The verdict in three sentences
Booking intermediaries charge 1 to 3 EUR per cover (sometimes more on premium placement) and keep your customer data. A custom booking platform costs 25,000 to 80,000 EUR as a one-off and hands back the customer relationship, no-show control and loyalty. The break-even is simple arithmetic: as soon as your annual commissions exceed the amortized platform cost, custom wins.
Intermediary commissions vs owned platform
The intermediary model is comfortable at first but becomes a tax on growth. The fuller you get, the more you pay.
| Item | Intermediary (TheFork & co) | Custom platform |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per cover | 1-3 EUR (up to 5-7 EUR for promotion) | 0 EUR |
| Monthly subscription | 0-300 EUR/mo/restaurant | shared hosting ~150-400 EUR/mo group |
| Upfront investment | 0 EUR | 25,000-80,000 EUR |
| Customer data | owned by the intermediary | 100% yours |
| Loyalty program | limited/shared | custom, cross-venue |
| Deposit / no-show | offer-dependent | built in (card hold) |
The tipping point is not ideological, it is arithmetic: compare total annual commissions to the amortized platform cost.
What a custom platform covers and its budget
A group platform is more than a booking widget. It handles multi-site, floor plans, deposits, no-shows and cross-venue loyalty.
| Tier | Features | Restaurants | Budget | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | Multi-site booking, SMS/email confirmations | 2-5 | 25,000-40,000 EUR | 6-9 wks |
| Growth | + floor plan, card deposit, anti no-show | 5-15 | 40,000-60,000 EUR | 9-14 wks |
| Group | + cross-site loyalty, CRM, analytics | 10-30 | 60,000-80,000 EUR | 12-18 wks |
| Payment option | Deposit + card hold (Stripe) | — | +5,000-10,000 EUR | +2-3 wks |
| Maintenance | Support, upgrades | — | 15-20% of build/yr | ongoing |
The booking deposit is the most profitable lever: it cuts no-shows from 15-20% to 3-5%, often worth more than the commission savings.
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Mini case study
Marc, director of a group of 8 brasseries in Lyon, does 90,000 booked covers a year, 55,000 of them via an intermediary at 2.50 EUR per cover. Annual commission: 137,500 EUR.
He invests 65,000 EUR in a group platform with deposits and loyalty, plus ~4,000 EUR/year hosting and 12,000 EUR/year maintenance. In year one, moving 70% of volume to his platform saves roughly 96,000 EUR in commissions and reduces no-shows, for a first-year total cost of about 81,000 EUR. The project is profitable in year one, then returns ~96,000 EUR/year recurring, customer data included.
FAQ
Will we lose the intermediaries' visibility? Intermediaries bring new customers; your platform retains the regulars. The winning play is hybrid: keep the intermediary for acquisition, move loyal guests to your commission-free channel.
Do deposits scare customers away? No, when calibrated well (10-20 EUR per person, refundable). They filter phantom bookings and signal a serious service. No-shows drop sharply.
How long to go live? A multi-site core ships in 6 to 9 weeks. Advanced features (loyalty, CRM) are added later without blocking go-live.
Can we integrate our POS? Yes, via API if your POS exposes one. POS integration costs 5,000-15,000 EUR depending on the vendor and makes real-cover tracking reliable.
What happens to the customer data? It is 100% yours, hosted GDPR-compliant. That is the major strategic advantage of custom: segmentation, re-engagement and loyalty driven by you.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of restaurants, cover volume and current commission and we will compute the break-even and scope. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
