Restaurant gift cards that will pay you before the guest arrives
Soon you'll be able to sell gift cards on your own site around the clock. The buyer pays today, the guest dines later, and the idea is that every purchase and redemption logs to the same guest profile as the booking. Book a demo if you want in early.
- Coming soon to Goboblo
- Sell on your own site
- Same guest profile as the booking
A restaurant gift card is a prepaid amount someone buys up front and a guest redeems on a later visit. The buyer pays today, the guest dines later, and some cards are never redeemed — the trade calls it breakage, and that money stays with you. Digital gift cards are on the way in Goboblo: sold on your own site and logged onto the same guest profile as the rest of your restaurant loyalty program. The same pay-up-front idea already powers restaurant event booking, where guests pay per seat for your experiences and events.
- Sell on your site
- Cash flow up front
- Redeem at the table
- Balance per card
- Expiry tracked
- Guest profile
Sell gift cards around the clock — without lifting a finger
The plan is a buy button Goboblo embeds on your own site. The buyer picks an amount, pays, and the recipient gets the card by email, even when the kitchen is full and the phone is off. This feature is on the way.
- Preset tiers or any amount
- Bought around the clock on your site
- Card emailed to the recipient
The gift card will ride in the guest's phone
The plan is for the card to land in the phone the guest already carries and show as a code. No plastic card, nothing to install, just an amount, a recipient, and an expiry date. Saving the card into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet is a step we're looking at further down the road.
- Amount, recipient, and expiry
- Shown as a code on the phone
- Nothing to install
A code at the table will take the amount off
The idea is simple: the guest shows the code, your staff take it, and the amount comes off. A partly used card will keep the rest for the next visit, and every redemption writes back to the guest profile. This is how redemption is meant to work once the feature ships.
- Show the code at the table
- Balance updates
- Redemption logs to the guest profile
See what is sold, redeemed, and outstanding
The plan is for Goboblo to track the balance and expiry on every card. Some cards are never redeemed — the trade calls it breakage — and then the money stays with you, with no food cost behind it. The overview is part of what we're building.
- Balance and expiry per card
- No double-dipping, no paper stubs
- Unredeemed value stays with you
The difference is traceability
A paper stub and a digital gift card both bring in money up front. Only the digital card will track balance, expiry, and who bought and who redeemed. This is how Goboblo's gift card is meant to work — it's on the way.
- Written by hand and sold across the counter
- Sells only when you are open and staffed
- No record of balance or expiry
- Easy to copy or redeem twice
- Meant to sell on your site around the clock, on its own
- The buyer pays up front, before the visit
- Will track balance and expiry per card
- Will log purchase and redemption to one profile
Gift cards, here's the plan
Restaurant gift cards, answered
What is a restaurant gift card?
A restaurant gift card is prepaid value someone buys up front and a guest redeems on a later visit. The buyer pays today, the guest dines later. Goboblo's digital gift card is on the way and will record onto the same guest profile as the booking.
Are gift cards available yet?
Not yet. Gift cards are a feature we're building, so you can't sell cards today. Book a demo if you want in early and we'll reach out when it's ready. Booking and loyalty are already live — see pricing.
How will gift cards work once they launch?
The idea is simple: the buyer pays up front and the guest redeems on a later visit. The sale gives you cash flow before the guest shows up, and some cards are never redeemed — the trade calls it breakage. We'll show exactly how it's set up in the demo and share more as the feature is finished.
Will the guest need an app to redeem a gift card?
No. The plan is for the gift card to show as a code in the phone the guest already carries, so your staff can take it at the table with no plastic card and nothing to install. Saving the card into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet is a step we're looking at further down the road.
Will I be able to sell gift cards on my own website?
Yes, that's the plan. The idea is a buy button on your own site where the buyer picks an amount and the recipient gets the card by email, around the clock. Every card will tie to your own guest profile. The feature is on the way — book a demo and we'll let you know when it's ready.
What will happen to gift cards that are never redeemed?
Money on an unredeemed gift card should stay with you. The plan is for Goboblo to track the balance and expiry on every card, so you see what is sold, redeemed, and outstanding — without paper stubs, double redemptions, or manual spreadsheets. It's part of what we're building.
How is a gift card different from a stamp card or a coupon?
A gift card will bring in money up front from a buyer. A stamp card rewards repeat visits over time. A lunch coupon moves demand into shifts you want to fill. Three tools, three jobs, meant to run on one guest profile in Goboblo's restaurant loyalty program.
Want in early on gift cards?
Gift cards are on the way in Goboblo. Book a short demo and we'll show how it's meant to work — sell on your site, redeem at the table, all on the same guest profile as the booking — and let you know when it's ready.