Louisiana lawmakers look to end restaurant reservation trading
(Canva image)
A proposal to restrict buying and selling of restaurant reservations online is sailing easily through the Louisiana Legislature and could pass the House this week, though lawmakers have yet to hear both sides of the issue.
House Bill 90, sponsored by Rep. Troy Hebert, R-Lafayette, seeks to ban companies such as Appointment Trader, Dorsia and ResX from arranging reservations through their platforms without explicit contracts with restaurants.
'I'm not preventing the business model from existing,' Hebert said in a phone interview Monday. You just have to have the restaurant's permission.'
His bill cleared the House Commerce Committee last Wednesday with the unanimous approval of 17 lawmakers, and Hebert said it could come up for a full House vote as early as this week. No one spoke in opposition to the bill at the hearing, and several lawmakers said they're opposed to the idea of paying for reservations.
Appointment Trader founder Jonas Frey, who lives in Miami, said he intends to speak with lawmakers before the bill goes up for a final vote.
Founded in 2021, Appointment Trader lets sellers set their own prices for reservations, and bidders can make offers at any price. Additionally, prospective buyers can use the platform as a concierge service, offering a flat fee to anyone who can secure them a reservation at a particular establishment.
Someone paid $2,138 for a reservation at a French Quarter restaurant. Should this be outlawed?
Though still relatively new to Louisiana, the Appointment Trader drew attention after the Illuminator reported on its sale of hard-to-get bookings in the New Orleans market during Super Bowl weekend — including a $2,138 reservation at Antoine's.
Hebert said he sponsored the legislation at the request of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, which argues the sale of reservations without restaurant consent can lead to empty tables, missed opportunities for real customers and diminished service. The LRA modeled Hebert's bill after legislation New York adopted last year with the backing of major online restaurant booking platforms OpenTable and Resy.
Booking sites let diners reserve tables for free and make money by charging restaurants a fee every time someone books through their apps. Louisiana Restaurant Association president Stan Harris told lawmakers Hebert's bill would not affect those booking apps 'other than actually probably helping protect their business model a little bit.'
Hebert's bill calls on the Louisiana attorney general to impose a $1,000 fine against a trading platform for each day a table reservation is offered without a restaurant's consent.
Appointment Trader is actively trying to partner with restaurants, its founder Frey said, offering them half of the final bid proceeds for each reservation.
If the bill clears the House floor, it will next head to the Senate for consideration.
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