Best Ways to Secure a Reservation

Have you ever tried to get into a new or popular restaurant, only to have them say that they are fully booked for the next couple months? If so, you are not the only one. Plenty of people try to get their foot in the door at popular places but are hit with the hard realization that they will have to go somewhere else unless they want to wait 2 months just to eat at that specific place. Well, the good news is that there are some things that we can do to improve our chances at getting a reservation, let's take a look.

First think you should do is understand that they are busy.  If they give you a seat at the bar, enjoy it. Even if you are only waiting there for a table, it increases your chances at an actual table. You can even check to see if the restaurant is active on any major social media sites. Sometimes they will post if they have available last minute seating. Don't be shy when it comes to social media, publicly post that you are looking for a seat, even give an excuse as to why it is so important. If the restaurant cares about how they look, they will have no problem providing you with an available seat, showing the rest of the social media followers that they care about their customers.

Next, you can check to see if you have a membership that can assist with the reservations. For example, a lot of credit card companies partner up with restaurants to give cardholders special deals or reservations. You can also check the concierge service if you are staying at a nice hotel. They usually have some great connections. So, if you can get a little help, take it!

Your chances of getting a reservation drastically increase if you are willing to have a late night or go during the early week. As we all know Saturday and Sunday are the worst days to try and get a reservation, so if you are able to do Tuesday at 9 PM, then do it.

Another great thing to keep in mind is that if you are trying to get a seat as a walk-in customer, then you should be ready to be time sensitive about your stay. In most situations, restaurants will pad times around the reservation times, just in case the customers arrive early or leave late. So if you let the hostess know that you are willing to be out by a certain time, that could drastically improve your chances at a table. You may be a little rushed, but it is worth it.

In the end, if you are still unable to get a reservation after trying everything you can, just sit and eat at the bar. Most restaurant will serve food there, and you can always switch if they find you another table to sit at. If you are still unable to figure something out that makes you happy, speak to the manager, they can usually get things expedited for you.