Sidedoor

Sidedoor is a bookings and venue management platform with separate apps for guests and operators. Guests can browse participating venues, request guest-list entry, reserve tables, and check in with QR codes. Free membership includes guest-list bookings, priority queue skips at participating venues, reward points, and five free keys. Venue tools cover reservations, guest lists, ticketed events, gift vouchers, email marketing, analytics, and business intelligence. Native Android and iOS apps for venue staff support offline operation. The platform lists role-based access by venue and module, administrative audit logging, and lock-screen protection on shared devices. Its privacy policy says hosting and databases are encrypted, passwords are hashed, optional two-factor authentication is available, and Stripe handles card payments without Sidedoor storing full card numbers or CVV codes. Connected services include Alliance iPOS, Google Business, Stripe, and an open API; Square and Epos Now are listed as coming soon. Venue plans include Starter at £99 a month and Pro at £299 a month. Paid guest memberships are annual, and the app remains free if a member cancels.

Sidedoor serves both venue guests and operators, with booking features and venue management tools in one platform. Guests can use free membership; operators can compare venue plans by the included capabilities.

It suits guests seeking venue bookings and operators managing reservations, events, guest lists, or marketing. Promoters and partners are also listed as intended users.

Sidedoor brings venue discovery and bookings together with tools for running venue operations and marketing. It suits guests who want access perks at participating venues, and operators looking to manage bookings and customer outreach in one system. Its breadth is a strength, but the more advanced venue tools carry substantial monthly fees.

Overview

Guests can browse participating venues, request guest-list entry, reserve tables and check in with QR codes. Operators get reservations, guest lists, ticketed events, gift vouchers, email marketing, analytics and business intelligence. That range makes Sidedoor relevant beyond booking alone, though smaller venues may not need enough of the higher-tier capabilities to justify their cost.

The platform also serves promoters and partners. Developers can use the REST API documentation and tokens to build on the platform. Native Android and iOS apps for venue staff support offline operation, useful when a venue's connection is unreliable.

Key features

Guest membership and venue access

Free membership includes guest-list bookings, priority queue skips at participating venues, reward points and five free keys. Annual Premium adds higher-priority access, an Aimy virtual concierge, members-only events, 1.5× reward points and 50 free keys. Premium Plus costs more and is aimed at guests prioritizing super-exclusive venue access and platform reputation; it doubles reward points and includes 500 free keys. These paid memberships serve guests, not venue operators.

Venue operations and marketing

Venue tools combine bookings and guest lists with events and vouchers, while campaign features include audience segmentation, automated campaigns and loyalty. Pro adds analytics, basic business intelligence, automations, reviews, API access and allowances of 10,000 emails and push messages and 500 texts. Max raises those allowances to 20,000 emails and push messages and 1,000 texts, and adds advanced business intelligence and forecasting, a more capable Aimy AI assistant and managed support. The higher tier is most compelling for operators who will use those extra reporting and campaign capacities.

Integrations and controls

Connected services include Alliance iPOS, Google Business and Stripe; Square and Epos Now are coming soon. Role-based access by venue and module, administrative audit logs and lock-screen protection help operators manage shared devices. The privacy policy says hosting and databases are encrypted, passwords are hashed, optional two-factor authentication is available, and full card numbers and CVV codes are not stored on Sidedoor servers; Stripe processes card payments.

Sidedoor says it aims to reply to enquiries within one business day and provides weekday support from 10am to 5pm.

Pricing

Guest and venue pricing are separate. The Free membership costs nothing, billed Forever, and includes the guest-list, queue, reward and five-key benefits. Premium is £149 a year; Premium Plus is £999 a year. The latter's much higher fee is for its more exclusive access positioning, higher platform reputation, doubled reward points and 500 keys, rather than venue-management tools. The app remains free if a member cancels a paid membership.

For operators, Starter is £99 a month for a single venue, reservations, vouchers, events, guest lists and the Sidedoor members community sales channel. It is the lower-cost route to core venue operations, but it does not include the analytics, business intelligence, message allowances or API access specified for Pro. Pro is £299 a month and includes everything in Starter plus till and rota integration and its analytics, marketing and reporting features. Max is £499 a month and includes everything in Pro with expanded message limits, advanced forecasting and managed support. Operators should match those higher fees to actual reporting, campaign and support needs rather than assume they are necessary for basic bookings.

Platforms

Sidedoor is available on Android, iOS and the web, and provides an API. Native Android and iOS apps for venue staff support offline operation. The REST API gives developers a documented way to connect their own software to the platform.

Who it's for

Sidedoor is a strong fit for venues that want bookings, guest engagement and marketing tools under one roof, especially growing operators that can use the Pro or Max reporting and campaign features. Single-venue operators can start with Starter, while high-volume groups may value Max's expanded limits and managed support. Guests can use the free membership without taking on a venue subscription. Operators seeking only a simple booking tool, or who cannot make use of the higher-tier tools, may find the platform broader and more expensive than they need.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Guest booking, venue operations and marketing tools share one platform, reducing the need to separate those functions across services.
• Free guest membership includes queue skips, reward points and five keys, offering tangible perks without an upfront membership fee.
• Offline-capable native staff apps and role-based controls address connectivity and shared-device needs for venue teams.
• Documented REST API access on Pro supports operators who need to build integrations.

Cons

• Pro starts at £299 a month and Max at £499 a month, a steep step up from Starter for venues that need analytics, automation or expanded campaign capacity.
• Free guest perks apply at participating venues, so the value depends on whether a member's preferred venues take part.
• Square and Epos Now are coming soon rather than connected integrations, which may matter to operators using either system.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison of restaurant-focused marketing tools, see Restaurant Marketing Software. Choose Clover Online Ordering instead when takeout, curbside pickup or dine-in ordering is the priority: its free plan has no setup or subscription fees, though delivery fees may apply. Reelo is worth considering for a marketing-led alternative, with a free plan covering SMS and email campaigns plus customer and business insights.

Fleksa Marketing Automation may suit restaurants prioritizing branded ordering and loyalty: its Essentials plan includes a customizable website, online ordering and loyalty programs. For table and kitchen workflows, TableMind offers menu management, KDS, QR menus and table management on Starter, with online ordering, reservations and analytics on Pro. Welcome Back is an alternative to consider for social publishing or automated Google review collection through its add-ons.

For loyalty-focused alternatives, Loyalty Gator offers loyalty transactions, rewards, promotions, points and digital punch cards on Bite, while Fivestars includes a customer touchscreen, customer database and automated campaigns on Essentials. SpotOn Order is a more focused ordering option, with a menu page, ordering analytics, Order with Google and DoorDash Drive integration for $55 a month, plus a $200 set up fee.

Verdict

Choose Sidedoor if you operate a venue that can benefit from connecting reservations and guest access with marketing, analytics and staff tools, or if you are a guest who values its participating-venue perks. The main reason to look elsewhere is cost: the stronger operator capabilities require a sizeable monthly commitment, and venues that need only straightforward ordering or bookings may not use enough of the wider platform to make that worthwhile.