Singapore will be entering Phase 2, post-circuit breaker tomorrow (June 19). After over two months of ordering food delivery and cooking at home, everyone is naturally thrilled to be able to dine out again. Just how thrilled? According to real-time restaurant booking platform Chope, it had nearly 15,000 reservations pouring in within a single day, after Phase 2 was announced on June 15. The platform lets customers choose a restaurant from its extensive directory, peruse the menu and make a booking.

Dinesh Balasingam, Chope’s regional head of business, shares with 8days.sg that out of the bookings, “about 4,000 came in on the night of [the announcement]”. He adds, “In the first few minutes of re-opening up reservations, we were getting one reservation every second.”

He also shares that “80% of the bookings were for this weekend, probably fuelled by Father’s Day falling on Sunday”. While 15k reservations sounds like a lot, Dinesh says the number is “close to pre-Covid-19 levels, factoring in the reduced seating capacity” for a weekend with a special occasion, like Father’s Day.

He explains that limited seating due to safe distancing measures may have prompted more diners to chope a reservation quickly. “We believe they are aware that making an early booking helps them secure a seat at their favourite restaurant. This in turn helps the restaurant plan and manage and maximise their revenue opportunities in this time,” he says.

“Restaurants with al fresco dining, such as Open Farm Community and Riders Café, and restaurants situated by the river like Caffe Fernet, OverEasy [at] One Fullerton and Privé Keppel Bay,” notes Dinesh. He observes, “These are already popular restaurants to start with, and diners might be looking to enjoy fresh air”, which might explain why people are flocking to al fresco spots.

Photo: Open Farm Community

Some restaurants are taking a more cautious approach by holding off reopening during Phase 2 till they are operationally ready. But other F&B outlets, eager to welcome customers again after a two-month-long drought, are also facing a risk by reopening. With the high rate of reservations — some made on impulse — there are bound to be cancellations and no-shows. When that happens, the poor eateries are stuck with the stock they have ordered to cater for large parties.

On their part, Chope is helping its restaurant partners with table planning and safe distancing management. To reduce no-shows, its system does not allow users to double-book multiple restaurants for the same seating (after all, you can’t be at several places at the same time).

The platform also encourages its partners to take deposits for table reservations to “manage traffic and no-shows”. Dinesh says, “30% of our restaurant base has started to take deposits, with Chope’s system helping to facilitate that”. Like French fine-diner Les Amis, which requires you to leave a credit card guarantee to secure a reservation. So we say be a responsible diner, and honour the bookings that you’ve made. After all, our local F&B scene needs all the help it can get now to tide through this tough period.

Main photo: Caffe Fernet & Chope