You're paying TheFork for guests who would have found you anyway.
TheFork takes a commission on every booking, including guests who go through Google to find you. With EatNow, those same guests book directly. No commission.
Your guest searches for you on Google. TheFork takes the commission.
Many bookings counted by TheFork follow the same pattern: the guest already knows your restaurant, searches for it on Google, and hits a 'Reserve' button routed through the platform. You pay for a guest you never needed to acquire.
That same Google 'Reserve' button points to your own system. The guest books directly, no middleman, no commission.
- 1Searches your restaurant's name on Google
- 2Views your Google Business profile
- 3Clicks the 'Reserve' button
- 4The booking is routed through TheFork
- 5You pay the commission on that cover
This guest didn't discover you through TheFork. They already knew you.
Commission or fixed subscription: a structural difference.
Comparison based on TheFork's public terms and the EatNow model.
Let's do the math, on a concrete case.
As an example: a restaurant paying €3,000 in commission a month. Here's what the same volume costs on each side.
Same booking volume, a fraction of the cost. The difference goes back where it belongs: into your margin. No marketplace, no dependency.
Build on your own channels.
Your SEO, your traffic
When a guest searches for you on Google, the booking comes straight to you. No share handed to a middleman.
Your data, your decisions
Your whole guest database, accessible and exportable. No filter, no data held back by the platform.
Your relationship, on WhatsApp
Talk to your guests where they actually read. Confirmations, reminders and follow-ups direct, with no platform in between.
Diversify your channels
Capture Google, social and your own site directly, with no commission to hand over.
Booking on WhatsApp
An AI agent that takes bookings and answers, where your guests actually read.
Know your guests better
Your whole guest database is yours: profiles, history, preferences, exportable.
EatNow vs Zenchef
The other comparison: where EatNow stands against Zenchef, point by point.
Bring your whole room onto EatNow.
Reservations, deposits, WhatsApp confirmations, CRM, reporting — one single system. Human support, in French and English, from people who've worked service.