Member Article

Online restaurant booking site offers recipe for success for students

Two Newcastle students have launched a comparison and booking website for restaurant offers that promises to whet the appetite of venue owners and customers alike.

Northumbria University students Andrew and Liam Charlton, cousins from Wallsend, set up Dinedout.co.uk after spotting a gap in the North-East market.

For a small reservation fee users are rewarded with exclusive offers, can search online for a restaurant of their choice, read internet reviews from other customers and use helpful Google map technology for directions. Bookings are confirmed by a simple email and free text.

The service is free for restaurants and is proving extremely popular as a local hub for booking restaurant offer reservations, and for driving business.

Liam Charlton, 21, said: “As part of my course at Northumbria I undertook a year-long work placement in London and noticed how popular restaurant booking and comparison websites were becoming. Having researched the market here in the North East we quickly realised that while some restaurant sites and voucher schemes existed, there was nothing like Dinedout.co.uk.

“The website uses a paperless booking system which makes it so easy for the customers and the restaurants to use but I think the real strength is giving foodies the chance to experience an exclusive dining experience in some of the region’s best restaurants.

“The cultural scene in and around Newcastle is buzzing right now - and food is a key part. Our site taps into this, and the response we have been getting from restaurants has been brilliant. It can also generate extra business during the quieter times, and reach new customers such as the large student market which is value-focused, uses the web - and is a demographic which can be missed.”

Andrew Charlton, 22, added: “We’ve actually worked together since we were 15 when we started a record label - basically from a bedroom in Wallsend - so it made complete sense to set this business up as a team. The help we have received from Northumbria has also been great, not only academically learning about methodology, consumer behaviour, business development and marketing, but also from the support and encouragement the lecturers and university gives to entrepreneurial students.

“We have both been inspired by visiting lecturers organised by Northumbria, and the access we have had to market research reports has been incredibly useful.”

The duo are working with North East mentor and venture capitalist John Tait, who founded and runs Northumberland-based full-service design agency Lazy Grace, and is now investing in Dinedout.co.uk.

Northumbria has a strong record for nurturing student start-up businesses. It was recently named the fourth best university in Sir Andrew Witty’s ‘Review of Universities and Growth for Establishing Start-Up Companies’.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Graham Vincent .