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Slotora for restaurantsTell me at launch

Feature · On an iPad

A restaurant booking system on the iPad you already own

Most host stands in the UK and Ireland already have a tablet on them, usually an iPad, often left over from the last system. It will do. Open Slotora in its web browser, sign in, and the stand is the floor plan, the diary and the door queue in one screen.

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Any tablet or phone with an up-to-date web browser works the same way: iPad, Android, or the manager's phone.

What the iPad on the stand does in an evening

Who is due, who is sat

The night's bookings on the floor plan and on a timeline: due, seated, which course, asking for the bill. Seat a party, move it to another table or time, change the party size when five become six.

The door and the phone

A walk-in seated in one tap on the table that hurts later bookings least. A call taken against the real free times, with the regular found from their name or number.

The small things that save a table

Mark a party running late so nobody gives their table away at five past. Mark the table laid when it is reset, so the next booking can sit.

One iPad is the start, not the limit

The tablet at the door is the busiest screen, but it is rarely the only one that needs to know.

  • A second tablet at the bar sees the same floor, so the bartender knows table 9 is taken before pouring for the couple who hoped for it.
  • The manager's phone, in the office or on the floor, shows the same room and can make the same changes.
  • A change on any of them appears on the others without anyone refreshing.
  • Each person signs in as themselves, invited by a link from the Team screen, so a moved booking has a name on it rather than “the iPad”.

Slotora's app for iPad, Android tablets and phones has a restaurant mode as well, and the iPad's browser runs the same floor, walk-ins, the waiting list and phone bookings, in step with every other screen.

Setting up the stand before the first service

  1. Power first

    A tablet that dies at 20:45 takes the evening with it. Put the stand within reach of a socket and keep the cable plugged in during service.

  2. Keep the screen awake

    In the iPad's own display settings, stop it locking itself while it sits on the stand; a host should not have to unlock the door screen with a queue in front of them.

  3. Sign in as a person

    Each host signs in with their own login. When a shift changes, the next person signs in as themselves.

  4. Angle it away from the queue

    Guest names, allergy alerts and the numbers of the people on the waiting list are on that screen. Face it towards the host, not the people waiting.

Questions about running it on an iPad

Which iPad do I need?

Any iPad, or any other tablet, with an up-to-date web browser. Bigger screens make the floor plan easier to read at arm's length, but the stand works on a phone too.

Do we need a special stand or hardware?

No. There is no box behind the bar and nothing to wire in. A stand that holds the tablet steady and a charger within reach are all most restaurants add.

What if the Wi-Fi drops mid-service?

The stand needs a connection, like any web page. Keep a phone with mobile data signed in as a fallback: it shows the same floor and can make the same changes.

Does a second or third tablet cost more?

No. Devices and staff are unlimited in the one price per location.

More about the stand

Bring the iPad you already have

We e-mail you once, when Slotora for restaurants opens in the UK or Ireland.

Tell me when it opens