Latest news with #AppointmentTrader
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Online restaurant reservation trading nears closing time in Louisiana
Getty Images Louisiana is set to outlaw a new, lucrative industry that deals in the online buying and selling of restaurant reservations. The state Senate unanimously approved House Bill 90 by Rep. Troy Hebert, R-Lafayette, without discussion Thursday. The proposal would ban companies such as Appointment Trader, Dorsia and ResX from arranging reservations through their platforms if they do not have explicit contracts with restaurants. Hebert's bill is expected to become law with Gov. Jeff Landry's signature, having received unanimous approval in every committee hearing and floor vote in both chambers, Reservation trading platforms allow diners with hard-to-get table reservations to sell them online in auction-style transactions similar to eBay. Prospective buyers can also use the platforms as a concierge service, offering a flat fee to anyone who can secure them a table at a particular establishment. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX While the practice of paying for restaurant reservations is more common in places such as New York and Miami, the trading platforms have come under scrutiny in Louisiana since the Illuminator reported on high-dollar trades in New Orleans during Super Bowl weekend. The transactions included a $2,138 reservation for a table of four at Antoine's. In a previous interview, Hebert said some local eateries reported confusion over complaints from diners who bought reservations without realizing the restaurants weren't the ones selling them. 'We're not talking about Chick-fil-A here,' Hebert said. 'It's a select group of restaurants they're doing this to … They're profiting off of a restaurant's brand, and the restaurants don't even know about it.' Backed by the National Restaurant Association, versions of the legislation began popping up in state capitols last year. Reached after Hebert's bill advanced Thursday, Appointment Trader founder Jonas Frey said his small business is facing seemingly insurmountable odds. Only a few years old, his startup logged more than $6 million in trades over the past 12 months. 'I'm weighing my options, but it certainly feels like a David versus Goliath situation,' Frey said. At the center of the debate is a market space currently dominated by the booking platforms OpenTable and Resy, which operate under a very different revenue model than the nascent trading platforms. OpenTable makes money by charging restaurants a fee every time someone reserves a table through its app, while the trading apps charge diners a percentage of the winning bid price for each trade. If the newer trading platforms can secure partnerships with restaurants, they would pose a serious threat to the well-established booking apps. Restaurants would no longer have to pay the third-party booking platforms whenever diners make reservations and would actually make money every time someone books through a trading platform. Frey said he offers contracts to restaurants giving them an equal share of the winning bids for every reservation. It would give dining businesses a new revenue stream from something that currently costs them money, he said. However, Louisiana lawmakers don't believe it's a viable industry and see reservation trading as an opportunistic industry that is artificially inflating demand just to cash in on wealthy tourists. Hebert and his colleagues have argued that tables would be easy and free to reserve if software bots weren't snapping them up from OpenTable and then listing them for sale on the trading apps. Frey disagreed with that assessment and said he doesn't think technology could even do that. Large booking sites have several security layers, such as requiring personal phone numbers with text message verification, in order to make a reservation. The trading apps had no lobbyists or advocates speaking on their behalf against Hebert's bill, so lawmakers have only heard one side of the argument. Hebert said his intent is not to end the practice of reservation trading but to simply give the restaurants back their right to control their own bookings. If the trading apps continue to operate in current form after the new law takes effect, they could face fines of up to $1,000 per trade. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers advance bill aimed at curbing third-party restaurant reservations
SPRINGFIELD — A bill heading to Gov. JB Pritzker's desk is aimed at protecting local restaurants from third-party vendors that buy and resell reservations, which proponents say can lead to costly no-shows and consumer fraud. If the measure is signed into law by Pritzker, Illinois would join states including New York and Florida in attempting to bar third-party reservation services from listing, advertising, promoting or selling reservations without a written agreement with the restaurant. The measure, which the House passed last week without any no votes after an earlier overwhelming show of support in the Senate, opens the third-party vendors to litigation and provides for civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation. According to Rep. Margaret Croke, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the bill in the House, the third-party vendors hurt restaurants by grabbing reservations at popular places, sometimes using automated bots, as soon as they are released on platforms such as Open Table that have an agreement with the restaurant. That makes reservations on the site the restaurant is working with look unavailable when they're actually being sold on another platform. Restaurants plan their nights based on the number of bookings and staff accordingly, but the third-party reservations are often no shows, Croke said. 'They're booked so the restaurant thinks they got the reservation, but maybe someone didn't buy it on the third party,' Croke said. 'They have no way of knowing that the reservation was purchased because now the third party is technically the holder of that reservation.' Third-party reservation platforms often charge high fees to secure a table, Croke said, adding that she found one vendor selling a reservation for the Ralph Lauren restaurant in Chicago for $700. 'It was ridiculous,' Croke said. 'I thought, 'You're taking something that is free, something that everyone should be able to enjoy and pricing it up.' None of that money is going to the restaurant.' While no opposition was formally filed against the bill in Illinois, the founder of one third-party vendor, Appointment Trader, said his platform does not use automated bots. 'It's just a clearinghouse to transfer an appointment,' said Jonas Frey, who acknowledged receiving many 'cease-and-desist' letters from restaurant owners. 'We don't sell any reservations. We literally do not source reservations. We do not list reservations, and we also do not sell them. It is 100% user-based.' Users can make reservations, upload them to Appointment Trader and resell them, Frey said. The company takes a 20-30% cut of the selling price. If a user exceeds a set limit on the number of reservations that go unsold, their account is banned. According to Frey, the company's 'no-show' rate was less than 1% across the last 50,000 reservations they recently acquired on the platform. But Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, which worked with Croke on the bill, said the third-party reservation operations have been a rising problem for restaurants since the pandemic. The bill requires a written agreement between restaurants and reservation platforms, which allows restaurants to have more control over their costs and expected reservation numbers, he said. 'This is a major win for restaurants, as it cuts down on a number of double bookings or phantom reservations,' Toia said. Croke said the bill could also give people more opportunities to get a seat at popular restaurants, where customers are often deterred with the thinking, 'I don't even want to try that restaurant because I know they're always booked.' 'When you are walking down the street and thinking about trying something, it's such a disincentive to see a bunch of people waiting because the restaurant thinks they have reservations so they can't take walk-ins,' Croke said.
Chicago Tribune
28-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Lawmakers advance bill aimed at curbing third-party restaurant reservations
A bill heading to Gov. JB Pritzker's desk is aimed at protecting local restaurants from third-party vendors that buy and resell reservations, which proponents say can lead to costly no-shows and consumer fraud. If the measure is signed into law by Pritzker, Illinois would join states including New York and Florida in attempting to bar third-party reservation services from listing, advertising, promoting or selling reservations without a written agreement with the restaurant. The measure, which the House passed last week without any no votes after an earlier overwhelming show of support in the Senate, opens the third-party vendors to litigation and provides for civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation. According to Rep. Margaret Croke, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the bill in the House, the third-party vendors hurt restaurants by grabbing reservations at popular places, sometimes using automated bots, as soon as they are released on platforms such as Open Table that have an agreement with the restaurant. That makes reservations on the site the restaurant is working with look unavailable when they're actually being sold on another platform. Restaurants plan their nights based on the number of bookings and staff accordingly, but the third-party reservations are often no shows, Croke said. 'They're booked so the restaurant thinks they got the reservation, but maybe someone didn't buy it on the third party,' Croke said. 'They have no way of knowing that the reservation was purchased because now the third party is technically the holder of that reservation.' Third-party reservation platforms often charge high fees to secure a table, Croke said, adding that she found one vendor selling a reservation for the Ralph Lauren restaurant in Chicago for $700. 'It was ridiculous,' Croke said. 'I thought, 'You're taking something that is free, something that everyone should be able to enjoy and pricing it up.' None of that money is going to the restaurant.' While no opposition was formally filed against the bill in Illinois, the founder of one third-party vendor, Appointment Trader, said his platform does not use automated bots. 'It's just a clearinghouse to transfer an appointment,' said Jonas Frey, who acknowledged receiving many 'cease-and-desist' letters from restaurant owners. 'We don't sell any reservations. We literally do not source reservations. We do not list reservations, and we also do not sell them. It is 100% user-based.' Users can make reservations, upload them to Appointment Trader and resell them, Frey said. The company takes a 20-30% cut of the selling price. If a user exceeds a set limit on the number of reservations that go unsold, their account is banned. According to Frey, the company's 'no-show' rate was less than 1% across the last 50,000 reservations they recently acquired on the platform. But Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, which worked with Croke on the bill, said the third-party reservation operations have been a rising problem for restaurants since the pandemic. The bill requires a written agreement between restaurants and reservation platforms, which allows restaurants to have more control over their costs and expected reservation numbers, he said. 'This is a major win for restaurants, as it cuts down on a number of double bookings or phantom reservations,' Toia said. Croke said the bill could also give people more opportunities to get a seat at popular restaurants, where customers are often deterred with the thinking, 'I don't even want to try that restaurant because I know they're always booked.' 'When you are walking down the street and thinking about trying something, it's such a disincentive to see a bunch of people waiting because the restaurant thinks they have reservations so they can't take walk-ins,' Croke said.
Eater
23-05-2025
- Business
- Eater
Illinois Third-Party Reservation Ban Bill Awaits Gov. Pritzker's Approval
Illinois Senators have approved a proposal that would ban the sale of restaurant reservations by third parties (the black market). The bill, which was passed by the House in April, now awaits Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's signature. The Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act was unanimously passed with 58 votes on Thursday, May 22. The Illinois bill is modeled after a New York policy signed into law in December. The measure seemingly targets Appointment Trader, a website where users sell reservations to trendy restaurants. Lawmakers contend users deploy bots on sites like OpenTable and Resy to scoop up desirable times before customers can book tables. Illinois State Rep. Margaret Croke says the difficulty in finding reservations at restaurants like Armitage Alehouse led her to introduce the legislation in February in Springfield. Appointment Trader was mentioned in a press release sent by Croke, while a release from the bill's sponsor in the Senate, Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, included words of support from Illinois Restaurant Association President and CEO Sam Toia. Appointment Trader founder Jonas Frey previously told Eater that his company already takes the necessary steps to keep users employing bots off the site. Third-party sales complicate matters if no one purchases a reservation posted for sale online; a restaurant is left with an empty table that appears reserved. No-shows mean wasted labor and food costs that hurt restaurants' bottom lines. The issue became noteworthy after a New Yorker story shared the tale of a Brown University student who made $80,000 by selling reservations. No-shows have long been an issue for restaurants and have led to the rise of prepaid meals. The business practice was pioneered by Tock, a reservation platform founded in 2014 in Chicago as a way for Michelin-starred Alinea to book tables and ensure customers took on the financial risk of reserving. Diners were skeptical about prepaying for a meal. But in 2025, it's more of an accepted practice with restaurants looking for ways to mitigate rising costs five years after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, Tock was sold to American Express for $400 million. There's money to be made in the world of reservations. The New York Times reports how the platforms have been throwing money at restaurants, hoping they'll join their listings. American Express also owns Resy, and Visa has a partnership with OpenTable in which certain credit card holders gain exclusive access to hot restaurants. Frey from Appointment Trader argues that lobbyists from credit card companies have been behind the surge in efforts to make his website illegal. Beyond Illinois, there are also bills in California, Florida, and Nevada. The credit companies disagree that they're the catalysts behind the measures, saying that they're merely protecting the interests of their partner restaurants. Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
