Waitlist and groups
A last-minute cancellation and a party looking for a seat the same evening: the waitlist is what connects the two without tying up the host during service.
OpenTable
During the rush nobody can pick up. The table request is written into Zenvox; no booking is announced without confirmation from the floor plan.
7 days, 20 answered calls, no card
Where your table request lands
The request is written into Zenvox: date, party size, time, special requests, and whether a booking was already made online — because a call that duplicates an existing reservation costs an empty table that same evening. OpenTable keeps the floor plan and real table inventory: no reservation is written from Zenvox, and the prescribed fallback is the official booking link or a request handed to a person.
On access, the research is clean: documentation exists, but exact read, create and update access is confirmed through partnership, and no approval has been granted to Zenvox. The status does not change on a wish, it changes on a contract. An allergy stated on the phone is handed to a person, not treated as a booking note.
OpenTable holds the floor plan, real table inventory and guest history: it is what knows whether a party of six fits at seven, and not the book sitting on the host stand.
Read, create, update, cancel
The status below reflects a partner application that was not granted. It changes on a contract, not on a wish.
| Action | Status | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Read | To qualify | Querying real table inventory would be the decisive operation: without it, nobody can promise a time. Its exact access is confirmed through partnership, and no approval exists to date. |
| Create | Zenvox native mode | While access is not granted, the receptionist creates no reservation. She takes the complete request and texts out your official booking link; the restaurant confirms, with its own reservation reference. |
| Update | Zenvox native mode | Changing an existing reservation means finding it first, so reading it. The change request is captured with name, time and party size, and handed to the host. |
| Cancel | Zenvox native mode | A cancellation is taken, time-stamped and passed on at once: that is a table freeing up mid-service. Writing stays with the host, and reconciling arrivals against no-shows happens on their side. |
What is included, what needs an add-on
Answering during service, qualifying a table request, turning away a sales call and passing everything on belong to your restaurant base. Waitlists and party handling are a named add-on.
The authorisation, and what holds the truth
Two rules hold this page: do not promise a table, and do not rule on an allergy.
- Access rests on a partner application and restaurant authorisation; no approval exists to date
- No written reservation is announced to a caller until the restaurant has confirmed it
- Special requests and allergies are passed to a person as spoken: the kitchen decides, and no food safety guarantee is given on the phone
- A party beyond capacity or a deposit exception belongs to the host
- A phone request is checked against a booking already made online, to avoid a duplicate
Friday, quarter past seven, full room. The host is working the floor plan. The call is taken by Zenvox.
CallerHi, I would like a table for six tomorrow evening, around eight.
ReceptionistLet me take your name and a callback number. Have you already booked online for that date? I would rather check first, so we do not create a duplicate.
ReceptionistThere is a severe allergy in the party: I am recording it word for word and passing it to the kitchen. The restaurant confirms the table; I do not book it myself.
The restaurant receives a complete request — date, time, party size, allergy flagged, duplicate ruled out — while the host keeps seating guests. Confirmation goes out from the restaurant, with the reference that counts.
When the partnership is not granted
That is today status, and it is also the fallback the research prescribes: official link, or a request handed to a person.
- The request is created inside Zenvox with date, time, party size and special requests
- Your official booking link is texted to the caller
- Allergies and sensitive requests go to a person, with no interpretation
- You find the call, its transcript and its reason in the app
- The day access is granted, the matrix changes line by line without redoing your setup
Questions about this connection
Does Zenvox book a table?
No, while access is not granted. She takes the complete request and texts out your official booking link, then the restaurant confirms with its own reservation reference; no written reservation is announced to a caller before that confirmation.
Why not promise a time?
Because real table inventory is what decides, and its exact access is confirmed through partnership. The floor plan knows whether a party of six fits at seven; the book sitting on the host stand does not.
How is an allergy handled?
It is passed to a person as spoken, not treated as a booking note. The kitchen decides, and no food safety guarantee is given on the phone.
What if the person already booked online?
The phone request is checked against a booking already made online, to avoid a duplicate. A call that duplicates an existing reservation costs an empty table that same evening.
What happens to a cancellation taken mid-service?
It is taken, time-stamped and passed on at once, because that is a table freeing up mid-service. Writing stays with the host, and the waitlist is what connects the cancellation to the party looking for a seat the same evening.
Where to next
See the practice concerned, or the full list of software studied.
OpenTable