Sitting together for hours after the meal, emptying one wine bottle after the next and only leaving when the chairs are set up in the restaurant? That will probably not be the case in the future. Because time is money. More and more restaurants are therefore putting an end to “table blocking”.
“We have scheduled your stay with us at 1:30 hours,” says the friendly e-mail confirmation from the hip restaurant “Frühstück 3000” in Berlin-Schoeneberg. The custom of reservation time windows, which has hardly been the norm up to now, is now also spreading in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. When going out in this country, wasn’t it all about eating extensively without having to register, getting drunk and talking to a wide variety of people?
“Bookings are usually made in time slots of 2 hours,” writes the “Trio” in Berlin-Mitte, a new-generation restaurant that many scene-goers in the German capital are talking about. From four people, the time is extended by half an hour. In Munich’s Glockenbachviertel, the “Fesch” (slogan: “Your queer, Bavarian inn”) announces: “Our general reservation times are either from 5.30/6 p.m. for two hours or from 7.45 p.m. for the rest of the evening.”
Not only restaurants in Munich and Berlin are now making such announcements – well-demanded catering establishments in Vienna, Salzburg, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Zurich or in popular vacation spots between Sylt and Engadin, Rügen and Tyrol.
Time slots have long been common, especially in particularly expensive cities, as frequent travelers report. In New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris, Copenhagen and Stockholm, tables are sometimes occupied three times in the evening. In the German-speaking countries, on the other hand, reservation time windows were an exception until 2020. During the pandemic, when places were limited at times due to the Corona rules, they became socially acceptable.
The “893 Ryotei” in Berlin-Charlottenburg works with it, for example. The motto is: “Online reservations are limited to two hours.” The Japanese-inspired restaurant is behind a graffiti-sprayed mirrored facade and is decorated all in black. In what used to be a Schlecker drugstore, guests feel like they are in an exclusive club.
It is undoubtedly useful for guests and restaurateurs if a table can be booked with just a few clicks in online reservation systems such as Opentable, Quandoo, Sevenrooms or Reservision.
But if you talk to people about time-limited reservations, you quickly hear sentences like “I find that somehow unappealing”, “I then feel driven and like a money machine that should go quickly” or “I think that’s the downfall of hospitality”.
But there is also understanding: “I never need more than two hours to eat in a noisy restaurant”, “That’s better than even more expensive dishes and drinks”, “In the economic situation it is logical that hosts want to occupy their tables several times “.
Ingrid Hartges, general manager of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga-Bundesverband), said when asked by the German Press Agency: “Particularly with a view to the rapidly increasing costs in the areas of energy, food and staff, our companies have to calculate more precisely than ever and find ways to get their costs under control.” However, there are still many restaurants and taverns without time windows, where guests can find a place without a reservation.
“Whether the restaurateur decides to reserve a time window depends on the concept, the location and last but not least on the guests. There are families who like to use the time window from 5.30 p.m. to 8 p.m., other guests prefer 10 p.m. and want to eat after sit together longer.” Specifying time slots in the evenings or on public holidays – this was primarily done by restaurants with very high demand, says Hartges.
She emphasizes that there is no fundamental cultural change: “This is definitely not the end of German cosiness. Good food, friendly service and a feel-good atmosphere are the decisive factors for sustainable success.”
And a look overseas also helps. In California, for example, it is common practice in hotspots that guests who sit longer and want to have another glass are asked to leave their table and go to the bar, where they can – well – fall.
Julia Zeller, a lawyer at the Bavarian Consumer Advice Center, says: “The reservation window itself is not legally objectionable.” It falls under the so-called freedom of contract. “The innkeepers can therefore set the time frame for a guest’s visit as they wish. In order not to annoy the guests, it is important that this is clearly communicated at the time of reservation. In addition, the service should then also match the specified time frame. “
