Stop paying fees on
guests you earned.
OpenTable charges per-cover fees for guests who find your restaurant naturally. Bzz is a flat-rate system that helps you grow checks by showing menu items to guests while they wait.
Main Dining Room
The Patel Party
Sarah Jenkins
Marcus Cole
SEAR Steakhouse
Waiting Area
Join the Waitlist
Get a buzzer and track your place in line from your phone.
Reserve for Later
Book a table for a future date and skip the wait entirely.
Instant confirmation · Email reminder
Per-Cover Fees vs. Waitlist ROI
OpenTable operators pay high monthly subscription costs plus a success fee on every single cover. This model eats into thin restaurant margins. Additionally, the platform does not help you generate revenue from walk-in guests while they wait for their table.
Bzz turns your waitlist into an active sales channel. Instead of treating wait times as dead time, Bzz lets you present menu promotions, drink specials, and catering offers directly to guests on their phones.
OpenTable Shortfalls
- Cover Fees: Paying per-head fees for walk-ins or customers who booked directly through your website can become expensive.
- Unused Wait Time: OpenTable sends basic text messages when tables are ready. This leaves guest attention unused during waits that average 30 to 60 minutes.
- Marketplace Lock-in: OpenTable prioritizes its own customer network, which can lead to your regular guests being marketed to other venues.
Bzz Benefits
- In-Wait Storefront: Guests watch their place in line on a branded mobile page where you can feature high-margin drink specials, menus, and promotions.
- Average Check Growth: Promote appetizers, merchandise, or upcoming events before guests are seated, turning the waitlist into a profit center.
- Flat-Rate Pricing: Flat packages with unlimited covers. Keep the revenue your restaurant generates without success fees.
Your guest opens Bzz and is primed for an upsell - in under 30 seconds.
No app downloads. No hardware. Just scan, wait, and buy - all inside the browser your customers already have.
Scan & Check In
Guests scan a QR code at the door to enter their name, party size, and seating area preference instantly.
Real-Time Tracker
The guest sees exactly where they are in line and their live estimated wait time, removing arrival anxiety.
In-Wait Marketing
While they wait, target them with highly profitable appetizer specials, drink promotions, or flash menu deals.
Web Buzzer Alert
Trigger an instant browser notification, audio chime, and physical device vibration the second their table is ready.
Give accurate wait times, every time.
Bzz tracks your historical data and current capacity to allow you to give guests a reliable wait estimate every time, reducing walk-aways.
No apps to download. No hardware to buy.
Guests check their status in real-time via their phone's browser. No unhygienic and fiddly pager systems.
Turn Idle Wait Times into High-Margin Revenue.
Your customers are already staring at their phones while they wait. Bzz puts your specials, loyalty offers, and promotions right in front of them — turning dead wait time into your highest-margin sales channel.
Comparison
| Feature | Bzz | OpenTable |
|---|---|---|
| App-Free Guest Experience | Yes (Runs instantly in mobile browser via QR/NFC) | ❌ No (Promotes OpenTable consumer app download) |
| In-Wait Marketing & Banners | Yes (Custom drink, appetizer, and retail promotions) | ❌ No (Static notification page) |
| Pre-Seating Ordering/Links | Yes (Direct links to order/upsell flows) | ❌ No |
| Real-Time Wait Forecasting | Yes (Calculated dynamically using historical queue stats) | Limited (Manual rules or static estimates) |
| Interactive Floor Plan Editor | Yes (Full layout editor with status tracking) | Yes |
| Table Status Tracking | Yes (Available, Seated, Cleaning statuses) | Yes |
| Two-Way Guest Chat | Yes (Live in-app chat with read receipts) | ❌ No (One-way SMS/email alerts only) |
| Persona-Targeted Offers | Yes (Group guests into personas & auto-serve tailored promos) | ❌ No (One-size-fits-all guest messaging) |
| Shareable Spot Access | Yes (Guests share a live status link with their whole party) | ❌ No |
| No Phone Number Required | Yes (No phone, no app account — zero PII stored) | ❌ No (Requires phone number / guest account) |
| Web Buzzer Notifications | Yes (Instant browser chimes & vibrations — no SMS fees) | SMS only |
| POS Stack Independence | Yes (Works alongside any POS system) | Limited (Requires specific terminal integrations) |
| Pricing Structure | Flat-rate concurrent slots (Zero per-cover fees) | High monthly subscription + per-cover commission fees |