The Client
The client, BookMyTable, is a UK-based CTRM vendor (Central Telephone Reser- vations Management) dedicated to the hospitality industry. BookMyTable han- dles more than 5 million reservations for restaurants across the UK.
BookMyTable has a dedicated team of highly skilled and trained reservationists assigned to each restaurant to handle reservations.
BookMyTable uses IVR service to route the calls and queries to the reservation- ists appointed for particular restaurant chains. They also measure and monitor inbound call activity and provide analytical reports with details such as frequency of calls, booking demand, table optimization rates, and more.
Challenges
BookMyTable struggled to scale its operations due to reliance on manual reservation processes.
- High call volumes led to 6–8 minute wait times, frustrating customers, and missing peak-hour reservations.
- Onboarding new restaurants was hindered by the need to recruit and train skilled reservationists.
- These inefficiencies created bottlenecks for growth and scalability.
Solution
To automate and streamline operations, BookMyTable collaborated with Maruti Techlabs to develop an AI-driven chatbot that transformed the reservation process.
- Check Availability: Provides real-time table availability updates.
- Make Reservations: Allows instant bookings without long queues or calls.
- Modify/Cancel Reservations: Enables hassle-free changes, with cancellations instantly updating availability.
- Confirm Reservations: Sends reminders to confirm bookings reallocating unconfirmed tables.
- Answer FAQs: Handles common queries, reducing agent workload.
- Menu Personalization: Recommends popular menu items based on customer preferences, boosting repeat business by 55%.
- Collect Feedback: Gathers ratings seamlessly within the chatbot interface.
Results
The AI chatbot delivered measurable success:
- Turnaround time for table reservations reduced by 75% (6 minutes to 90 seconds).
- Bookings increased by 45% within three months of implementation.
- Repeat business grew by 55%.
- Quarterly hiring/training costs of $1,08,150 eliminated, enabling resource reallocation to critical activities.
- Employees transitioned to high-priority tasks, improving overall business efficiency.
