Restaurant Booking Wars Heat Up

The restaurant reservation landscape is experiencing a fierce competition as established players like OpenTable and Resy face a surge of new entrants. These rivals include high-end services and delivery apps, all vying for lucrative bookings, especially at upscale establishments. This battle intensifies as nearly 40% of Americans are dining out less frequently due to economic constraints. OpenTable, a long-standing leader, boasts around 60,000 restaurant partners, while Resy, which acquired booking app Tock, is set to reach 25,000. Resy's appeal lies in its trendier, upscale focus and competitive monthly fee structure, attracting clientele through American Express partnerships. New platforms like Dorsia, a membership-based service, offer exclusive access to sought-after tables for annual fees ranging from $200 to $25,000, requiring members to pre-pay significant amounts per booking to combat no-shows and guarantee revenue. This has prompted food delivery apps to enter the market; Uber Eats partnered with OpenTable, and DoorDash acquired SevenRooms for $1.2 billion. These apps see reservation control as key to owning the customer relationship and influencing city-wide dining patterns. While delivery apps aim to lure diners with exclusive reservations and credits, some industry insiders question whether diners will use the same platform for fast food delivery and upscale bookings. Beyond reservations, platforms like Resy are expanding their offerings with high-tech makeovers to provide personalized data for owners and better recommendations for diners, evolving into connected ecosystems. Restaurant owners express a desire for integrated platforms to avoid overbooking, while others note a trend towards reservation systems mimicking ticket sales, potentially turning neighborhood spaces into mere scheduling systems.