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Three In Four Book Online. Often After Closing Time.
Who books online, who still calls, and at what hour the reservations come in.
HappyChef Datahub
The phone is no longer how most Belgians book a table. Almost three in four reservations are made online by the guest, and one in eight of those arrives late in the evening, when nobody could answer a phone anyway. The phone keeps one role: large groups and last-minute tables. These nine insights show how reservations reach Belgian restaurants, and when.
The Insights In This Article
- 73% Of Reservations Are Made Online By The Guest
- The Online Share Stays Between 73% And 78%
- Couples Book Online, Big Groups Call
- Thursday Has The Highest Online Share
- Same-Day Tables Are Still Called In More Often
- 12.5% Of Online Reservations Come In From 21:00
- 36.5% Of Online Reservations Arrive During Service
- Friday Is The Day Guests Book The Most
- The Booking Page Converts 18.6%, The Website Widget 3.8%
Insight 2 of 9
The Online Share Stays Between 73% And 78%
Month by month the online share moves between 73% and 78%. Online booking is not a trend that is still arriving: it is already the normal way to book.
| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| January | 72.5% |
| February | 74.8% |
| March | 75.1% |
| April | 77.8% |
| May | 76% |
| June | 73.9% |
| July | 73.4% |
| August | 76.1% |
| September | 74.3% |
- Period
- Visits from 1 January to 30 September 2026
- Datapoints
- 37,680
- Restaurants
- 42 Belgian restaurants
- Method
- Online share per restaurant per month of visit (at least 20 reservations), averaged over the restaurants active that month.
Insight 3 of 9
Couples Book Online, Big Groups Call
For two guests, 78% of reservations are made online. For seven or eight it drops to 52%, and for nine or more only 21% book online: big groups still want to talk to someone.
| Group | Share | Datapoints |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 65.1% | 369 |
| 2 | 77.7% | 18,045 |
| 3–4 | 76.8% | 12,388 |
| 5–6 | 74.2% | 3,970 |
| 7–8 | 52% | 1,467 |
| 9+ | 21% | 1,441 |
- Period
- Reservations made from 1 October 2025 for visits up to 30 September 2026
- Datapoints
- 37,680
- Restaurants
- 42 Belgian restaurants
- Method
- Online share per party size, computed within each restaurant (at least 10 reservations per group), then averaged.
Insight 4 of 9
Thursday Has The Highest Online Share
Visits on a Thursday are booked online most often (76%). Sunday has the lowest online share (68%), with more families and groups who call.
| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| Monday | 71.7% |
| Tuesday | 71.4% |
| Wednesday | 70.6% |
| Thursday | 75.8% |
| Friday | 75.4% |
| Saturday | 72.1% |
| Sunday | 68% |
- Period
- Reservations made from 1 October 2025 for visits up to 30 September 2026
- Datapoints
- 37,680
- Restaurants
- 42 Belgian restaurants
- Method
- Online share per weekday of the visit, computed within each restaurant (at least 10 reservations per group), then averaged.
Insight 5 of 9
Same-Day Tables Are Still Called In More Often
For a table today, 61% of reservations are made online, against 77% for a visit two to seven days ahead: the last-minute table is where the phone still matters most.
| Group | Share | Datapoints |
|---|---|---|
| Same day | 61.4% | 7,213 |
| Next day | 74.8% | 5,036 |
| 2–7 days | 76.8% | 10,704 |
| 8–30 days | 73.5% | 8,978 |
| 30+ days | 71.7% | 5,478 |
- Period
- Reservations made from 1 October 2025 for visits up to 30 September 2026
- Datapoints
- 37,409
- Restaurants
- 42 Belgian restaurants
- Method
- Online share by how far ahead the reservation was made, computed within each restaurant (at least 10 reservations per group), then averaged.
Insight 6 of 9
12.5% Of Online Reservations Come In From 21:00
Online reservations peak at 17:00, as guests plan their evening. But 12.5% come in from 21:00 onwards, when the kitchen is closing and no phone would be answered.
| Group | Share | Datapoints |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | 0.5% | 131 |
| 01:00 | 0.1% | 45 |
| 02:00 | 0% | 14 |
| 03:00 | 0% | 11 |
| 04:00 | 0.1% | 17 |
| 05:00 | 0.1% | 21 |
| 06:00 | 0.5% | 135 |
| 07:00 | 1.7% | 432 |
| 08:00 | 3.3% | 898 |
| 09:00 | 5.6% | 1,667 |
| 10:00 | 6% | 1,701 |
| 11:00 | 6.5% | 1,829 |
| 12:00 | 6.8% | 1,877 |
| 13:00 | 6.7% | 1,807 |
| 14:00 | 5.8% | 1,539 |
| 15:00 | 6.4% | 1,544 |
| 16:00 | 7.3% | 1,780 |
| 17:00 | 8.5% | 2,171 |
| 18:00 | 8.3% | 2,202 |
| 19:00 | 7.9% | 2,148 |
| 20:00 | 6.7% | 1,909 |
| 21:00 | 5.7% | 1,586 |
| 22:00 | 4% | 1,187 |
| 23:00 | 1.4% | 397 |
- Period
- Online reservations made from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026
- Datapoints
- 27,048
- Restaurants
- 34 Belgian restaurants
- Method
- The hour (Belgian time) at which guests made online reservations. Service hours are 12:00–13:59 and 18:00–20:59. Each restaurant counts equally: its own figure is computed first and then averaged, so one busy restaurant cannot dominate. Restaurants with fewer than 30 reservations in the period are left out.
Insight 7 of 9
36.5% Of Online Reservations Arrive During Service
36.5% of online reservations are made during lunch (12:00–13:59) or dinner service (18:00–20:59), exactly the hours when the team has no hand free for the phone.
| Group | Share | Datapoints |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | 0.5% | 131 |
| 01:00 | 0.1% | 45 |
| 02:00 | 0% | 14 |
| 03:00 | 0% | 11 |
| 04:00 | 0.1% | 17 |
| 05:00 | 0.1% | 21 |
| 06:00 | 0.5% | 135 |
| 07:00 | 1.7% | 432 |
| 08:00 | 3.3% | 898 |
| 09:00 | 5.6% | 1,667 |
| 10:00 | 6% | 1,701 |
| 11:00 | 6.5% | 1,829 |
| 12:00 | 6.8% | 1,877 |
| 13:00 | 6.7% | 1,807 |
| 14:00 | 5.8% | 1,539 |
| 15:00 | 6.4% | 1,544 |
| 16:00 | 7.3% | 1,780 |
| 17:00 | 8.5% | 2,171 |
| 18:00 | 8.3% | 2,202 |
| 19:00 | 7.9% | 2,148 |
| 20:00 | 6.7% | 1,909 |
| 21:00 | 5.7% | 1,586 |
| 22:00 | 4% | 1,187 |
| 23:00 | 1.4% | 397 |
- Period
- Online reservations made from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026
- Datapoints
- 27,048
- Restaurants
- 34 Belgian restaurants
- Method
- The hour (Belgian time) at which guests made online reservations. Service hours are 12:00–13:59 and 18:00–20:59. Each restaurant counts equally: its own figure is computed first and then averaged, so one busy restaurant cannot dominate. Restaurants with fewer than 30 reservations in the period are left out.
Insight 8 of 9
Friday Is The Day Guests Book The Most
Guests make the most online reservations on a Friday (16.5%) and the fewest on a Monday (12.8%).
| Group | Share | Datapoints |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 12.8% | 3,801 |
| Tuesday | 12.9% | 3,609 |
| Wednesday | 13.9% | 4,077 |
| Thursday | 14.8% | 4,001 |
| Friday | 16.5% | 4,191 |
| Saturday | 16.2% | 3,799 |
| Sunday | 13% | 3,570 |
- Period
- Online reservations made from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026
- Datapoints
- 27,048
- Restaurants
- 34 Belgian restaurants
- Method
- The weekday on which guests made online reservations. Each restaurant counts equally: its own figure is computed first and then averaged, so one busy restaurant cannot dominate. Restaurants with fewer than 30 reservations in the period are left out.
Insight 9 of 9
The Booking Page Converts 18.6%, The Website Widget 3.8%
Of the booking sessions opened on the HappyChef booking page, 18.6% end in a reservation. On the widget embedded in a restaurant's own website it is 3.8%, probably because many visitors open it just to check availability.
| Group | Share | Datapoints |
|---|---|---|
| HappyChef booking page | 18.6% | 32,312 |
| Widget on the restaurant's website | 3.8% | 66,943 |
- Period
- Booking sessions from 12 August to 13 October 2026
- Datapoints
- 99,634
- Restaurants
- 39 Belgian restaurants
- Method
- Completed online reservations divided by booking sessions opened, per restaurant and entry point (at least 100 sessions), averaged: the HappyChef booking page versus the widget on the restaurant's own website.
How We Built This Article
Period
Reservations made from 1 October 2025 for visits up to 30 September 2026 · Visits from 1 January to 30 September 2026 · Online reservations made from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 · Booking sessions from 12 August to 13 October 2026
Datapoints
9 insights, each resting on at least 27,048 datapoints (the largest on 99,634), from 34–42 Belgian restaurants.
Method
Anonymous aggregates over Belgian HappyChef restaurants, each restaurant weighted equally, with every figure over at least five restaurants and 1,000 datapoints.
About This Data
This analysis is based on Belgian restaurants that use HappyChef: 34–42 restaurants, depending on the insight. Restaurants that joined during the period are normalised so the growing number of restaurants never inflates a trend, demo and test accounts are left out, and placeholder values (an empty field saved as zero) are ignored.
Every figure is an anonymous aggregate. Each one combines at least five restaurants and at least 1,000 datapoints, no restaurant is named or singled out, and no name, email address, phone number or remark of a guest is ever published.
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