McMullen

McMullen is a sixth-generation family brewer and pub operator, founded in 1827 and proudly independent ever since. From its Hertfordshire base, the group has grown to more than 115 pubs across London and the Home Counties, bringing together heritage, community, and modern hospitality.

Tablebook.me supports 42 of McMullen’s highest-trading venues, spanning family-friendly dining pubs, destination sites, and contemporary town-centre bars. Each venue combines strong food, welcoming service, and a genuine connection to local guests. With nearly two centuries of history, McMullen continues to evolve — using insight, tradition, and innovation to ensure its pubs remain loved and relevant for generations to come.

Prior to partnering with Tablebook.me, reservations were handled independently by front-of-house teams — creating inconsistency, lost bookings, and unnecessary strain on staff. Data from head office confirmed the scale of the issue: at some high-trading venues, up to 70% of calls were going unanswered.

Without a central strategy, guest experiences varied, and key booking opportunities were being missed. The challenge was clear — reduce administrative pressure, recover missed covers, and introduce a scalable system aligned with McMullen’s standards of service.

In 2021, McMullen implemented a centralised reservations model with Tablebook.me across 42 of its highest-performing venues. The service handles all inbound calls and enquiries daily from 09:00 to 21:00, while also managing written communications and cross-selling between sites.

Dedicated onboarding with general managers ensured smooth integration and site-level buy-in. The service now supports seasonal optimisation strategies, event coordination, and centralised reporting to improve efficiency and maintain control over labour costs.

In 2024, Tablebook.me handled over 265,000 phone covers across the supported venues, converting 86% of booking calls and dramatically reducing missed opportunities. By leveraging data-driven insights, McMullen has improved seasonal performance, maximising capacity during key periods such as Christmas and Mother’s Day.

Cross-selling introduced more than 3,600 retained covers across the group, converting potential turnaways into loyal guests. Operationally, site teams are no longer tied up with admin, labour costs are better controlled, and leadership has a clear, real-time view of booking performance.