simpleERB’s partnership with Mozrest has provided the opportunity to offer restaurants the facility to integrate bookings from their Facebook and Instagram pages into the simpleERB diary.
Important information to note before integration:
Facebook & Instagram accounts must be connected
You need to have a Facebook and an Instagram account to be able to use the integration and they must be linked together. To find out how to link these, please refer to the Meta support article here.
Only one call to action (CTA) is allowed on the pages
Please delete any existing CTA buttons on either page before attempting the integration install.
Required simpleERB settings
You need to have the following fields complete within the Restaurant setting; restaurant full address, country, timezone, payment currency, email, phone, website address and latitude and longitude here.
Child/infant cover selection enabled
If enabled, these do not apply to the integration. The integration only allows customers to identify the total covers for a booking so if children are attending they will be included in the booking cover total.
Card/payment rules enabled
These will still apply, however, will be treated as a telephone workflow where the customer receives an email after booking to add the secure card/payment. The booking integration doesn’t make customers aware of the card/payment required at the time of booking and selectable Booking Options are not visible to the customer. Please use the 'Online Message' box in this integration setting to highlight customers if a card/payment rule is requested to confirm a booking.
Setting up the booking integration
Head to the Facebook/Instagram Booking Integration setting located in the Booking Widget of the section.
From here, you will be prompted to request activation of the integration. Once requested, click the ‘complete setup’ button.
Login to your Facebook account you use for your restaurant which is connected to the corresponding Instagram page. As a prerequisite for the integration, you need to have a Facebook and an Instagram page, which are connected. To find out how to connect your pages, please see here.
On your Facebook page, click the three dots and from the list click 'Add Action Button'.
You will be presented with a pop-up, click "Try it".
From the Action Button menu, click the 'Reserve' option. You may need to scroll down the list to locate it.
From the booking provider list, please select our partnered provider > Mozrest.
Click 'continue' to grant the required permission request to Mozrest
From the booking provider list pop-up, please select > simpleERB
You will be directed to a simpleERB login pop-up screen. Please enter your username/password login for your simpleERB account.
Select 'continue' to confirm your pages and link to Mozrest. Please ensure the correct pages for Facebook and Instagram are selected if your Facebook Business account manages more than one venue.
The accounts and Mozrest will begin to connect and once completed you will be presented with the following message. Click Done to finish the setup. The Reserve button will also automatically appear on the linked Instagram page.
How do I check if the 'Reserve' button is visible to customers?
To view the 'Reserve' button on your Facebook page, you need to switch the page view to 'view as' from the three dots on the main view. From the image below, you can see the ‘Reserve’ button is listed on the simpleERB Facebook page. The button will also appear on your Instagram page under the Bio section.
How does the booking integration widget appear to customers?
When customers select 'Reserve', they will be directed to the integrated booking widget, powered by Mozrest, which pulls the booking availability from the simpleERB diary. This will be entered into the simpleERB diary and the booking source will be listed as 'Facebook' in the booking notes and recorded in 'booking source' reports.
As outlined in the 'important information' of this article, if your simpleERB diary requires certain bookings to be secured with card details or payment, the customer will receive an email notification of this to securely supply the requirement. It will follow the workflow just like a telephone booking.
The Facebook/Instagram booking integration doesn’t make customers aware of the card/payment required at the time of booking or highlight any Booking Options. Please use the 'Online Message' box in this integration setting to highlight customers if a card/payment rule is requested to confirm a booking. You may also wish to highlight if they are looking to book a special promotion/menu to book direct via your website widget.
How to uninstall the Reserve integrated Facebook/Instagram widget.
If you wish to uninstall the integrated widget, please see our article here.