What is a customer database? Restaurant guest data explained

A customer database is a system for storing guest contact information, visit history, and preferences. For restaurants, it turns anonymous diners into known guests you can recognize, reward, and bring back. Restaurants with organized guest data see 20-30% higher repeat visit rates compared to those relying on memory alone.

Key facts

• Definition: Centralized record of guest contact details, visit history, preferences, and notes
• Key metric: Guest return rate (repeat visits / total visits)
• Good benchmark: 30-40% of guests are repeat visitors
• Why it matters: Acquiring a new guest costs 5-7x more than retaining an existing one

The quick definition

A restaurant customer database collects and organizes information about every guest who visits or makes a reservation. This includes contact details (name, email, phone), visit history (dates, party sizes, spending), and personal preferences (dietary needs, favorite tables, special occasions).

Unlike a simple contact list, a customer database connects all these data points to each guest profile, giving your team a complete picture at a glance.

Why a customer database matters

Guest recognition drives loyalty

People return to restaurants where they feel known. A customer database gives every staff member access to the same guest intelligence:

Data-driven marketing

A database lets you move beyond generic promotions:

• Invite top spenders to exclusive events
• Send birthday offers to guests with upcoming celebrations
• Re-engage guests who have not visited in 60+ days
• Promote new menu items to guests who ordered similar dishes

Operational insights

Aggregate guest data reveals patterns:

How to build a restaurant customer database

1. Start with reservations

Your reservation system is your primary data source. Every booking captures:

• Guest name
• Phone number
• Email address
• Party size
• Date and time

If you use a system like Resos, guest profiles are created automatically with each booking. Visit history, spending data, and notes accumulate over time without extra work from your staff.

2. Capture walk-in data

Walk-ins are harder to track, but not impossible:

• Use a digital waitlist that collects name and phone number
• Offer Wi-Fi login that captures email
• Train hosts to ask for contact info when adding to waitlist
• Use QR code menus that optionally collect data

3. Enrich profiles over time

Each visit is a chance to add more information:

4. Keep data clean

Bad data is worse than no data:

• Merge duplicate profiles (same guest, different phone numbers)
• Update contact info when guests provide changes
• Remove bounced emails and disconnected numbers
• Archive profiles with no activity in 2+ years

5. Segment your guests

Group guests for targeted outreach:

Best practices

• Automate data collection. Your reservation and POS systems should feed guest profiles without manual entry. Staff should only need to add notes and preferences.
• Make it accessible during service. Data locked in a back-office spreadsheet helps no one. Your host stand and servers need instant access to guest profiles when a reservation arrives.
• Respect privacy. Always get consent, honor opt-outs, and never share guest data with third parties. Trust is hard to build and easy to break.
• Act on the data. A database is only valuable if your team uses it. Train staff to check guest profiles before service and add notes after.

Related terms

• Cover - A single guest, the basic unit tracked in your database
• No-show - Guest history helps identify and manage repeat no-show offenders
• Walk-in - Guests without reservations who are harder to capture in your database
• Booking lead time - Reservation data reveals how far in advance different guest segments book

Related: How to reduce no-shows | How to get more reservations | How to choose a booking system