--- title: Holly, the AI host for restaurants description: Holly answers every website chat, enquiry form, email and WhatsApp message for UK and Ireland restaurants in seconds, books and amends straight into OpenTable, and hands your team only what needs a person. canonical_url: https://www.askholly.ai/ last_updated: 2026-10-09 --- # Holly, the AI host for restaurants Every guest answered. In seconds, at 01:00 am, mid-service and on WhatsApp. Holly is your AI host, replying to every enquiry in seconds, booking straight into OpenTable and handing your team only what needs a person. Holly is built for restaurants in the UK and Ireland by Holly AI, a subsidiary of EB Tech Limited. - [Book a demo](https://calendly.com/boxlycrm/meet-holly-your-digital-concierge) - [Pricing](#pricing) - [FAQ](#faq) - [Holly for OpenTable](https://www.askholly.ai/opentable/) - [Group bookings and Christmas enquiries](https://www.askholly.ai/group-bookings/) - [Holly on WhatsApp](https://www.askholly.ai/whatsapp/) - [Holly for restaurant groups](https://www.askholly.ai/restaurant-groups/) ## The problem: your guests are asking. Who’s answering? Questions arrive all day and long after close, by chat, form, email and WhatsApp. Mid-service nobody has a free hand, so replies slip to tomorrow and the party of twenty books with whoever answered first. - 1 in 3 emailed enquiries got no reply at all in a test of 250 UK and Irish venues ([Stampede, via QSR Media](https://qsrmedia.com/research/news/one-out-three-customers-dont-get-reply-their-query-report)). - 22% of those venues replied within the first hour (same source). - 27% of UK and Irish diners would pick another restaurant rather than call or email ([ResDiary, 2025](https://resdiary.com/blog/dining-out-in-london-hospitality-industry-trends-2025)). - 90% of UK online adults use WhatsApp, and 74% open it every day ([Ofcom, Online Nation 2025](https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/online-research/online-nation/2025/online-nations-report-2025.pdf)). ## Meet Holly, your AI host Holly knows your menus, your policies and your book, and answers every guest in your restaurant’s name. ### On your website Guests ask, book and change plans without leaving your website. - **Branded as your restaurant:** your name, colours and tone of voice, so it feels like your front desk. - **Live OpenTable availability:** Holly only offers times that are actually free, then books them straight in. - **Answers from your menus and policies:** allergens, deposits, parking and dress code, answered the same way every time. ### On WhatsApp The app your guests already use, answered in your restaurant’s name. - **Changes and cancellations in the thread:** guests move or cancel in a few messages, and the booking updates in OpenTable. - **No booking reference needed:** Holly finds the booking from the email or phone number it was made with. - **Picks up days later where they left off:** the thread stays open, so a guest can reply on Tuesday to a question from Saturday. ### On email Every form and email answered, with the big ones handed to your team ready to close. - **Replies in seconds, day or night:** a real answer, not an acknowledgement, whether it lands at 15:00 or 23:00. - **Asks the right questions:** date, numbers, budget and dietary needs, gathered before your team picks it up. - **Follows up if they go quiet:** a polite nudge on a set schedule, so the big enquiries don’t go cold. ## Nothing slips through. Your team stays in charge. Every conversation from every channel and every location lands in one inbox. Holly sorts each one, replies where a reply is enough and hands the rest to the right person, with the whole thread attached. - **Holly triage:** Holly reads each message, works out what it is (booking, change, question, group booking, complaint) and routes it. - **Training:** Holly is trained on your restaurant: menus, specials and offers, FAQs, allergens, policies, and your processes for group bookings, complaints and job requests. Add anything else as a PDF, a link or a note. - **Inbox:** every channel in one place, already sorted. - **Group bookings:** high-value enquiries tracked from first message to booked. - **Complaints:** every complaint owned and tracked to resolved. ## Book and amend straight into OpenTable Every booking, change and cancellation lands in your OpenTable book in real time. Nothing to retype. 1. Guest enquiry by website chat, email or WhatsApp. 2. Holly checks live availability in OpenTable. 3. Holly locks the slot while the guest confirms. 4. Holly books it into your OpenTable book under your policies. 5. Holly updates the guest profile and tags: allergies, notes and VIP. Changes and cancellations follow the same route. ## Live in three steps 1. **Book a demo:** see Holly answer your own enquiries, with your menus and live availability. 2. **We set Holly up with you:** menus, policies and tone, connected to OpenTable and your channels. 3. **Get your team back:** Holly answers in seconds. Your team only picks up what needs a person. ## Pricing One product, priced per location. Everything is included at every size. | Locations | Price | | --- | --- | | 1 location | £199 per month | | 2 to 5 locations | £179 per location, per month | | 6 to 15 locations | £159 per location, per month | | 16 or more locations | Tailored pricing | Setup fees apply for more than one location. WhatsApp Business messaging fees are set by Meta and billed by Meta directly to you. Included on every plan: - Website chat, forms, email and WhatsApp - Bookings and changes straight into OpenTable - Inbox, pipelines and Training - Follow-ups and handoff to your team - One inbox and reporting across every location - Shared knowledge, local details per location - Set up with your menus and policies ## FAQ ### Will guests know it’s AI? They should, and they can. Holly says plainly that the guest is talking to the restaurant’s AI assistant, and if a guest asks whether they’re talking to a person, Holly tells the truth. Most guests care that the answer came at 23:41, not who typed it. ### What happens when Holly gets it wrong? Mistakes stay small and visible. Holly only offers tables OpenTable shows as available and locks the slot before confirming, so a double booking can’t happen. If unsure, Holly says so and hands the thread to your team. Every conversation is kept, so you can see exactly what was said and fix the policy behind it. ### Does this replace my team? No. It replaces the lag. Holly takes the first reply, the back and forth over dates and the booking admin. Your team keeps complaints, regulars, big functions once qualified, and service itself. ### Can guests change a booking without the reference? Yes. Most guests never kept it. Holly finds the booking in OpenTable from the email address or phone number they booked with, then moves or cancels it under your policies. ### Doesn’t OpenTable already message my guests? It does, and Holly doesn’t duplicate it. OpenTable sends confirmations and reminders to guests who already have a booking. Holly talks to the people who don’t have one yet, and hands the booking to OpenTable when they do. ### Can I use Holly with a booking system other than OpenTable? Yes. Holly still answers every enquiry, sorts and routes it, and runs your inbox and pipelines. When a guest is ready to book, Holly sends them straight to your own booking page instead of making the booking in the conversation. ### Does Holly answer the phone? Not today. Holly works on your website, enquiry forms, email and WhatsApp. Many calls are questions Holly can settle there first, so the phone rings less. ### How does Holly know our policies? Everything lives in one knowledge base, in plain English: menus, set menus, offers, allergens, opening hours, deposits, minimum spends, dogs, parking and private dining. We set this up with you before Holly goes live. Booking and cancellation rules come from your OpenTable configuration. ### Will the follow-ups annoy people? Not if they’re done like a good host would. One or two, same channel, same thread, sensible hours. Holly stops the moment a guest replies, books or asks to stop, and never starts a conversation out of nowhere. You set how many and how far apart. ### What about GDPR and WhatsApp opt-in? Holly processes guest data on your behalf as your processor under UK GDPR and EU GDPR, under our [data processing terms](https://www.askholly.ai/data-processing/). Profile details are written to your OpenTable CRM. On WhatsApp, Holly replies in conversations the guest started, and follow-ups stay within WhatsApp Business messaging rules. Guests can ask Holly to stop at any time. ### Are WhatsApp messaging fees included? No. WhatsApp Business messaging fees are set by Meta and billed by Meta directly to you, separately from your Holly plan. Messages your guests send you are free. ## Your guests’ data, handled properly - **GDPR compliant:** Holly processes guest data as your processor, only on your instructions. - **DPA agreement:** clear data processing terms with every customer, with sub-processors listed. See [Data processing terms](https://www.askholly.ai/data-processing/). - **Hosted in the EU:** guest data is stored within the EU. ## From The Pass, the Holly blog - [Your enquiry inbox needs a ticket time](https://www.askholly.ai/blog/enquiry-response-time.md): Kitchens put a clock on every plate. The inbox, where a lot of next week’s covers start, usually runs without one. - [The Christmas party enquiry that waited until Monday](https://www.askholly.ai/blog/christmas-party-enquiries.md): The first useful reply puts you ahead for the whole party. Here is what it should say, what it should ask and when to chase. - [All posts](https://www.askholly.ai/blog.md) ## Contact - [Book a demo](https://calendly.com/boxlycrm/meet-holly-your-digital-concierge) - Holly is a product of Holly AI, a subsidiary of EB Tech Limited.