World events often affect everything from a global scale to local. Burns Restaurant & Catering experienced this during the pandemic when the opportunity to start renting out event equipment presented itself. Since then, Rob Burnett has steadily grown that side of the business. After about a year, he decided a more robust tracking and booking solution was required and chose Booqable to manage his rentals.
Burns Restaurant & Catering
In 2013, Rob bought and renovated a historic building and opened Burns Restaurant, offering a sit-in restaurant and event catering. When the pandemic hit in late 2019, he was presented with the opportunity to start renting out event equipment and decor. So, he added a rental department to the established business, working alongside the catering.
He offers various event equipment, including tables, chairs, linen, dishware, and wedding decor items. By offering this equipment, he has turned the business into a one-stop shop for all event needs, from catering to rental items and services. This allows all sides of the company to work hand-in-hand when needed, while also functioning separately depending on client’s needs.
In the past year, he has seen the rental side of the business take on a life of its own. Now, many clients choose to rent event equipment, even when they can’t or don’t want to use the catering services. Meanwhile, the clients’ locations have also started to see expansion, and he now serves a much wider radius for event clients alone.
Online quote requests
One of the most significant factors holding back the growth of Burns Restaurant & Catering’s rental side was how they accepted quotes. For the first year or so, they were taken over the phone. Rob also struggled with tracking stock levels accurately and would occasionally overbook items. So, he decided to search for a software solution that would allow him to overcome these obstacles.
His search led him to Booqable, which offered everything he needed. After setting up his account, he found this true and could say goodbye to calendars, spreadsheets, and QuickBooks. Booqable prevents overbooking by indicating potential shortages when creating quotes. He can also oversee stock levels and determine whether he has the opportunity for clients much faster.
Finally, he has used Booqable’s hosted store, allowing him to accept quote requests online. This has streamlined the process significantly and means he no longer has to be ready to answer calls and emails. All he needs to do now is refresh Booqable, check availability, and send clients a quote if he can cater to their requests.
Nothing but growth
With the event rentals side of the business seemingly taking on its own life separate from the catering, Rob is focused on continuing to grow it. He has been expanding the equipment on offer over the past few years, keeping an eye on what’s popular. A driver for this growth has been developing the business’ online presence, saving time and improving customer experience.
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