Compare · RAYN vs SevenRooms
The full reservation platform, plus the guest experience SevenRooms doesn't run
SevenRooms is a well-regarded reservation, CRM and marketing platform, used across thousands of venues from local favourites to Michelin-starred rooms and large groups. RAYN is a complete reservation platform too: it runs the book and the floor through the Host Station — a live reservation grid, a service ledger and a floor plan, with table assignment, table combinations, shifts and turn times — and adds what a reservation system rarely does well, namely visual Pick Your Spot booking, a WhatsApp guest journey and pre-arrival commerce. This is a fair comparison from an operator's point of view, honest about where each is strong.
Where the difference shows
Both run the book and the floor. Only one runs the guest experience
SevenRooms runs the reservation book and a deep guest database. RAYN runs the book and the floor as well — the Host Station grid, ledger and live floor plan, table assignment and combinations, shifts and turn times — and reaches earlier into the journey, in how a guest discovers, chooses and commits before the booking ever lands.
Side by side
An honest table, feature by feature.
Where SevenRooms leads, this table says so. Where RAYN leads, it says that too.
| Capability | RAYN | SevenRooms |
|---|---|---|
| Exact-table selection in 3D | Yes — guests walk the venue in 3D and choose the precise table, booth or cabana | No — operator-side table management; guests submit seating preferences |
| Conversational booking (WhatsApp · Instagram · voice · web · Telegram · AI) | Yes — one venue-aware concierge across six channels | Web widget and messaging tools; not a conversational booking agent |
| Host Station — live reservation grid, ledger & floor plan | Yes — one operator surface: a reservation grid, a service ledger and a live floor plan | Yes — mature floor and reservation management |
| Floor-plan editing & table assignment | Yes — map and edit the floor, and assign or hold each booking on a specific table | Yes — operator floor plan and table management |
| Table combinations for larger parties | Yes — join tables into combinations, seated from the floor | Yes — table and party management |
| Shifts & turn times | Yes — service periods with per-party-size turn times | Yes — shifts and pacing |
| Guest CRM & marketing automation | Guest intelligence with human-approved campaigns | Extensive — a particular strength for large groups |
| Pre-arrival commerce | Menus, packages, pre-orders and deposits before the visit | Upgrades and experiences at booking |
| Ticketed events & experiences | Priced events and recurring nights booked through the same spatial flow — the guest chooses their exact table, with capacity enforced in the database | Mature — event registration, ticketing, branded event pages and event marketing |
| Demand intelligence | By seat, zone and slot | By shift and venue |
| Pricing model | Integrated starts at AED 0/month plus confirmed Pick Your Spot usage; Full RAYN is subscription-led, with no per-cover fee | Quoted subscription plans |
Events & experiences
SevenRooms runs the event. RAYN lets guests choose their table
SevenRooms has deep, mature event tooling — ticketed registration, branded event pages and event marketing across email and SMS. RAYN comes at events from the guest's side: a brunch, ladies' night or tasting menu is discovered, priced and booked through the same spatial flow, with the guest choosing the exact table for the night — and capacity enforced in the database rather than a soft count.
What RAYN adds
The guest experience a reservation book rarely has.
Outcomes
What changes when demand is captured cleanly.
Chosen
A journey from first message to a specific spot, booked the way many guests already start — in the chat, on the plan.
Fuller
The book and the floor in one place — table assignment, combinations, shifts and turn times — with seat intent, pre-arrival value and yield read by space and slot.
One platform
The reservation book, the Host Station floor and the guest experience in a single system, rather than a book of record and a stack of disconnected tools around it.
Questions
RAYN and SevenRooms, answered.
Is RAYN a complete reservation system, or just a booking add-on?
A complete reservation system. RAYN runs the book and the floor: the Host Station gives your team a live reservation grid, a service ledger and a floor plan, with table assignment, table combinations, shifts and turn times. On top of that it adds visual Pick Your Spot booking, a six-channel concierge and pre-arrival commerce — the guest-facing depth a reservation book rarely has.
Can RAYN run ticketed events and experiences?
Yes. Brunches, ladies' nights, tasting menus and takeovers are discovered, priced and booked through the same spatial flow — the guest chooses their exact table for the night, capacity is enforced in the database, and private nights or larger parties arrive as structured enquiries the venue approves. SevenRooms has deep event-registration and event-marketing tooling; RAYN's difference is the guest choosing where they sit for the event.
What does visual, spatial booking mean?
With Pick Your Spot, guests choose their exact table, booth, cabana or zone visually — including in 3D — before they arrive, so seat intent is captured rather than guessed. It is a guest-led way to book a specific spot, and the choice flows straight onto the Host Station floor plan for your team to seat.
How does RAYN handle WhatsApp?
The WhatsApp Concierge turns conversational enquiries into a structured booking path, with guest context attached, so a busy enquiry channel becomes part of the booking flow rather than a manual conversation reconciled into the book later.
Does RAYN charge per cover?
RAYN does not charge per cover. Integrated starts at AED 0/month and charges only for confirmed specific-spot Pick Your Spot reservations; Full RAYN is subscription-led, with included PYS volume and a small high-volume overage. See the current pricing page for Founding, group and Enterprise terms.
Run the floor
The reservation grid, the service ledger and a live floor plan — assign tables, combine them for larger parties, hold a table, and run shifts and turn times.
Explore →EventsBook the night, spatially
Priced events, recurring nights and private hire — the guest chooses their exact table, and larger parties arrive as structured enquiries the venue approves.
Explore →Pre-arrival commerceOrder before service
Set menus, packages, add-ons and deposits captured before the visit — one guest can order for the whole table, or split the bill.
Explore →Pick Your SpotChoose the spot
Guest-led visual and 3D seat selection before arrival, so seat intent is captured cleanly.
Explore →Mid-contract? Start here
Keep the system you run today. Add RAYN in front.
Already tied into SevenRooms or serVme? Keep it as your book of record. RAYN handles guest discovery and visual table selection, then hands the guest to your existing SevenRooms or serVme widget to complete the booking — nothing changes in your current system. When the contract ends, switch RAYN's own reservation engine on: the Host Station, floor plan and guest data are already in place.