in a relaxed and friendly environment.
Previously, Montezuma’s had been relying on pen and paper bookings. This manual way of doing things created inefficiencies, increased the chances of error, and pulled staff away from more valuable, customer-centric activities.
The company recognised that it needed to overhaul its current booking process and began looking for a cost-effective solution that would help to achieve operational efficiencies.
The solution was our reservation management platform.
The Quandoo booking widget on Montezuma’s website allows customers to book directly in seconds. This has led to a 33% increase in online reservations, significantly reducing the workload on phone lines.
The real-time availability feature keeps Montezuma's reservation data constantly up to date across our marketplace and widget.
Rising costs across the industry mean venues have to be more efficient in how they operate. With streamlining expenditure a priority, it was vital that any solution that Montezuma’s selected provided value.
‘’Quandoo for Restaurants was incredibly competitive when it came to price, and the package was much more flexible’’ shared Michael Benaradsky, CEO at Montezuma’s. ‘‘We spoke to other providers for example, who would only offer a full suite comprising invoicing software and Point of Sale. As well as being more expensive, this would have required a bigger change management project and for us to needlessly replace technologies that were already working well.’’
The transition from pen-and-paper to our easy-to-use restaurant booking system has been transformative.
Front-of-house staff now save an average of 2 hours per shift on reservation management, allowing them to provide more personalised service to diners. Automated communication has eliminated the need for staff to call guests for booking reminders or confirmations.
Montezuma’s has a diverse clientele who use a variety of methods to book, including online, telephone and in-person. To keep on top of bookings and maximise restaurant occupancy, it was vital that any reservation system would allow staff to view all reservations in one centralised place.
Staff no longer have to jump between messy papers and spreadsheets to get a holistic view of live availability. Teams can easily add walk-ins and phone reservations, as well as checking guests in and out, marking no-shows and changing table allocations. This structured control over bookings helps restaurants optimise their seating arrangements and increase potential capacity.
In addition to reducing the chance of missed or double bookings, the ability to update in real-time is helping to seize revenue opportunities. For example, if a restaurant experiences a no-show, the system can be updated immediately, giving new diners the chance to book a table at the last minute.
With better table management and smoother turnover times, restaurants can accommodate more covers during peak hours, directly impacting their bottom line.
More recently, Montezuma has been working with us to try credit card capture for large table bookings.
‘‘It’s important to strike the right balance and there is some element of trial and error,’’ explains CEO Michael Benaradsky. ‘‘For example, we recently increased the number that would qualify as a group booking and would therefore require credit card details to secure it. We are currently running a pilot to understand the impact this may have on diners. Being able to work closely with Quandoo to gather feedback and understand how changes may affect our diners has been invaluable.’’
With Quandoo for Restaurants, Montezuma’s has been able to manage reservations better and focus on providing the best possible experience to its customers.