The 10 Top DesignMyNight Alternatives (2024 Edition)

DesignMyNight is a nightlife discovery website and software provider for the hospitality industry.

The platform allows customers to find and book events and venues and provides businesses (restaurants, bars + clubs) with tools to manage their bookings and reservations.

“The idea came about after we went to New York and the concierge in our hotel asked us loads of questions about what we wanted from a bar. It just clicked, and DesignMyNight was born,” says Founder, Nick Telson-Sillett.

DesignMyNight has a number of strengths, including:

• A large user base of over 3.9 million monthly users
  
  
• Coverage of over 20 cities in the UK and Australia
  
  
• A wide range of features, including event listings, booking capabilities, and marketing tools
  
  
• A reputation for innovation and customer service

However, there are also a number of reasons why potential users might want to consider other alternatives to DesignMyNight.

These include:

• High fees: DesignMyNight charges a commission on all bookings made through its platform. This can be a significant cost for businesses, especially those with high volumes of bookings.
  
  
• Limited customization options: DesignMyNight's platform is not as customizable as some other options on the market. This can make it difficult for businesses to create a user experience that is consistent with their own branding and marketing.
  
  
• Lack of customer support: Some users have reported that DesignMyNight's customer support is not always responsive. This can be a problem for businesses that rely on the platform to manage their bookings and reservations.

If you are considering using DesignMyNight, it is important to weigh the pros and cons carefully to determine if it is the right solution for your needs.

There are a number of other nightlife discovery websites and software providers on the market, so it is important to compare different options before making a decision.

Here are a few alternatives to DesignMyNight that you may want to consider:

1. Eat App
2. Tock
3. Resy
4. Yelp Reservations
5. TableIn
6. TheFork
7. Eveve
8. TableAgent

Now, let's take a more in-depth look: 

Eat App

Eat App is a restaurant management platform that helps restaurants grow their business by providing them with a comprehensive set of tools for guest data management, table management, reservations, marketing, analytics, and customer feedback.

Eat App's goal is to help restaurants leverage all of their resources to generate demand, increase customer loyalty and retention, and optimize operations.

In simpler terms, Eat App is a one-stop shop for restaurants that want to improve their business.

The top-rated platform provides them with everything they need to manage their guests, their tables, and their operations, as well as to market their restaurant and get feedback from their customers.

Key features

Here is a breakdown of some of the key features of Eat App:

• Guest data management: Eat App helps restaurants collect and manage their guest data, so that they can better understand their customers and their preferences.
  
  
• Table management: Eat App helps restaurants to manage their tables and reservations so that they can seat their guests efficiently and avoid overbooking.
  
  
• Reservations: Eat App allows guests to make reservations directly through the Eat App website or app.
  
  
• Marketing: Eat App provides restaurants with a suite of marketing tools, such as email marketing, social media marketing, and loyalty programs, to help them reach their target audience and promote their business.
  
  
• Analytics: Eat App provides restaurants with detailed analytics on their guest data, reservations, and marketing campaigns so that they can track their progress and make necessary adjustments.
  
  
• Customer feedback: Eat App allows guests to leave feedback about their dining experience, which restaurants can use to improve their service and offerings.

Pricing

Cost:

• Free for up to 50 covers per month
• $69 per month for up to 500 covers per month
• $139 per month for unlimited covers per month
• $239 per month for full-stack guest experience tools
• Enterprise plans are also available

Ease of use: 5/5

Functionality: 5/5

Support options:

• Live in-app support chat
• Onboarding specialist email support
• Knowledge base
• Account managers for higher tiers

Platform operability:

• Native iPad, iPhone, and Android apps
• Full web app

Free trial:

• 14-day free trial
• Free tier is also available

Overview

We may be biased, but we think Eat App is the best alternative to DesignMyNight for most restaurants. Our low-cost, flexible approach gives restaurants of all sizes great options without sacrificing features and tools.

Eat App offers a wide range of features, including:

• Reservation and waitlist management
• Rich analytics
• Automated messaging
• Advanced tagging and guest CRM
• Off-peak bookings
• Shift management

All of these features are accessible natively on our iOS, Android, and iPad apps, or directly on the web.

The Eat App system is built around your restaurant. Your floor plan, guests, and reservations are front and center when you need them most.

Alternatively, you can manage your restaurant through a calendar, timeline, or grid view.

We offer a 14-day free trial, so you can try Eat App for yourself and see why we think it's the best restaurant management platform on the market.

Learn more about Eat App >>>>

Tock

Tock is a restaurant management platform that helps restaurants make the most of their tables and decrease no-shows by selling seats.

Every empty table at a restaurant is a missed revenue opportunity.

Tock helps restaurants define the cost of each of their tables, and then uses this information to help them make up for lost revenue.

Tock does this in a few ways:

• Selling seats: Tock allows restaurants to sell seats at their tables, just like tickets to a concert or sporting event. This helps to ensure that all of the restaurant's tables are full and that there are no empty seats.
  
  
• Charging for no-shows: Tock also allows restaurants to charge customers for no-shows. This helps to discourage diners from canceling their reservations at the last minute.
  
  
• Tracking guest data: Tock tracks guest data, such as reservation history and dietary restrictions. This information can be used by restaurants to improve their service and offerings.

Overall, Tock is a powerful tool that can help restaurants make the most of their tables and increase their revenue.

Key features

Tock is a restaurant management platform that offers a variety of key features, including:

• Event and pre-payment features, which allow restaurants to take up-front payments for reservations and sell event tickets.
  
  
• Online ordering features, which allow restaurants to take orders online and offer delivery and pickup options.
  
  
• A reservation platform, which allows restaurants to list their restaurant on the Tock platform and receive additional visibility.

Pricing

Cost:

• Tock Plus: $199 per month + 2% fee on prepaid reservations
• Tock Pro: $699 per month + 0% fee on prepaid reservations

Ease of use: 4.5/5

Functionality: 4/5

Support options: Email support

Platform operability: iPad and web apps

Free trial: N/A

Overview

Tock is a restaurant management platform with two pricing plans: Tock Plus and Tock Pro.

Tock Plus costs $199 per month with a 2% fee on prepaid reservations, while Tock Pro costs $699 per month with no fee on prepaid reservations.

Tock is a relatively easy-to-use platform with a wide range of features, including reservation and waitlist management, guest CRM, analytics, and marketing tools.

However, it is more expensive than some other restaurant management platforms, and its support options are limited.

Resy

Resy is a full-feature table management system that offers waitlist management, reservation management, table management, and POS integration.

The platform powers your day-to-day operations with a fully customizable floor plan that feeds into your online booking widget to provide availability to guests.

Guests can confirm, cancel, and modify their bookings through text, and even let you know if they are running late.

Pricing

Resy offers three pricing plans:

• Basic: $249 per month
• Pro: $399 per month
• Enterprise: $899 per month

All plans include:

• 24/7 support
• iPad and iPhone apps

The Pro plan also includes:

• Customizable guest messaging
• Analytics
• Third-party pre-payment options
• Post-meal surveys

The Enterprise plan also includes:

• Unlimited reporting options

Free trial: N/A

Key features

Resy is a powerful restaurant reservation system with the following key features:

• Flexible reservation settings and options: Resy lets you set your own reservation rules and restrictions, such as minimum party size, maximum booking time, and cancellation policies.
  
  
• Table management: Resy provides a real-time view of your table availability, so you can easily seat guests and optimize your seating chart.
  
  
• Guest surveys: Resy lets you collect guest feedback after each meal, so you can track your customer satisfaction and identify areas for improvement.
  
  
• Ticketed events: Resy makes it easy to create and manage ticketed events, such as wine tastings and chef's dinners.
  
  
• Restaurant listing on resy.com: Resy lists your restaurant on its website, which gives you extra exposure to potential customers.

Customers should note that Resy is now owned by American Express.

Overview

Resy is a powerful restaurant reservation system, but it lacks advanced guest experience tools such as guest CRM, database management, and marketing automation.

This makes Resy a relatively expensive option compared to other reservation systems and limits its ability to help restaurants drive customer loyalty and manage waitlists.

Yelp Reservations

Yelp Reservations is a restaurant management system that includes not only a reservation and table management system, but also a large consumer network that can help drive reservations to your restaurant.

Yelp Reservations has most of the standard features you'd expect from a table management system, including waitlist management, basic server management, and reservation management.

However, like some of the other systems on this list, it lacks many of the advanced features that restaurants are using to deliver better guest experiences.

If your restaurant is already listed on Yelp, this restaurant management system may help you convert your listing views into revenue-driving reservations.

Pricing

Resy offers three pricing plans:

• Basic: $99 per month
• Pro: $249 per month
• 10+ venues: Custom pricing

All plans include:

• iPad app
• Basic email support

The Pro plan also includes:

• Customizable guest messaging
• Analytics
• Third-party pre-payment options
• Post-meal surveys

Ease of use: 4/5 Functionality: 3.5/5 Free trial: N/A

Key features

One of Yelp's key features is its powerful waitlist options, which include online waitlist management and a kiosk system for automatic check-in at the door. Many restaurants find Yelp to be a great tool for managing large volumes of walk-ins.

Yelp also gives restaurants access to the Yelp Connect Network and listings on their discovery apps. The platform does not charge a per reservation fee for access, and claims to have the largest footprint in the US of all the restaurant discovery apps.

TableIn

DesignByNight is a good choice for restaurants of all sizes, but TableIn may be a better fit for small businesses that are looking for a simple and affordable way to generate online reservations.

TableIn's web-based restaurant management system offers a basic calendar view to help you streamline your reservations.

>>> Related content: TableIn vs Eat App

TableIn is a unique entry on this list because it offers less in terms of table management and integrations than other reservation systems.

However, it is still a great DesignByNight alternative for restaurants that are looking for a specific set of features and can make do with TableIn's limitations.

Pricing

• Basic: $99 per month (315 reservations per month)
• Pro: $149 per month (unlimited reservations)

Features:

• Live chat support
• Web-based platform

Free trial: 14 days

Ease of use: 4/5 Functionality: 3/5

TheFork

TheFork, a European restaurant management system owned by TripAdvisor, is similar to DesignMyNight. It is a good option for European restaurants looking for a DesignMyNight alternative.

The platform offers a basic reservation and table management system, but its main selling point is that it helps restaurants get more bookings through TripAdvisor and TheFork websites.

Pricing

Cost:

• Free tier (commission on average spend from TheFork website and Google reservations)
• $125 per month (no commission on Google bookings)

Features:

• Email, phone, and chat support
• Web-based platform
• Free 14-day trial

Ease of use: 4/5 Functionality: 3.5/5

Key features

The main benefit of TheFork is that it gives restaurants access to TheFork and TripAdvisor websites for direct bookings.

However, restaurants in Europe should be aware that TheFork charges high reservation commissions on both its free and paid plans. Independently-minded restaurants may want to consider other reservation management options.

TheFork also offers email marketing tools, which is great for restaurants that want to send mass emails without having to invest in a guest CRM system.

Eveve

Eveve uses your real-time availability and online booking pages to give your customers a real-time booking experience.

One of its key features is "Full Availability," which prevents you from ever turning away guests when your restaurant is full.

This feature offers alternative dates to guests when their requested date is fully booked.

Pricing

Cost:

• Cost: $100-$300 per month (estimated)
• Free 14-day trial

Features:

• Email support
• Web-based platform

Ease of use: 3/5 Functionality: 3/5

TableAgent

TableAgent's main aim is to provide restaurants with an easy-to-use and affordable reservation system, saving them as much money as possible. TableAgent is often completely free of charge.

To keep its pricing as close to zero as possible, TableAgent offers a simple web-based reservation system that is not updated regularly.

>>> Related content: Top 8 TableAgent Alternatives 

TableAgent uses a "List" based approach to managing reservations, which makes it feel like a digital version of a traditional reservation book with the ability to connect to an online booking widget.

This approach is different from other reservation management providers, which use a calendar or floor plan view.

TableAgent is a good option for extremely cost-sensitive restaurants, but most restaurants will benefit more from a more advanced system.

Pricing

Cost:

• Free (fees apply for reservations with payments)
• 14-day free trial

Features:

• Email support
• Web-based platform

Ease of use: 3/5 Functionality: 2/5

Takeaways

If you are considering switching from DesignMyNight, there are many affordable alternatives that offer similar or better features.

We hope this article has helped you learn more about DesignMyNight alternatives and make an informed decision about the best one for your restaurant.