Add and Manage Reservations with the New Window

Our reservation window has been upgraded with powerful new features to streamline your booking process and enhance security. The window now intelligently adapts to your selections in real-time, instantly showing you what's available. This guide will walk you through the key new additions to this workflow.

Key New Additions

• Intelligent Availability: As you select the party size and service, the reservation window automatically filters the timeline, instantly showing you available slots and greying out those that are unavailable.
• Book Custom Experiences: You can now attach special packages or unique offerings directly to a reservation from the booking window, with availability updated accordingly.
• Enhanced No-Show Fee Workflow: Greatly improve security and guest convenience with the new Send Secure Link option, allowing guests to enter their own credit card information on their device to confirm their booking.

How to Add an Internal Reservation 

This guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough of how to create an internal reservation using Libro's intelligent reservation window.

Two Ways to Begin a Reservation

You can start a new reservation in two ways, depending on your workflow.

1. The Standard Method (Using the '+ Reservation' Button)

• From the main dashboard, click the plus (+ Reservation) button located at the top left of your floor plan.  

2. The Quick Method (Pre-selecting from the Floor Plan)

This is the fastest way to book if the guest requests a specific time and table.

• On your floor plan, select a time from the timeline on the right.
• Click directly on an available table for that time (unavailable tables are greyed out).
• Click the (+ Reservation) button. The Date, Time, and Table will be pre-filled, and the Party Size will default to that table's maximum capacity, saving you several steps.

The Reservation Workflow

Step 1: Enter guest and reservation information

1. Click the plus (+ Reservation) button at the top left of your floor plan.
2. In the calendar, select a reservation date.
   • Closed days will be marked in grey.
3. In the Guest field, type the guest's name, phone number or email.
   • A list of possible matches will appear. You can select an existing client file or click Add new guest to create a new one.
4. Select the number of people.
5. Choose the service.
   • Tip: You can unselect the service to view all available times of the day.
6. Optional: Select an experience (if activated).
   • Experiences are an optional feature and will not appear if not activated.
7. Select a time. The system uses color-coded dots to give you an at-a-glance view of your availability:
   • Red Dot: The time slot is closed.
   • Blue Dot: The time slot is unavailable for online booking but tables might available for you to book internally.
     • Note: The system guides your selection, but you always have final control. You can manually select an unavailable time (red or blue dot), but please be aware that this may result in overbooking.
     • Tip: To quickly check availability, select the Time before you choose an Experience. The list of experiences will instantly update to show what's available for that specific time and party size.
8. Click Next to proceed.

Step 2 : Add tags and notes

1. Add a table number.
   • If automatic table assignment is enabled, the system will assign the table for you when you leave the field blank.
   • If automatic table assignment is not enabled, you can leave this field blank to assign a table later. In this case, the reservation will remain unassigned.
2. Add any tags and notes for the reservation or guest profile:
   • Tags: Quick visual indicators about the guest or reservation (e.g., VIP, Birthday)
   • Reservation note: Note that is relevant to this reservation only, meaning it will not appear every time the guest reserves (e.g., Anniversary, Special Requests)
   • Guest profile note: Note that appears every time the guest visits your restaurant (e.g., VIP, Vegan)
3. Click Save to complete the reservation.

Experiences

When experiences are activated, you can select an experience when creating a new reservation. Availability is displayed based on the selected experience.

1. Click the plus (+ Reservation) button at the top left.
2. Select the guest profile, the number of people, and the service.
3. Choose the experience (time slots unavailable for the selected group size and experience appear in grey).
4. To quickly check which experiences are available at a specific time, select the time. Green checkmarks will be displayed next to the experiences available for that time slot. 

Click here to learn how to activate and configure the experiences.

No Show Policies

When No Show Policies are activated, an additional step will appear prior to saving the reservation. 

1. Click the plus (+ Reservation) button to add a new reservation. Fill out the necessary information and click Next.
2. On the next page, you’ll see Next: No Show Fee instead of the usual Save button. This a mandatory step to secure the booking.
3. From here, you have three options for how to proceed:
   • Option 1: Send a Secure Link - Send a link to the guest via email or SMS, allowing them to enter their credit card details securely on their own device.
   • Option 2: Manually Enter Credit Card Information - Enter the guest's credit card information directly, ideal for bookings made over the phone.
   • Option 3: Waive the Fee - Bypass the policy and save the reservation without requiring a credit card (this action can be protected by a staff code).
4. Once the options is selected, you will be able to click Save reservation. 

For a complete guide on managing no-show fees, please refer to our detailed article: No-Show Policies.

Send Secure Link Option

This is the most secure and professional method for capturing a guest's credit card information, as it allows them to enter their details on their own device.

1. From the no-show fee page, select the option to Send a Secure Link.
2. Choose whether to send the link via Email or SMS.
3. Click Save & send payment link.

The reservation will be saved in your system with a pending status, indicating it is awaiting the guest's card information. The guest will receive the link and must enter their details within the grace period you have configured in your back office. If they do not complete this step in time, the reservation will be automatically cancelled.

Please view our No-Show Policies article for more detail. 

Waive Fee Option

For situations where you need to override a policy, the Waive Fee option gives you the flexibility to save a reservation without requiring a credit card. The booking will be confirmed instantly, and you still have the ability to add card details later. 

To maintain security, you can make this a permission-based action that requires a manager or staff code to use. For instructions on enabling staff codes, refer to the Configure the Staff Codes article.