Going from a San Francisco startup in 1999 to quickly becoming the restaurant industry’s leading online booking system by covering more than 30,000 restaurants in the United States alone, Open Table has been the game changer for both restaurant owners and the dining public alike.
When the Priceline Group acquired Open Table from its founder, Chuck Templeton, in 2014, it “forked” over 2.6-billion dollars in an all-cash deal.
Search. Click. Chew. Repeat.
If you think today’s dining reservation apps are impressive, you haven’t seen anything yet
Ken Alan 9 6 November z December2018
The company’s model is as innovative as it is simple to utilize - there is no cost to the consumer and, unlike most of the rest of what’s on the web, there’s no reliance on banner ads and annoying pop-ups. The restaurants themselves are footing the bill by paying a buy-in fee to Open Table. And the actual booking process is a simple one and very easy to navigate: Just search for the type of place you’re interested in going- to, scan time availabilities, click to secure your preferred one, and you’re done.
Time to eat!
Well, almost. Don’t forget to share your likes and dislikes. Open Table’s strengths also lie in the profile system it has created, allowing restaurants the ability to know your dietary restrictions, if you’re celebrating any sort of special occasion, or if you or one of your guests has any sort of disability. The compa- ny even incentivizes the process so diners can earn points for each booking; accrue enough of them and you can potentially cash the dividends in as dining dollars toward future meals.
But you probably already knew all of this because you’re almost assuredly a user of the system yourself.
What most of the general public doesn’t know - if you happen to be an office admin or a concierge (someone tasked with contin- ual restaurant bookings), you can sign-up with Open Table to receive double points on certain days and at certain times of the week.
This system allows my colleagues to plug in their guest at places they may not have oth- erwise recommended. Or, say a prolific restaurateur wants to fill a particular restau- rant on a slower Sunday in wintertime, those extra point earning are the lure to assure extra business during slower time periods.
Pretty cool, huh?
It sure is - so cool, in fact, that myriad other similar platforms come online almost weekly, like Reserve, which is Open Table’s biggest competitor.
A big difference between the two systems is Reserve’s abilities to maximize seatings by shuffling the floor plan, so guests fill a restaurant without creating situations where chefs and servers are constantly compro- mised by being “in the weeds.” In other words, Reserve’s freestyle system supports the restaurants and their personnel as much as it helps all of us who want to be served in and by them.
But, wait -
American Express is launching a new Open Table-like feature for its Platinum cardhold- ers that will allow them to book reservations at thousands of restaurants (including tables at Michelin-starred spots held exclusively for Amex customers) right from their mobile phones. Look for the app to initiate in the U.K. in the next few months, and then come across the pond to the U.S. in mid-2019.
These concepts are only the tip of the digital iceberg, and app developers are continually looking for more unique ways in which to placate both prospective diners and restau- rants alike.
With this idea in mind, one of the newer applications that really piques my own inter- est is a new and brilliant concept called the Tasting Collective.
Brad Gelb from New York City founded the idea two years ago after he had formed his own collective circle of friends - a “modern dining club” as he calls it - where he began booking private rooms for his friends at local restaurants. The idea quickly morphed into two seatings or even entire buyouts, prompt- ing Gelb to start this Tasting Collection.
Here’s how it works: For a yearly fee of $165, members receive invitations to dine at participating restaurants. Rather than simply filling seats, dining out for members becomes an actual dining event where inde- pendent chefs on select nights (usually Mondays or Tuesdays, when the restaurant is typically slower), craft a multi-course menu for the patrons while joining them to
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