How to Choose a Restaurant Reservation System in the UAE and Saudi Arabia: 12 Questions to Ask First
Updated 12 min read
To choose a restaurant reservation system in the UAE or Saudi Arabia, compare four things: how you pay (a fee per guest or a flat monthly price), whether it stops the same table being booked twice on a real floor plan, whether confirmations reach guests where they read them, and whether it works in Arabic for guests and for staff. The 12 questions below cover the rest.
Most comparison pages are written by a vendor that ranks itself first, for an English-only dining room. This one is for restaurants and cafés in the Gulf, and uses only prices vendors publish themselves, checked on 30 September 2026.
We make AlaMenu, a digital menu with a restaurant booking system, so there is also a section on when it is not the right fit.
The four kinds of restaurant booking system
First decide which kind of tool you are shopping for. Each solves a different problem and charges differently.
| Type | How guests find you | How you usually pay | Who holds the guest | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketplace app listing many restaurants | Browsing the app, its search and its offers | Monthly plan, sometimes plus a fee per booked guest | The platform first; you see what it shares | New places that need to be discovered |
| Standalone reservation software | Your website, social links, Google Maps, phone | Monthly subscription by plan or by covers | You, inside the vendor's system | Busy restaurants with a host stand |
| POS add-on, a booking module in your cashier system | Your own channels; bookings sit next to bills | Added to your POS subscription | You, inside the POS | Groups already committed to one POS |
| Your own booking page on your menu | Menu QR code, menu link, Instagram bio, Google Maps | Flat monthly price or a free plan | You | Independent restaurants and cafés |
Marketplace booking has reached the Gulf too. In June 2026 Deliveroo launched in-app table reservations in the UAE, powered by SevenRooms, as Khaleej Times reported. SevenRooms names the trade-off in its own comparison guide:
On marketplace platforms, guest profiles belong to the platform first.
You can use both: a marketplace listing for discovery, and your own booking page for regulars, where their name, number and history stay with you.
12 questions to ask any restaurant reservation system vendor
Ask these on the demo call, and ask to see each answer on screen, not on a slide.
- How do I pay: per guest, per booking, or a flat monthly price? Get any per-cover fee in writing. Busy Thursday and Friday nights are where it adds up.
- Does the fee apply to guests I bring in myself? Ask whether bookings from your own website, Instagram and Google Maps are charged, or only guests the platform sent.
- Who owns the guest list, and can I export it if I leave? Names, numbers and visit history are the real asset. See the export format before you sign.
- Is every booking held on a real table on a floor plan? A list of names and times cannot tell you that table 6 is already taken.
- How exactly does it stop double-booking? Ask how the seating length and the cleanup gap between bookings are set, and whether you can change them.
- Can I split the room into sections? Family area, outdoor terrace, majlis, private room. Guests often ask for one by name.
- Where does the guest get the confirmation? Email or SMS only is a warning sign if your guests message you on WhatsApp.
- Is the guest's booking page in Arabic and right to left, and is the staff dashboard in Arabic too? Your host and your guests may not share a first language.
- Where can guests book from? Menu page, Instagram bio, Google Maps, website: every link should open the same booking page.
- Can staff add phone bookings and walk-ins on the same screen? If walk-ins live on paper, the floor plan is wrong by nine o'clock.
- Does it remember guests? Visit count, no-shows, and a private note such as 'prefers the corner table' or 'nut allergy'.
- Do I need deposits, a POS link or several branches? These push you up a price tier, or out of a product altogether. Ask for the price with them included.
Commission per cover vs a flat monthly fee
A cover is one guest. Per-cover pricing charges for each guest who arrives through a booking, usually on top of a monthly plan. A flat price stays the same in your quietest week and in Eid week.
For scale: SevenRooms reports that OpenTable's US plans cost $149, $299 or $499 a month, plus roughly $1 to $1.50 per cover on reservations from OpenTable's network (SevenRooms, August 2026). These are US figures, not Gulf prices, but they show how the model works.
| Guests from the network per month | At $1 per cover | At $1.50 per cover |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | $200 | $300 |
| 500 | $500 | $750 |
| 1,000 | $1,000 | $1,500 |
Neither model is wrong. A per-cover fee can be worth paying when a marketplace brings guests who would never have found you. It makes less sense for regulars who would have booked anyway.
Floor plan and double-booking: what 'can't be booked twice' should mean
Every reservation system says it prevents double-booking. A real answer to 'how' has three parts.
- A table per booking. The booking holds a specific table on a drawn plan of your room, not just a time slot in a list.
- A seating length. The table is held for as long as guests actually stay, and longer for a big family dinner.
- A cleanup gap. Time to clear and reset between parties. Without it, the next guests wait at the door while the table is cleared.
Sections matter as much as tables: family area, outdoor seating in the cooler months, majlis, private room. Grouped that way, staff can see which area is full and answer a guest who asks for the terrace.
In AlaMenu, guests can pick a free table on your floor plan while they book, sorted by the sections you name. A table already held for an overlapping time shows as taken and cannot be booked again. Each booking holds its table for a seating length plus a cleanup gap, both set in your settings. The details are on the bookings page.
Confirmations guests actually read
A confirmation only works if the guest sees it. Send it where your guests already message you; if that is WhatsApp, confirm there and keep email as a copy.
- Does the guest get a message when the booking is received, confirmed and cancelled?
- Can a guest who reads only Arabic understand the message?
- Which number does it come from? A message from your restaurant's own number is easier to recognise and reply to.
- Are reminders before the booking automatic, or does staff send them by hand?
Keep the roles clear: WhatsApp is the confirmation channel, not where the booking is made. The guest books on a page with date, time and party size, then gets the message. Booking by chat eats staff time and never reaches the floor plan.
There is more in our guides to WhatsApp confirmations for table bookings and to reducing no-shows.
Arabic for guests and for staff
Many systems have an Arabic website and an English-first product. Test the product.
- The guest's booking page reads right to left, with Arabic labels, Arabic error messages and a date and time picker that makes sense in Arabic.
- The staff dashboard works fully in Arabic, for the floor manager who prefers it, while a colleague uses English.
- Guest names are stored as the guest typed them, in Arabic script, and are still searchable.
- Phone numbers accept Gulf country codes and local formats without errors.
The quickest test: open the live booking page on your phone, switch to Arabic, and book as a guest would. Try it on our demo menu in Arabic.
Where bookings come from
A booking system is only as good as the links that lead to it. List every place a guest might try to book, and check each one opens the same page.
- Your menu. A guest scanning the QR code at the table may already be thinking about the next visit; a booking button on the menu catches that moment. See how a free QR menu works.
- Your Instagram bio. If guests find you on Instagram, put the booking link in the bio instead of 'DM to book'.
- Google Maps. Your Google Business Profile can carry a booking link: Google's help page shows how to add one under Booking. Reserve with Google, the built-in booking button, is a separate programme that works only through approved partners.
- Phone calls and WhatsApp messages. Staff enter them into the same system straight away.
- Walk-ins. Seat them on the floor plan too, or the system thinks a table is free while a family is eating at it.
Published prices, compared
Several systems below do not publish prices; you get a quote after a demo. This table uses only what vendors publish or, where marked, what a named source reports.
| System | Free plan | Monthly price | Per-cover fee | WhatsApp confirmations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eat App | Yes, up to 100 covers a month, no WhatsApp messages | $99, $199 or $389; Enterprise on request. Payment or POS integration +$39/month each | None listed | 200, 500 or 1,500 messages a month, by plan |
| OpenTable, US, as reported by SevenRooms | Not stated | $149, $299 or $499 | About $1 to $1.50 on network bookings | Not stated in the report |
| SevenRooms | No | Quote only | Starter lists no cover fees for DoorDash and Deliveroo marketplace guests | Not published |
| Rekaz | No | 99, 299 or 499 SAR (general booking plans, not restaurant-only) | None listed | On the 299 SAR plan and up, from your own number per its restaurant page |
| MyTable | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not stated |
| AlaMenu | Yes: one branch, bookings and floor plan included | Pro $4.99, Premium $7.99 | None, 0% commission | Yes, on every plan; from your own number on Premium |
Prices change. Ask each vendor for a written quote with the features you need switched on.
When AlaMenu is not the right fit
AlaMenu is a digital menu with a booking system for independent restaurants and cafés, and it is small on purpose. Choose something else if you need:
- Deposits or card guarantees. AlaMenu does not take payments. If no-shows on large groups cost you real money, you need a system that holds a deposit, like the one Rekaz describes on its restaurant page.
- POS integration. AlaMenu does not connect to your cashier system, so bookings and bills stay separate.
- A waitlist or queue. There is no waitlist for guests waiting at the door.
- Marketplace discovery. AlaMenu does not list you in a diner app.
- Automatic reminders or marketing campaigns. Neither exists; staff can open a prefilled WhatsApp message from a booking with one tap.
- Ordering or paying at the table. The product has no ordering and no payments today.
How bookings work in AlaMenu
- A guest opens your menu from the QR code or link, switches between English and Arabic with one tap if they want, and taps Reserve a table.
- They pick a date, time and party size, and can choose a free table on your floor plan, sorted by section. You set the largest party you accept online.
- The booking lands in your dashboard, and the guest gets a WhatsApp message saying it was received.
- You confirm it. The guest gets the confirmation on WhatsApp, plus an email if they left an address.
- When they arrive, you seat them. Phone bookings and walk-ins go on the same floor plan, and the guest book keeps visits and no-shows for each phone number, with notes only staff can see.
The Free plan includes bookings and the floor plan for one branch, with up to 10 items per menu category and no card needed. Pro is $4.99 a month for two branches and unlimited items. Premium is $7.99 a month for unlimited branches, WhatsApp messages from your own sender number and no AlaMenu branding on the menu. Paid plans start with a 14-day trial, and there is no commission on any booking.
See how the restaurant booking system works and check pricing, book a table on the demo menu, or create a free account.
Questions
What is the difference between a booking app and a booking system?
A booking app is a marketplace where diners browse many restaurants; it brings discovery and holds the guest relationship first. A booking system is your own booking page, floor plan and guest list. You can use both.
Do restaurant booking systems charge per guest?
Some do. SevenRooms reports that OpenTable charges per cover on network bookings in the US. Eat App and AlaMenu list no per-cover fee. Ask which bookings any fee applies to, including those from your own website and Instagram.
Can guests book in Arabic?
It depends on the system, so test the live booking page in Arabic on a phone before you sign. In AlaMenu, the menu and booking page switch between English and Arabic with one tap, and Arabic reads right to left.
How do I stop the same table being booked twice?
Use a system that attaches each booking to a table on a floor plan and holds it for a seating length plus cleanup time. In AlaMenu, a table held for an overlapping time cannot be booked again.
Do I need a separate system for walk-ins?
No, and it helps not to. In AlaMenu, staff add walk-ins and phone bookings and seat them on the same floor plan, so it matches the room.
Is there a free restaurant booking system?
Yes. AlaMenu's Free plan includes bookings, the floor plan and WhatsApp confirmations for one branch. Eat App's free plan covers up to 100 covers a month without WhatsApp messages, according to its pricing page.
Does AlaMenu take deposits?
No. AlaMenu does not take payments, deposits or card guarantees. If you need them, choose a system that does.
Sources
- Eat App, pricing (checked 30 September 2026)
- SevenRooms, The 7 best restaurant reservation systems (4 August 2026)
- SevenRooms, pricing
- Rekaz, pricing
- Rekaz, for restaurants
- MyTable, about us
- Khaleej Times, Deliveroo UAE launches in-app restaurant reservations powered by SevenRooms (4 June 2026)
- Google Business Profile Help, manage your local business links
- Google, Reserve with Google partners
Take bookings from your own menu
AlaMenu's Free plan includes the bilingual menu, table bookings on a floor plan and WhatsApp confirmations, with 0% commission. No card required.
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