When a restaurant group grows, its guest database fragments: a CRM on one side, newsletter sign-ups on another, forms on the website, and a reservation system the floor team opens every evening. If these tools do not talk to each other, the guest profile the maître d' sees is never quite up to date. An automated CRM to SevenRooms sync solves exactly that: every piece of data entered somewhere arrives in the right place, with no re-keying.
This case study describes what māhie set up for Fitz Group, based on the public information about our work together, and draws out a method you can apply to your own venue.
Fitz Group: a Paris group and a long-running collaboration
Fitz Group is a restaurant group based in Paris, whose website is fitz-group.fr. It is one of the houses that work with māhie on SevenRooms, and our collaboration has lasted for more than two years. Among the groups we support in Paris, it shows what a relationship built over time looks like: not one isolated project, but tools that evolve alongside the business.
The project falls under our SevenRooms expertise: we handle the platform's configuration as well as its API connections with the rest of a restaurant's ecosystem (website, CRM, newsletter, POS, internal tools).
The need: a guest database that is always up to date
The starting need fits in one sentence: to have a guest database that is always up to date in SevenRooms, even though the data comes from several sources. A restaurant group collects contact details in many places:
- the reservations themselves;
- newsletter sign-ups;
- website forms (contact, special requests, events);
- the CRM, where the marketing team works its lists and campaigns.
Why does this matter day to day? Because the data serves several roles. The floor team wants to recognise a regular and know their preferences. Marketing wants to send a newsletter to people who have consented to it. Management wants a reliable view of guest numbers across all venues. A scattered database makes all three fail at once.
Each source has its own format and rhythm. Without automation, someone has to copy data by hand, with the errors, omissions and delays that implies. And the more venues in the group, the more that re-keying costs.
What māhie set up for Fitz Group
According to the public text on our projects page, we delivered for Fitz Group:
- an automated synchronisation of data (CRM, newsletters, forms) into SevenRooms, for a guest database that is always up to date;
- the set-up of the CRM;
- the set-up of digital marketing tools;
- the set-up of the website.
The project therefore combines four building blocks: SevenRooms, automation, the CRM and the website. Here is what Nick Heys, of Fitz Group, says about working with us (original French, free translation below):
« Leur équipe se distingue par sa réactivité et sa fiabilité : nous savons que nous pouvons toujours compter sur eux pour mener à bien nos projets. »Nick Heys · Fitz Group
Free translation: "Their team stands out for its responsiveness and reliability: we know we can always count on them to see our projects through."
Note: this article deliberately stays general about the implementation. We do not detail the group's internal tools, data volumes or figures: those belong to our client and are not public. What we describe below is the general method, not Fitz Group's configuration.
How an automated CRM to SevenRooms sync works
Details vary from one project to another, but the logic of syncing a CRM, newsletters, forms and SevenRooms always follows the same steps.
1. Pick a source of truth for each piece of information. For each field (email, phone, preferences, marketing consent…), decide which tool is authoritative. Without that rule, two tools overwrite each other's values and nobody knows which one is right.
2. Map the fields. The "phone" on the website form must land in the phone field of the guest profile, in the right format. This correspondence table (the mapping) is the heart of the setup: an error here repeats on every profile.
3. Connect the tools with automatic links. SevenRooms offers an API, an entry point that lets other software read and write data in it. Website forms, the newsletter platform and the CRM send their information through these connections, in real time or at regular intervals, depending on need.
4. Avoid duplicates. The same person may sign up to the newsletter with one address and book with another. The setup must identify the existing profile (by email or phone, depending on your rules) and update it rather than create a second one.
5. Carry consent along with the data. An email address only has marketing value if consent comes with it. Each sync must therefore pass on the consent status, its source and its date, and never reactivate a contact who has unsubscribed. For the framework, read our article on email marketing and GDPR in SevenRooms.
6. Monitor and fix. A sync that "just works" does not exist: it works until a form changes, a field is renamed or a connection expires. Plan an error log, an alert when a transfer fails, and a named person to take over.
The mistakes we see most often:
- syncing in both directions without deciding which side wins when values differ;
- importing an old contact list without knowing under what conditions consent was collected;
- forgetting international formats (phone numbers with or without country code, accents in names), which creates false duplicates;
- building the connection once and never looking at it again.
We describe this mechanism in more detail in our article on syncing forms, newsletter and CRM.
What a restaurant or group can take from it
You do not need to be a group to apply this method. Here is what we take from this collaboration, as actions.
- Map your sources before connecting anything. List where your guest data originates: reservations, newsletter, forms, CRM, POS. A one-page diagram saves weeks of confusion.
- Name one source of truth per field. Consent comes from the tool that collected it, table preferences from SevenRooms, company details from the CRM, for example. Write the rule down.
- Start with a simple flow. Website forms into SevenRooms are often a good first flow, because they are easy to test and immediately feed the guest profile the floor team sees.
- Clean before you sync. Duplicates, unused fields, uncertain consents: syncing a dirty database spreads it everywhere. Clean first.
- Test with real cases. Sign up yourself with a test email, book, then unsubscribe, and check what happens to the profile at each step.
- Use the data for segmentation. Once the database is clean and current, you can sort guests (VIPs, regulars, companies, first visit) and send the right message to the right segment. See how to use Auto-tags.
- Spot-check every month. Take ten profiles at random and verify they hold the expected information, with the right consent. Five minutes is enough to catch a connection that has stopped working.
- Plan for maintenance. A tool changes, a form is added, a venue opens: the sync evolves with the business. That is one of the benefits of long-term support.
If you remember only one thing, remember this: synchronisation is not a one-off technical task but a small, ongoing piece of operations. The sooner you give it an owner, a written rule set and a monthly check, the longer it will keep your guest database trustworthy for everyone who relies on it.
CRM to SevenRooms sync: frequently asked questions
What is an automated sync between a CRM and SevenRooms?
It is a setup that automatically passes guest data (contact details, sign-ups, requests) from the CRM, the newsletter or website forms into SevenRooms, with no re-keying. The goal is for the guest profile your team consults to always be up to date. It relies on connections between tools, typically through the SevenRooms API.
What data can be synced into SevenRooms?
That depends on your project and your tools. The most common sources are the CRM, newsletter sign-ups and website forms. For each piece of data, you need to define the source of truth, the expected format and the associated consent.
How do you avoid duplicates in the guest database?
By defining, before you start, the rule that identifies one person (email, phone or both) and having the sync apply it: it updates the existing profile instead of creating a new one. Cleaning the database beforehand remains essential.
Do you need a developer to set up this kind of connection?
Some simple connections can be built with automation tools, but once several sources, consent rules and error cases come into play, technical support avoids nasty surprises. That is māhie's role on SevenRooms integration projects.
Need help syncing your CRM, forms and SevenRooms?
A reliable guest database saves time for the floor, for marketing and for management. If your data is scattered across several tools, māhie can help. Concretely, we can:
- map your data sources and define the source-of-truth rules with you;
- build the connections between your CRM, newsletters, forms and SevenRooms;
- set up or structure your CRM and digital marketing tools;
- integrate forms into your website, consistent with the rest of the setup;
- provide long-term follow-up, so the sync evolves with your tools.
Discover our SevenRooms support and our Automation & AI offer, then Contact māhie.
