|Aran Melo
How to Choose Reservation Software for Your Restaurant
A practical guide to evaluating reservation platforms: what questions to ask, what trade-offs matter, and what to ignore.
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Thoughts on restaurant reservations, pricing, and building software for independents.
|Aran Melo
Restaurant Reservation Software in 2026: An Honest Comparison
I built one of these platforms, so take this with appropriate skepticism. Here's what I'd want to know if I were choosing today.
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|Aran Melo
Free Restaurant Reservation Software: What You Actually Get
Every reservation platform offers a free tier. Here's an honest breakdown of what 'free' actually includes: ours and everyone else's.
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|Aran Melo
What Does OpenTable Actually Cost?
OpenTable's pricing is more complicated than it looks. Here's the full breakdown at real restaurant volumes: base fees, per-cover charges, and the costs nobody talks about.
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|Aran Melo
Your Guest Data Belongs to You
Who owns the guest relationship when someone books through your reservation platform? It depends on the platform. Here's what to look for.
Read more|Aran Melo
6 Things to Look For in Reservation Software
An honest look at what matters when choosing reservation software, including a few areas where we're not the strongest option.
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|Aran Melo
Per-Cover Fees Are a Tax on Your Success
The busier your restaurant gets, the more you pay in per-cover fees. Here's the math on flat pricing vs. per-cover pricing.
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|Aran Melo
The Real Cost of No-Shows (And What to Do About It)
The math behind empty tables, and strategies that actually reduce no-show rates.
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|Aran Melo
Why We Built bavoli
The per-cover pricing model for reservation software seemed unfair. Here's why I built bavoli and the math behind flat pricing.
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