Coffee break

Blue Banana, a Dubai-based provider of leisure activities and various experiential outings, is seeking to take advantage of the UAE's busy F&B scene by launching a restaurant bookings site. Product manager Susan Probert explains the motivation behind the move.

Tell us about the new restaurant-booking site that Blue Banana has just launched.

Basically it's an online reservation system whereby you can book a table at any of the restaurants represented on the site, and you will get an email confirmation.

But the bonus is that all the restaurants on the site will have unique special offers exclusively for Blue Banana customers.

How long has the website been up-and-running?

We went live at the end of May, but we're not doing any major marketing for it at the moment; it's in more of a soft-opening phase to begin with, so we can make sure everything is running smoothly.

Why did you decide to incorporate an F&B element into your website?

We are looking to other things to complement our ‘something for the weekend' portfolio, so a service offering restaurant reservations really made sense.

It's also a great way of benefiting our customers by giving them access to special offers - and it's a help for the restaurants themselves as well, because there's not really any other site like this in the UAE. Another factor that made this step very attractive was how busy and varied the UAE's restaurant scene is. This could be a bit daunting for someone wondering where to eat out, so our service makes it simpler.

So what restaurants are featured on the new site?

We have a number of restaurants online, including brands such as InterContinental and Crowne Plaza Dubai Festival City, Hilton, the Wafi restaurants, Mango Tree and Le Méridien to name just a few; so there are some big names involved.

What benefits will outlets themselves gain from the site?

This system will actually have great benefits for the industry. In the current climate no one has big marketing budgets, so this system is really ideal: the set-up is free, then we simply take a rebate from any bookings that are made through the site.

It means that really it's a method of marketing that poses no risk to the outlets, and right now that's a very attractive option.

So we foresee this being very popular within the industry and really helping them drive restaurant business.

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