Before you share your booking link, and whenever you change how online booking works, it’s worth booking a table yourself, exactly as a guest would. One thing to know first: there’s no test mode. A test booking is a real booking. It goes in your diary, takes a table, sends the confirmation email and any texts, and a deposit is really charged to the card you use. Here’s how to test safely and tidy up afterwards.
Open your booking page
1. Open your online booking settings. In NomNom Web, open Settings from the account menu at the top right, or from the button at the bottom of the left-hand bar, and choose Online Booking & Discover.
2. Click Test Online Booking. It’s further down, just above Copy booking link. Your booking page opens in a new browser tab — the same page guests reach from your booking link. In the phone app it opens inside the app.
In NomNom Web: Settings → Online Booking & Discover → Test Online Booking. In the phone app: Settings → Online Booking & Discover → Test Online Booking, or the three-dots button at the top right of Settings.
Book safely
- Use your own details. The booking page needs a name, email and mobile, and the email and any texts go to whatever you enter. Use your own and you’ll see exactly what guests get.
- Say it’s a test. If your page asks for Special Requests or Notes, type TEST there so your team doesn’t prepare for it.
- Pick a quiet date and time, well ahead. Until you cancel it, it holds a table and counts towards your limits, so a real guest could be turned away.
- Deposits are real money. If the meal asks for a deposit, your card is charged. Pick a meal, day or party size that doesn’t need one, or pay and refund it afterwards. If the page only asks for a card to hold the booking, your card is saved but nothing is taken unless you charge it.
- Large-party alerts. If your test party is big enough, your large-party alert email goes too.
What to check
- The times you expect are offered. If not, see How NomNom decides which times to offer online.
- The booking appears in your diary straight away. In NomNom Web it usually carries a Web tag.
- The confirmation email arrives, with the right date, time, wording and buttons. With Copy my restaurant on confirmations switched on, you get a copy too.
- If you send confirmation texts, yours arrives about three minutes later (texts only go between 7am and 10pm), using SMS credits like any other. See When NomNom sends confirmation and reminder texts.
Cancel it afterwards
1. Find the booking on its date in NomNom.
2. Cancel it. See Cancelling a booking and marking a no-show. Its table is freed straight away and it stops counting towards your limits. A text that hasn’t gone yet won’t be sent.
Or try it the way a guest would: if your confirmation email has a Cancel Reservation button, cancel from there.
Either way, the cancellation email comes to you, unless Email the customer is switched off under Settings → Cancellations & No-shows. A deposit is refunded automatically only if Automatically refund deposits is on there and you’re outside your No-refund window. Otherwise an admin can refund it from the booking: see Refunding a deposit or card payment.
Good to know
- You’ll be in your guest list, with the test in your booking history, like any guest.
- Test on a phone too. Plenty of guests book on a phone, so try your link on one, and from the booking button on your own website if you have one (see Putting the booking form on your own website).
- On a free trial? NomNom Web’s Get started card has an Open booking page button, and ticks that step off when your booking arrives.