Côte Brasserie, inspired by the brasseries of Paris, offers all-day dining and French cuisine for its customers. Headquartered in London, they have 70 restaurants across the UK.
Challenges
Team struggled to manage demand during peak operating hours and high-value holidays, often resulting in missed booking inquiries and unrealized revenue potential
Solution
A scalable AI agent, available 24/7 across all locations, designed to capture every booking opportunity and drive revenue by ensuring no call goes unanswered
Result
3,000 monthly reservations created by AI agent, with 76% booking call conversion rate and 72% call reduction to employees
Challenge
As every restaurant owner knows, missed calls mean missed revenue. Côte leadership estimated they weren’t answering 12% of calls because front-of-house staff were overwhelmed during opening hours and customers calling after business hours couldn’t get a response. This problem was further exacerbated during special occasions like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, when call volumes spiked and the team couldn’t keep up with the demand for reservations while also managing increased footfall.
Côte Brasserie also needed help making their employment strategies more efficient. The seasonality of the restaurant industry required the company to ramp up for peak seasons and scale down afterwards without compromising service. This inefficient employment model caused challenges for the company’s bottom line.
To alleviate these issues, Côte Brasserie required an AI agent that was always accessible, scalable across all locations, and capable of driving revenue to ensure no reservation calls were missed. Additionally, the solution needed to alleviate the workload on staff by managing routine guest requests while providing a welcoming experience.
The selected partner would also need to integrate with OpenTable, a significant driver of reservations.
"We were initially skeptical about handing over guest conversations to AI, but “Joe” (our AI agent) quickly proved himself a valuable member of the team with his warmth, efficiency and quality service."
Solution
Côte Brasserie partnered with PolyAI to implement an AI agent that is universally available, including after hours. The PolyAI agent, named Joe, has significantly improved Côte Brasserie’s operations by ensuring no calls go unanswered and every interaction enhances the brand experience with consistency and quality. Guests can now effortlessly make, modify, or cancel reservations through the PolyAI agent. These functionalities have unlocked new revenue opportunities for Côte Brasserie that would have previously been missed.
Additionally, the PolyAI agent can handle common customer inquiries, such as restaurant location, loyalty program, and dietary requests. This reduces the workload on restaurant staff, allowing them to concentrate on delivering an outstanding dining experience for guests.
Results
Reservation call conversion rate
Call reduction to employees
Monthly reservations created by AI Agent
The implementation of the PolyAI agent has led to significant improvements in the Côte Brasserie’s operations and guest experiences. Following a successful rollout, the PolyAI agent has already achieved an impressive 76% successful reservation rate on calls that would have previously been missed.
Additionally, the AI agent automates 72% of all calls, maximizing revenue generation by empowering customers to make reservations and have their questions answered.
The PolyAI agent has led to substantial cost savings for Côte Brasserie and enhanced the efficiency of the table reservation process. Staff are more focused, guests are better supported, and the phone has gone from bottleneck to brand asset. Additionally, the teams are aware that incoming calls are likely to be high-value interactions, such as large group reservations, rather than routine inquiries that do not require their immediate attention.
PolyAI and Côte Brasserie are already planning the next stage of development, with plans to increase adoption and deepen integrations to drive greater efficiency, guest satisfaction, and revenue capture.
“With PolyAI, we’re giving guests a better experience while removing pressure from our teams. And crucially, we’re not missing bookings and potential revenue anymore.”
OpenTable Partnership
PolyAI is a preferred partner of OpenTable. The seamless integration between the two platforms was significant in Côte Brasserie’s vendor selection criteria, and has enabled an increase and simplification of the table reservation process for both the Côte Brasserie and OpenTable.
More information on the PolyAI & OpenTable partnership can be found here.
