Reservations Manager

A Reservations Manager is responsible for managing the restaurant’s reservation system, maximizing seating efficiency, and ensuring a smooth guest experience from the first point of contact through arrival. This role serves as a key liaison between guests, the host team, management, and special events staff while helping the restaurant optimize covers, table turns, and overall dining room flow.

Key responsibilities typically include managing daily reservations and waitlists, confirming large parties and special requests, maintaining accurate guest notes and preferences, coordinating VIP and special occasion reservations, monitoring pacing and availability, communicating reservation changes to management, training and supervising hosts or reservation staff, and ensuring all phone, email, and online inquiries are handled professionally and promptly.

A strong Reservations Manager should demonstrate excellent communication, organization, hospitality, attention to detail, problem-solving, and judgment. They should understand restaurant seating strategy, guest recovery, reservation platforms such as OpenTable or Resy, and how to balance guest satisfaction with the operational needs of the dining room.

The overall goal of the position is to maximize revenue and seating opportunities while delivering an organized, welcoming, and personalized reservation experience for every guest.