For more than three decades, Fins Restaurant has been setting the benchmark for destination dining in Kingscliff. Led by acclaimed chef Steven Snow, the award-winning restaurant has earned Chef’s Hats for more than 20 consecutive years, building its reputation on sustainably sourced, locally caught seafood, grass-fed meats and produce from a long-standing network of local organic growers and producers.
Sustainability isn’t just part of the menu, it’s the philosophy behind it. Fins serves only local, wild and line-caught seafood, complemented by a carefully curated wine list showcasing world-class Australian and international wines. Signature dishes change with the seasons, celebrating the freshest local catch and the produce the Northern Rivers is renowned for.
Recently, Now Book It Founder and CEO Craig Joel visited the restaurant with the team and experienced first-hand why Fins continues to be one of Australia’s most celebrated regional dining destinations. From beautifully crafted entrees prepared especially for the group to showcase the kitchen’s creativity, through to impeccably matched mains, cocktails and wines, every detail reflected the level of hospitality that has made Fins an industry leader.
Behind that award-winning guest experience is a business built on equally strong operations. Since partnering with Now Book It in 2016, Fins has used the platform to manage reservations, unlock new revenue opportunities and gain deeper insights into guest behaviour. Today, the restaurant manages more than 500 bookings every month through Now Book It, giving the team the confidence to handle high demand while delivering the personalised service they’re known for.
We spoke with Florent Elineau about how nearly a decade of booking data, and the latest additions of Now Book It’s CRM and AI Insights, are helping Fins continue to evolve while staying true to the hospitality experience that has defined the restaurant for more than 30 years.
“We’ve been with Now Book It since 2016, and over that time it’s become a really important part of how we manage the restaurant. The volume of bookings we handle means having the right system is essential.”
Managing 500+ monthly bookings while keeping it personal
Fins is a busy restaurant, and managing hundreds of bookings each month requires more than simply filling tables. The team needs to balance operational efficiency with the personal touches that make guests want to return.
For hospitality teams, the challenge is often having access to useful information without creating more admin. Booking patterns, guest preferences and service trends can all influence decisions, but only if the data is easy to access and understand. Now Book It gives Fins a central platform to manage reservations while building a stronger understanding of their guests and operations.
“When you’re managing that level of bookings, having visibility is important. You need to know what’s happening across the restaurant so you can make better decisions,” explained Florent.
With booking information in one place, Fins can continue delivering a high level of service while having a clearer picture of what is happening behind the scenes.
Safekeeping revenue with smarter booking controls
A full restaurant is great for business, but protecting every opportunity matters.
No-shows can have a major impact on hospitality venues, especially during busy services where every table contributes to revenue. To help manage this, Fins uses Now Book It’s booking options feature, including pre-authorisations for selected bookings. This allows the team to add more control around reservations when needed, helping reduce the impact of missed bookings and better manage high-demand periods.
“The booking options give us flexibility. We can use pre-authorisations when it makes sense, which helps us manage busy services and reduce no-shows.”
For a high-demand venue, having more control over the reservation process helps create a more predictable service and protects valuable table space.
2,000 gift cards issued, 20% higher guest spend
Gift cards have also become an important part of Fins’ revenue strategy, helping introduce new guests to the restaurant while creating an additional income stream.
Through Now Book It, Fins has issued over 2,000 gift cards, allowing customers to easily purchase dining experiences for birthdays, celebrations and special occasions. The impact continues once those guests arrive.
With gift card customers spend around 20% more during their visit, this creates an opportunity to increase average spend while turning first-time visitors into potential repeat guests.
“Gift cards are a great way for people to experience Fins. Once guests are here, they often make the most of the experience and spend more while dining with us.”
Turning guest data into future opportunities
As Fins continues to grow, understanding who their guests are and how they interact with the venue has become even more valuable.
The team has recently expanded their use of Now Book It by adding the restaurant CRM, giving them more ways to use their guest data to build stronger relationships with automated marketing. The CRM helps venues understand guest history and create more personalised communication opportunities, including campaigns, follow-ups and loyalty touchpoints.
This means the thousands of guest interactions captured through bookings at Fins can become more actionable, helping the team stay connected with diners beyond a single visit.
“The next step for us is understanding our guests even better. Having the ability to use our data and communicate with guests in a more meaningful way is a big opportunity,” Florent explained.
Instead of treating every booking as a one-off transaction, the team can continue building relationships with guests over time.
Using AI reporting Insights to make smarter decisions
Fins have also added Now Book It’s AI-powered reporting insights to their toolkit, giving the team a clearer way to understand their venue data and identify trends. Insights brings together information such as booking history, guest behaviour, covers and reservation patterns to help venues make decisions based on real performance data.
As hospitality operators, you’d know that the challenge is rarely having data, it’s finding the time to understand what that data means. With AI Insights, Fins can start identifying patterns that can influence decisions around service periods, guest behaviour and future planning within seconds.
“Having the data is one thing, but being able to actually use it and understand what it’s telling you is where the value comes in.”
For a venue that has been operating for more than two decades, these insights provide another way to keep evolving and improving.
Embracing new solutions for future growth
Fins has never been a venue that stands still. The team continues to look for new ways to create experiences for guests, with a Japanese pop-up concept launching soon, also powered by Now Book It.
Using the same platform across different dining experiences allows Fins to maintain consistency while exploring new opportunities.
Whether it’s the main restaurant, a special event or a new concept, the team can use the same booking infrastructure while continuing to learn from guest behaviour.
“We’re always looking for ways to give guests something new, and having systems that support that growth makes it much easier.”
For Fins Restaurant, Now Book It has become more than just a reservation platform. It’s a way to turn bookings into relationships, data into decisions and guest experiences into long-term growth.
Book a table at Fins Restaurant
Pro tip: If it’s your first time here, don’t miss the signature dish ‘Snowy’s Fish’ that has topped the charts for 30+ years.