New app Eat Out Manila promises easier restaurant booking experience

Hungry but unsure of where to eat? Are you perhaps trying to reserve a table at your favorite restaurant for a big group of family and friends? Are you always on the go and can't be bothered to pick up your telephone or boot your computer in order to do all this?

Enter 24-hour restaurant reservation app Eat Out Manila. Users will be able to search restaurants via name, proximity (250 meters to 50 kilometers), price range, and be able to glimpse the menu (complete with the individual prices broken down) beforehand.

Users will also have access to app-exclusive deals, discounts, and promos directly from the restaurants themselves—no strings attached, the app claims.

“We have the same business model as that of other countries; my job is to fill up restaurants. We’re not a deal site, we’re something more exclusive. Our deals are direct from the restaurant and we just pass it on,” said Eat Out Manila founder Iñaki Lamata at a press conference on Friday at Spanish restaurant Rambla. “We're pushing for the best deals in town, with a goal of up to 30 percent off.”

The app is free to download, ad-free, with no charges on top of the diner's bill.

The Filipino touch

This isn't Lamata's first business venture, but it's certainly his first foray into IT. He came up with the app because his Spanish business partner, who resides in Madrid, asked him if there were any Philippine restaurant reservation apps—and when Lamata said there weren't, it took off from there.

“We’re redefining the dining experience in Manila. We’re introducing something that’s very common to other parts of the world,” he said. “We’ve gotten a very good response from the restaurants and the diners. We just need to get it out there that there is such a technological innovation.”

When asked what sets Eat Out Manila apart from the booking apps in other nations, he answered, “We're not a franchise of anyone. We're free to customize it with a Filipino touch.”

“I think this is the right time [to launch] because the restaurant business in Manila is booming and becoming very competitive,” he said.

App functionality

Lamata demonstrated how the app works at the press conference. “It's a simple four-step process,” he said. “Select the date, time, how many people, then click 'book.' You will be sent an SMS message and a confirmation email with a unique reference number.”

There is also a cancellation option. And to help restaurants protect themselves from losses, the app will also send emails to no-shows asking for the reason behind their non-appearance. Three incidences of no-showing will cause the user to be blocked from the app for six months up to a year. The restaurants will also be able to track no-shows.

The app also has a website (www.eatoutmanila.com) which has all of the app's features.

Lamata disclosed that they aim to have more features in the future, including social functions. Friends and family will be able to see which restaurants are your favorites, for example. Also in the works are social media accounts, a newsletter, and a loyalty points system.

Lamata hopes that, once the downloads pick up, they will be able to hold raffles once a week, with P2,000 vouchers from sponsored restaurants as prizes.

Under negotiation as of posting time is a partnership with a major review site and transportation services. They hope to have the review option up by the next upgrade.

Restaurant partnerships

Eat Out Manila is open to most restaurants with the exception of fast food joints, as Lamata pointed out that those places don't need reservations.

But at the same time, they won't partner with just any restaurant—one of the criteria a prospective partner must fill is a WiFi connection, as they also offer a database, booking management, and SMS systems solely for the restaurant's desktop computer.

“The restaurants will be able to send you text messages notifying when a table is ready,” Lamata explained.

As of August, Eat Out Manila has around 100 partner restaurants and projects some 350 to 400 more in the months to come. They also hope to include restaurants in tourist-heavy places such as Cebu and Boracay by the end of December.

The app is now available on the iTunes app store, although it will receive a version 2 upgrade in September. Android users will be getting the full app and its upgrade in October. — BM, GMA News