The success story of RIJKS

Since 2014, you can visit RIJKS for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Here you dine in an establishment in an uncommon location, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. We go in search of what drives the inspirers behind the business, how they make their dream come true and in what way Resengo supports it.

Awarded one Michelin star, Amsterdam's RIJKS restaurant is worth a visit not only for its unique location, but also for its exquisite cuisine. Everything in this establishment feels organised to perfection, and it should be when you are part of one of the Netherlands' greatest museums. The RIJKS restaurant is a popular destination for lovers of culinary food. Not surprisingly, making reservations at Rijks restaurant is not so obvious. As a result, spots at the Rijks restaurant fill up quickly. RIJKS restaurant Amsterdam therefore started looking for a partner to help them with their reservations.

"We previously worked with two other booking systems and what makes Resengo so fitting for us are the extensive technical features. So all the options we have in terms of setting spreads at daily, weekly and even yearly levels are hugely useful for us."

The employees working with the Resengo system express that they like to immerse themselves in the extensive reservation tools because they find the system works so nicely and it also allows them to function independently of the helpdesk. And RIJKS restaurant dares to go quite far in this. For instance, they adapted the look&feel of the reservation system on their website, because it too has to meet the high standards. "If you look at our reservation module online, you will see that it has been completely adapted to the style of RIJKS. As part of The Rijksmuseum, a lot of value is placed on the seamless implementation of colours and fonts. The system allows this perfectly so we are happy to make use of this as well."

We have a very lenient cancellation policy and if guests have to cancel, for example at Christmas, due to illness, and we can still fill the table, they simply get their deposit back.

– Restaurant RIJKS

Preventing no-shows is an important aspect that attracted the RIJKS restaurant so much in its collaboration with Resengo. "People nowadays always get a phone call from us, in addition to a reminder email," says RIJKS. A friendly reminder with which the RIJKS restaurant immediately double-checks reservations and thus checks whether guests still intend to come. "This is very handy in 2022, especially now with the corona measures, because at that moment we also immediately enter guests' contact details in the system and we no longer have to do this registration in the restaurant itself. That saves a lot of hassle at the entrance."

The RIJKS restaurant asks for a deposit when booking for big events or holidays. "In the beginning, people might be shocked by it for a while but by now it has become customary. We have a very common cancellation period and if guests, for example at Christmas, have to cancel due to illness, and we can still fill the table, they simply get their deposit back. We only really claim the amount if people just don't show up without any notice because then it's lost revenue for us and so it's reasonable, as far as we're concerned."

All the options we have in terms of setting spreads at daily, weekly and even yearly levels are hugely useful for us.

– Restaurant RIJKS

"Basically, we setup a spread of reservations in the system. This ensures that not everyone comes at the same time and guests can be welcomed with enough attention and we can build this up during the evening. This works better for us than having to take on 30 guests at once." So a simple one-off setting can greatly ease the burden on a business. "If you organise the system well, you can basically just let it do its job," he says. RIJKS restaurant Amsterdam does sometimes adjust this depending on, for example, the season and whether they serve inside and/or outside. The constant changes regarding corona measures also currently require the flexibility offered by the system.

"The Resengo Takeaway & Delivery module was really the perfect tool for us to get through the lockdown period somewhat. 2020 has not been the best year for the hospitality industry, for the whole economy actually, but the fact that we were able to use the takeaway module in such a fine way has ensured that we are still keeping our heads above water now."