Taking bookings through Google (Reserve with Google)

What diners can do right now

Google Book Now is launching with a simple, focused version first. A diner can:

Find your venue on Google Search or Maps.
See your real-time availability.
Book a table entirely inside Google - they never leave Google or land on your Now Book It widget.
Provide their name, phone number, and email as part of the booking.

What's not available yet

A few things aren't part of this first version. They may be added later, but there's no confirmed timeline yet:

Payments - only free bookings can be taken through Google. Deposits, prepayments, and card capture aren't supported.
Booking options and upsells - diners can't choose menu packages or add-ons.
Choosing a service or section - Google only allows one bookable "service" per venue, so all your services are combined behind the scenes (see below).
Events - these stay widget-only and are never sent to Google.
Marketing consent - see Confirmations and marketing consent, below.

Is this the right fit for your venue?

Because of the above, Google Book Now may not suit every venue just yet. Before you switch it on, it's worth thinking through:

Do you rely heavily on payments for your services? Google only supports free bookings right now, so you may want to limit which services or times are available through Google.
Do you use booking options or upsells? These won't carry across to a Google booking.
Do you rely on capturing marketing consent at the time of booking? Google bookings are set to unsubscribed by default (see below) - worth knowing if you lean on email marketing to grow your guest list.
Do you have a complex or overlapping service structure? - for example, several overlapping dinner sittings or frequent private events? These are harder for Google to represent accurately.

There's no strict pass or fail, it's about understanding the trade-offs before you turn it on.

What you'll need before you switch it on

A Google Business Profile for your venue, and it must be verified. Setting this up is your responsibility, we can't do this for you.
Your venue's name, address, phone number, and website in Now Book It must match your Google Business Profile exactly (for example, "Bob's Burgers Restaurant," not "Bob's Burgers").

Mismatched details are the most common reason Google fails to match a venue at all, so it's worth double-checking these before you get in touch with us.

Getting set up

Because this is a new integration, our team switches this on for you rather than you doing it yourself.

Check your Google Business Profile is verified and that your venue details match it exactly (see above). If you need to change your venue name on Now Book It to match google we can help you with that but we cannot edit your Google Business Profile.
Get in touch with our team at help@nowbookit.com to enable Google Book Now for your venue. Within 3 working days, we'll confirm your details match your Google Business Profile before switching anything on.
Once enabled we'll let you know. Your venue is queued for the next overnight update so if you're enabled today, Google typically starts matching your venue the following morning.
Google then matches your venue to its own Search and Maps listing. This can take a little time, up to two weeks for a brand-new venue to fully appear.

Why your services get combined into one

Google only supports one bookable service per venue. This is a limit on Google's side, not something we've chosen. So if your venue has Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner set up as separate services in Now Book It, Google only ever sees one combined service.

Behind the scenes, when a diner picks a date, time, and party size on Google, Now Book It automatically works out which of your real services that booking belongs to. You don't need to do anything for this to work. Right now, Google Book Now suits venues with simple, single-service setups best (without overlapping services).

How Google bookings show up in Now Book It

Once you're live, any booking made through Google is tagged with a Google icon (a "G") instead of the usual channel icon, and the word "Google" appears in the booking history and change log. You'll see this in:

Diary (timeline view) - summary bar and change log
Runsheet - Method column
Floorplan web app - booking summary, history, and changes
Diary Mobile (web)
Mobile / iPad app - summary, booking history, and changes

Confirmations and marketing consent

Booking confirmations: Google automatically sends the diner its own confirmation as part of the booking - this happens on Google's side. Now Book It also sends your usual confirmation email or SMS, if your venue is set up for it.
Marketing consent: Google's booking flow doesn't let diners opt in to marketing at the time of booking. Because of this, every new guest created through a Google booking is set to unsubscribed by default. You won't be able to email-market to these guests unless they opt in separately elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take deposits through Google? Not yet. Only free bookings are supported right now. Payment support is planned for a future update.

Can diners choose a specific service, like a set menu? No. Google only allows one combined service per venue, and Now Book It automatically matches the booking to the right service behind the scenes.

Will I still see the booking in my diary? Yes! It appears just like any other booking, tagged with a Google icon so you can see where it came from.

Will I be able to email-market to guests who book through Google? Not from a Google booking itself. These guests are set to unsubscribed by default, since Google doesn't support capturing marketing consent. They can still opt in separately if they'd like to hear from you.

How long until I'm live on Google after switching it on? Once received, our team will work to match your venue within 3 working days and confirm to you. While your venue joins the update the next morning, Google itself can take up to two weeks to fully match and display a new venue.

Do I need a Google Business Profile? Yes, and it needs to be verified. That's something you'll need to set up yourself.