Restaurants Turn Missed Calls Into Bookings With an AI Host That Texts Back
When a call goes unanswered mid-service, Heep texts the guest on WhatsApp or SMS, answers questions and books the table. Heep reports 8,733 missed calls recovered and 1,151 bookings across its customers in one month.
Who this is about: Full-service restaurants and multi-venue hospitality groups
What it takes
- Cost
- Price not listedHeep's site shows a cost calculator but no list price. Messaging is €99 per 1,000 messages, excluding VAT and Meta's WhatsApp fees.Price checked Oct 15, 2026 on heep.ai. Prices change; check before you buy.
- Setup time
- A few daysOur estimate from the source, for one business.
- Skill needed
- No codeApps and settings only.
Explain it simply
During a busy service nobody can get to the phone, so callers hang up and book somewhere else. With this tool, a guest who gets no answer receives a message within seconds asking how the restaurant can help. The AI checks which tables are actually free, books one into the restaurant's normal reservation system, sends a reminder the day before, asks for a Google review afterwards and later invites back guests who haven't returned. Staff can take over any conversation with one click.
What was done
The restaurant trains Heep on its menu, opening hours and terms, and connects it to its booking system so it can read live availability and book with the restaurant's own dining areas, rules and cancellation terms. Messages from WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email land in one inbox, and the team can step in at any point. Group, private hire and press emails are summarized and sent to the right person.
For each guest the flow is: a missed call triggers a WhatsApp message (or SMS if the number isn't on WhatsApp), Heep offers only genuinely free slots and books the table, then sends a confirm-or-cancel reminder the day before. The day after the visit it sends a thank-you with the Google review link and drafts a reply when the review comes in.
About six weeks later it messages guests who haven't been back, but never ones who already have a booking. When a venue is full, groups can have it offer a table at a sister venue. Heep flags questions it couldn't answer so staff can add the missing information.
How it went
Heep's site reports, from its own database for 24 August to 23 September 2026, 1,151 bookings, 4,368 covers and 8,733 missed calls recovered, with test conversations excluded. It also says 55% of messages arrive mid-service or when the restaurant is closed and 97% of conversations are resolved without the team.
- Heep multiplies that month by 12 to claim an average of 312 bookings and €80,400 per venue per year, and reports €1,250,000 in bookings generated since launch (as of 29 September 2026). These are vendor-calculated figures, and the revenue uses booking value or the venue's declared average spend.
- Named customers say rollout was quick and teams became self-sufficient fast.
- One co-founder says it had "a real impact on our costs" but gives no numbers.
Prompt
1. Train the host on your menu, allergens, opening hours, terrace, parking and booking terms.
2. Connect your booking system so it only offers truly free slots and follows your areas, rules and cancellation terms.
3. Turn on missed-call follow-up: WhatsApp first, SMS fallback.
4. Turn on the day-before confirm/cancel reminder.
5. Turn on the post-visit thank-you with your Google review link, and approve the drafted review replies.
6. Set a win-back message for guests not seen in about six weeks, skipping anyone who already has a booking.
7. Check the "unanswered questions" list weekly and fill the gaps.
8. Track: missed calls per day, bookings recovered, no-show rate.Our checklist, written from Heep's description of the product. Not Heep's actual settings.
Business fit
Who this helps, and how:
Busy full-service restaurants: stop losing tables to unanswered calls during service.
Local & serviceMulti-venue groups: send overflow guests to a sister venue instead of turning them away.
Local & serviceAny booking-based business: copy the flow of missed call, instant text, live-availability booking, reminder, review request and win-back message.
Local & service
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Similar tools
Other tools for this job, and how they differ. Chosen by our editors, never paid for.
- Slang.ai
An AI voice agent that answers the restaurant phone itself instead of texting back after a missed call.
- SevenRooms
A reservation and guest CRM platform with its own marketing tools, if you want one system for bookings and guest messaging.
- ManyChat
WhatsApp and Instagram automation, for simple replies when you don't need direct booking-system integration.
“Vendor or secondhand” (grade C) means: A tool maker's case study, a promotional demo, or someone else's write-up. How we grade. Spotted a mistake? Suggest a correction.