This tweet from Benjamin Ellis (@BenjaminEllis) really got me thinking.
Are there lots of restaurants in the UK using twitter? Could this be the first successful reservation made through the micro-blogging service? It certainly isn’t the first restaurant in the UK to be talked about for using twitter.
I really like the idea that wherever I am, if I get hungry, I can use twitter to find somewhere friendly to eat.
I started a little bit of research and put my detective skills to work, but I couldn’t find many restaurants with a presence on Twitter. The ones I could find, I started to follow, eager to find out more about what they were doing.
Those that followed me back, I sent them a message to ask if they were willing to take booking via twitter. Out of the 26 restaurants I identified on twitter, 6 confirmed that they could take a booking via the site
Here is a little more info about those 6 restaurants:
@GlanYrAfon - Glan Yr Afon in Dolphin, Honywell, North Wales - Website
Not only do they have a twitter presence but also a blog packed with information, like details of events happening at the Inn and all the local attractions you might want to visit. They have also recently started a Twitterleague for pubs and Hotels.
@HoodenersHorse - Hoodeners Horse in Great Chart, Kent - Website
These guys are really throwing themselves into using twitter to enrich their customer relationships, chatting with locals and those a little further afield (like me). Hoodeners Horse is also the venue for a tweetup next weekend and they’re going all-out for Real Ales in August through to October.
@landingsrestaur - Landings Restaurant in Farnborough, Hampshire - Website
Where the only ever twitter reservation (twittervation) has taken place. Landings Restaurant is quick to respond to enquiries and obviously open to taking books by any means available.
@LePetitSquare - Le Petit Square in Newbury, West Berkshire - Website
Probably the first restaurant I was aware of on Twitter due to it being in the town of Newbury where I live and work. Le Petit Square provide free wi-fi and that is a big draw for the twitter community - I see lots of local twitter folk mentioning that they have coffee there and meeting up for lunch. As It’s on my doorstep, Le Petit Square is top of my list of Tweeting Restaurants to visit.
@Mezbaan – Mezabaan Restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland - Website
Another restaurant taking advantage of twitter to communicate with potential customers. They were quick to respond and very friendly. You can book a table or a delivery via their website too.
@sweetmandarin - Sweet Mandarin in Manchester - Website
Sweet Mandarin did not follow me back so I did not have the opportunity to message them about bookings. They are reported to have had Valentine booking attempts back in February (although they were already fully booked). Sweet Mandarin’s Lisa Tse was introduced to twitter by a customer and now even uses the site to deliver a cookery class in conjunction with their blog. Customers even twitpic their visits to the restaurant. They are hosting a tweetup on Wednesday 15th July for Manchester’s Twitteratti. Next time I head to Manchester to see the in-laws, I’ll be aiming to visit Sweet Mandarin.
You can view the complete list of 26 restaurants by downloading my Twitter Restaurant Directory.
Related articles from around the web you may find interesting:
- Restaurants using Twitter (in the USA) - From Online Marketing for Restaurants Blog
- Local restaurant’s ‘Twitter Tuesday’ draws social networking fans - An article about @RileysCafe in Iowa
- Restaurants that Twitter (USA) - A blog post by The Fumbling Foodie
- Restaurants on Twitter - From the Twitter Blog
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Fantastic to see restaurants taking advantage of Twitter - let’s hope even more will follow the lead!
Great news - to be honest, independant restaurants (and others in the F&B sector) have often lagged behind technologically, as until very recently they have been somewhat targetted with very high licensing fees, et al.
If technology is beginning to be seen as more accessible to them (especially something like twitter), then that can only be a good thing.
Smart use of Twitter. Does it work? Has anyone tried it in the US?
Hi Sourceress, Thanks for giving The Glan a mention - we are working hard to communicate with customers and interested parties !!
Don’t want to rain on your parade of who got the first booking by Twitter but I did actually have to call my Manager there a few months ago and tell him ” One of my Tweeps is coming to lunch ” - he thought I was just a little madder than usual !!
That’s great news! I’m happy to be proved wrong
I love the idea that restaurants and other businesses are engaging like this with local (and sometimes not so local) people. I hope you continue to meet new people and get business from Twitter.
If I am ever in North Wales, I’ll be sure to stop by.
Thanks !!
We started with a website, then a Facebook page, then a Twitter page and then a Blogsite. Although we did this on our own initially we are now getting professional help and great results.
We also get a lot of ( room ) bookings from eg booking.com
Our objective is to improve and widen communications with our customers and prospective customers and this is working.
You are always welcome
Regards, Chris.
Hello, just wanted to say what a great article this is, and very interesting research. I work with many fine dining restaurants and hotels, and am trying to persuade many of them the value of twitter and blogs. Most of the feedback I’ve had so far is that many are interested, but are worried about the time and resources involved in keeping it up to date, and the size of the audiences they will receive in return.
I can only see the enormous benefits of building a local, engaged database without having to pay for the privilege, and an excellent tool for communicating bang up to date offers and availability, all for a bit of time and effort to set it up and build the followers.
It’s an interesting topic to refer back to in the future, and I’ll be referencing this article in my upcoming blog (still preparing final details for launch!). Well done to all those businesses on board already, this may just be the start of something big for the hospitality industry.
All the best
Henrietta