You will learn how to activate the shared gift cards feature across multiple venues in your group, how to track sales, and what this means for your guests and your team.
Table of Contents
- Activating shared Gift Cards
- How shared Gift Cards work for guests
- Technical specifications
- FAQs
- Support & Related Articles
What you need to know
This feature allows you to share gift cards between several restaurants within the same group. A Gift Card purchased at Restaurant A can be redeemed at Restaurant B, provided both venues are part of the same group.
The sharing is not retroactive: only gift cards sold after activation are eligible.
A dedicated link allows the gift card beneficiary to view the list of participating restaurants, with direct access to their booking modules.
To activate this feature (intended for restaurant groups), you need to subscribe to the Multi-venue option. Please contact our support team or your account manager for more information.
1. Activating shared Gift Cards
Pre-requisite
Before anything else, your restaurant group must be properly configured in Zenchef.
All restaurants must be linked under the same group. This verification is carried out by our support team, contact them directly via the chatbot in your account or by phone.
Activating the sharing feature
Log in to your Zenchef account
To include a restaurant in the sharing group: click the “+” icon on the left column
To exclude a restaurant from the sharing group: click the “–” icon on the right column
Only the manually added restaurants are included in the sharing feature.
2. How shared Gift Cards work for guests
Once activated, the purchasing and redemption experience remains smooth and simple.
The gift card purchase process remains the same as for a standard Gift Cards (see related article).
The only difference is in the email received by the beneficiary, which includes:
The following message in the Terms & Conditions section:
“This Gift Cards is valid in several restaurants within the group. See participating restaurants here.
This gift card cannot be exchanged for cash. For more information, please refer to the Terms & Conditions.”
By clicking “See participating restaurants here”, the beneficiary is redirected to a dedicated page listing:
The names of all participating restaurants
A link to the booking module of each venue to simplify reservation
The beneficiary can then choose the restaurant of their choice and book directly.
3. Technical specifications
Any gift card sold after activating the sharing feature can be used in any restaurant included in the group.
The feature is not retroactive: gift card sold before activation remain valid only at their original venue.
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Detailed information for each gift card is available under Pay > Shop > Gift Cards You can see:
The restaurant where the gift card was sold
Where it was redeemed
The date and amount used
The “Sold by” field is included in the CSV export for accounting purposes.
No notifications are sent when a gift card is used in another venue, but this can be checked manually in the gift card sales list.
The list of participating restaurants is automatically updated based on your group’s configuration under the Shared Gift Cards section in the settings.
This list is only available in the order confirmation email.
4. FAQs
How can I see where a gift card was sold or used?
Go to Pay > Shop > Gift Cards and click on the Gift Card in question.
A detail window will open with:
- The “Sold by” field showing the original venue
- The usage history at the top, including amount used, date, and venue
Can I access this data in a CSV export?
Yes. The “Sold by” field is included in the exported file for easier internal accounting.
Is the gift card sharing feature retroactive?
No. Gift Cards sold before activation can only be used at the original venue.
5. Support & Related Articles
Contact our support team
For further assistance, feel free to contact Zenchef support via the chatbot available in your client dashboard or visit our Help Center.