Compared fairly, from published pages
Collins booking systemAccess Collins Evo, explained and compared with Eightish
If you have searched for the Collins booking system, you are probably weighing it up for your venue or wondering whether to stay on it. Collins is a capable hospitality system from the Access Group, with real depth in enquiries, events, pre-orders and promotion. This page sets out what it is, who it suits and how it is priced, from Access’s own pages, and where a food-led restaurant that mostly turns tables might want something different.
What the Collins booking system is
Collins comes from the Access Group and is now sold as Access Collins Evo. Access calls it “the AI booking system built for hospitality”.
What it does
Reservations and table management, enquiry management, a pre-order system, voucher management, guest feedback surveys and integrations. Collins Pay handles deposits and pre-orders, Collins LiveWait handles queues, and it connects to Reserve with Google.
Where it reaches diners
Venue promotion runs through DesignMyNight, which Access says has as many as 3.9 million monthly visitors. That is a real source of new guests, particularly for bars and going-out venues.
The AI tools
Collins Call Evo is a 24/7 AI voice assistant that answers phone bookings straight into the Collins diary. Evo CoPilot gives insights into enquiry trends and conversion in plain language.
Who Collins suits, and how it is priced
Access says Collins is ideal for restaurants, bars, pubs, nightclubs, cafes, hotels, event spaces and activity venues, and that it is fully equipped for multiple sites. Its particular strength is the business that arrives as an enquiry: Christmas parties, private hire, packages and pre-orders taken weeks ahead. A group with several venues and an events team will use far more of it than a single dining room.
On price, Access lists Collins Evo from £149 a month per site, and says the price depends on your site type, size and the features you need. It also says there may be training and set up fees, integration fees and add-on features. Collins charges 0% commission on bookings. Contract length is not stated on the pages we read, so ask about the term and the notice period when you get a quote.
From Access’s own pages, read on 19 October 2026: Access Collins booking system, booking and reservations, Collins Call Evo and Collins Evo vs OpenTable.
Collins and Eightish side by side
| Eightish | Collins | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Flat monthly plans, all published on the pricing page, including a free plan for one restaurant. No per-cover fee or commission. | From £149 a month per site, depending on site type, size and features. 0% commission. |
| Built around | Table turns: an availability engine for turn times, pacing and table combinations, and a live floor plan host stand. | Reservations and table management plus enquiries, pre-orders, vouchers and feedback surveys. |
| Best fit | Independent, food-led restaurants with a local guest base and quiet nights to fill. | Hospitality venues of many kinds, and multi-site groups, especially where enquiries and events matter. |
| Finding new diners | Not a marketplace. Bookings come from your own booking page, website, phone and walk-ins. | Venue promotion through DesignMyNight. |
| Filling quiet nights | Autopilot, on paid plans: it watches the book, spots the quiet slots, works out which past guests are most likely to come back, and reaches out to them by text on its own. | Promotion and enquiry management. It works the demand that arrives. |
| Guest memory | The Guest Graph, on paid plans: one profile per diner, keyed on their phone number, with visit history. | Guest records against bookings and enquiries, plus feedback surveys. |
| Deposits and pre-orders | Deposits, on paid plans. No pre-orders. | Yes, through Collins Pay. A genuine strength. |
| AI phone answering | Not available today. | Collins Call Evo answers phone bookings around the clock. |
Collins details from the Access Group’s own pages, read on 19 October 2026. Vendors change terms without notice, so check anything that would decide your purchase. Corrections welcome, including from Access: hello@eightish.co.uk.
Which one is right for your restaurant
When Collins is the right choice
Your bookings are often negotiations. Christmas parties, private dining rooms, drinks packages, pre-orders taken weeks ahead and deposits to collect, perhaps across several sites. Collins is designed for that world, with deposits, pre-orders, AI phone answering and DesignMyNight behind it. If a large share of your revenue arrives as an enquiry rather than a table for four at eight, Collins is the stronger fit.
When Eightish is
Your bookings are tables. Someone wants two at eightish on Thursday, and the job is to seat them, remember them, and get them back. Eightish is built for that single loop and priced for a single room, with every price published and a free plan you can try without a sales call.
What to check before you switch
Most of the regret in this category comes from three things nobody asks about on the demo call. Whichever way you go between Eightish and Collins, ask these before you sign anything.
Is SMS included or metered?
Text messages are the single most effective thing any booking system does about no-shows, and they are frequently sold as a separate bundle. Ask what 500 texts a month would cost on top of the plan, whichever system you are pricing.
Can you get your guest list out?
Ask specifically: can you export every guest record, with phone numbers and visit history, in one click, without asking permission, including on the day you leave? If the answer involves a support ticket, that is a lock-in you will feel later.
What is the contract term?
Annual terms are still common in this category, and Collins’s pages do not state one, so ask. The honest test of a booking system is whether you would still choose it in March. The free Eightish plan has no time limit, so you can judge it on real services before paying for anything.
Moving your diary across
Switching sounds worse than it is, and the diary is the part people fear. Before you cancel anything, export your guest list and every forward booking from Collins, and check your notice period. Then set up the new system alongside the old one, so no future reservation is lost in the move.
If you would rather look before you talk to anyone, the free plan needs no call. How switching works has the detail, and our comparison of twelve UK booking systems covers the wider field if Collins and Eightish are not the only two on your list.
Collins booking system: common questions
What is the Collins booking system?
Collins is a hospitality booking system from the Access Group, now sold as Access Collins Evo, which Access describes as “the AI booking system built for hospitality”. It covers reservations and table management alongside enquiry management, pre-orders, vouchers, guest feedback surveys and venue promotion through DesignMyNight.
Who is Collins best suited to?
Access says Collins is ideal for restaurants, bars, pubs, nightclubs, cafes, hotels, event spaces and activity venues, and that it is equipped for multiple sites. In practice its depth is in enquiries, events, pre-orders and promotion, so it suits venues where those make up a large share of the business, and groups running several sites.
How much does Collins cost?
Access lists Collins Evo from £149 a month per site, and says the price depends on your site type, size and the features you need. It also notes there may be training and set up fees, integration fees and add-on features, so ask for a full quote. Eightish publishes every plan price on its pricing page, including a free plan.
Does Collins charge commission on bookings?
No. Access says Collins Evo operates with 0% commission. Eightish does not charge a per-cover fee or commission on any plan either.
Is Collins good for a small restaurant?
It can be, and Access markets it to restaurants. The question is how much of the product you will use. A small, food-led dining room whose bookings are mostly tables of two to six may not need enquiry management, pre-orders, vouchers and event tools, and a system built around table turns and returning guests may fit more closely. Compare what you would actually use, at the price you would actually pay.
If your bookings are tables, not enquiries.
A free plan for one restaurant, no sales call. Every plan price is published.