National Restaurant Association Applauds Launch Of Freebookings, A Free Online Reservation Platform For Restaurants

The National Restaurant Association is underscoring its mission to help its members build customer loyalty, rewarding careers and financial success by applauding the recent launch of Freebookings, a new online reservation service by Livebookings that provides operators with a free, web-based reservations solution.

"A service like Freebookings is a great development for the restaurant industry that will provide restaurants of all sizes the opportunity to leverage the online space to grow customer traffic and guest loyalty," said James Balda, chief marketing and communications officer for the National Restaurant Association.

"With six out of 10 consumers using the Internet for visiting restaurant websites, providing the right information and resources once they get there is critical. Our research shows that nearly three in 10 American adults have booked a restaurant reservation online, a metric we believe would be higher if more restaurants had access to a more comprehensive online marketing solution.

"The Freebookings service appears to be a reasonably affordable, turnkey solution for operators to manage online reservations and marketing efforts without directing consumers outside of the restaurant's own website. This new platform will enhance customers' online restaurant experience, and provide operators with a powerful channel to interact directly with their guests to build their own online brand."

###

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 960,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of nearly 13 million employees. We represent the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocate on its behalf. We operate the industry's largest trade show (NRA Show May 5-8, 2012, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart, including the National ProStart Invitational April 27-29, 2012, in Baltimore, Md.) and college-level management program (ManageFirst); as well as the Kids LiveWell program promoting healthful kids' menu options. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org and find us on Twitter @WeRRestaurants, Facebook and YouTube.