In this article, you’ll learn how to configure, customise and optimise your experiences (set menus, events, special offers).
Summary
Setting up from the web application
Setting up from the iOS and Android app
Common issues & FAQs
Support & related articles
What you need to know
Experiences allow you to offer specific options to your customers (menus, set formulas, seasonal offers, etc.).
They are displayed online via your reservation module and can include detailed information such as pricing, schedule, and booking conditions.
Each experience is independent — you can activate several simultaneously, each with its own rules.
1. Setting up from the web application
1. Create a new experience
- Go to your Settings > Services & Bookings > Services & Experiences, then select Experiences.
- Click the “New Experience” button.
- Name and describe the experience you want to offer (you can add translations in other languages if needed).
-
Upload an image that represents the experience. For optimal results, you
should aim for:
- Ratio: 16:9
- Resolution: 1600 x 900px
- Maximum file size: 5MB - Set the experience price and decide whether to display it on the reservation module.
- You can choose to activate prepayment for this experience. See this article for more details on prepaid experiences.
- Click “Create” to save.
2. Define services and applicable days
For this second step of creating an experience, you will be redirected to the services and relevant periods management screen to define on which occasion(s) it will be offered.
Define the visibility of the experience. You can choose from the following modes :
-
Experience visibility
Regular – The experience is visible to customers after they select the corresponding day and booking time.
Highlighted – The experience is featured and displayed directly on the homepage of your booking module.
Private – The experience is hidden from online booking; accessible only via a direct link.
Set a booking window and custom duration :
Custom duration – Set a fixed or per-person duration for this experience. This will overrides the default booking duration of your tables.
Limit late access to online reservations – Prevent bookings in the last hours before the service starts to preserve operational flow.
Limit early access to online reservations – Prevent bookings too far in advance to reduce cancellations.
Restrict to a period and days :
If necessary, restrict the days and/or period during which you want to offer this experience.
Related services :
-
Related services – Tick the blue toggle next to the service(s) where this experience should be available.
A dropdown will appear, allowing you to set additional availability rules, including:
Limit experience selection by number of covers
Example: Prevent a 2-cover reservation from selecting 3 menus.Force experience selection for the whole table:
Example: All guests must choose the same menu.Define cover-based availability:
Example: Only show a “Group Menu” starting at 6 guests.Limit the number of experiences available per service:
Example: Only 10 “Chef’s Table” menus per evening.Set a min/max number of experiences per booking:
Example: Maximum of 2 “Chef’s Book” menus per reservation.Limit number of experiences per time slot:
Example: Only 2 “Chef’s Table” seats per time slot.Restrict experiences to specific rooms
To do this, you must have the table inventory (table stock) and room selection enabled.
If you don’t restrict the experience to specific room(s), all rooms will be available by default.
If you limit the experience to certain room(s) and later add new rooms, these will not be automatically added to the experience.
To manage experience availability per time slot, click on “List of slots.”
3. Create a dedicated experience for an exceptional service
Then, follow the steps in Chapter 1 (Create a new experience).
Finally, apply the experience to your exceptional service as shown in Chapter 2.
4. Manage the display order of experiences
The order in which your experiences appear in the back office is reflected in your online booking module.
Simply drag and drop to reorder them.
5. Require an experience for a specific service
By default, experiences are optional for customers when booking online.
To make experience selection mandatory for a specific service:
Go to the relevant service (from your service calendar or from an exceptional service if applicable).
Enable “Force online reservations to select an experience.”
(Optional) Set a minimum number of covers for which the experience is required.
Customers must then select at least one experience per guest. If no experiences are available for that service, the service will not be bookable.
6. Bonus: Temporarily deactivate an experience without deleting it
Want to hide an experience without deleting it (e.g. for Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day)?
Just uncheck the blue toggle next to the experience’s name.
2. Setting up from the Zenchef iOS and Android App
This setting is not yet available in the Zenchef iOS app. Please access your account from the Web App to configure it.
3. Common issues & FAQs
Common cases
My experience doesn’t show on the booking module
Make sure it’s activated and that no setting is blocking its availability. Check the “Slot List” section for details.
My experience doesn’t show on Google Reserve
Experiences are not currently compatible with the Google Reserve module and won’t appear there.
FAQ
How can I offer my experience only on certain days?
Configure this in the “Applicable periods” section of the experience settings.
What image format should I use for my experience?
Use a square format. Display size is approximately 350px by 350px.
4. Support & Related Articles
Contact our support team
Need help? Reach out to the Zenchef support team via the chatbot on your dashboard or visit our Help Centre.