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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
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Someone paid $2,138 for a reservation at a French Quarter restaurant. Should this be outlawed?
Getty Images People are buying and selling table reservations at iconic New Orleans eateries for eye-popping amounts via third-party websites, often without the restaurant's knowledge. Critics want lawmakers to ban the burgeoning online business they consider a racket, arguing that it undermines the fine-dining experience and could potentially leave restaurants with empty tables. However, proponents of the practice say it benefits both diners and restaurants when done properly. Some iconic restaurants topped the list during a recent scan of the New Orleans section of Appointment Trader, one of several platforms designed to let people with scheduling conflicts sell highly coveted reservations on the open market. A Saturday night reservation at Brennan's later this month is available for a suggested bid of $235 — a discount compared to the whopping $2,138 someone paid for a four-top at Antoine's during the Super Bowl weekend. Are those prices based on genuine demand for seating at the restaurants, or is it artificially inflated by technology built to cash in on wealthy tourists desperate to dine in the city's elite culinary corners? That's a question Louisiana lawmakers will try to answer in the coming months as they consider House Bill 90, sponsored by Rep. Troy Hebert, R-Lafayette. The legislation could ban companies such as Appointment Trader, Dorsia and Wuw Wuw from operating in Louisiana. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Specifically, Hebert's bill prohibits third-party companies from offering or arranging reservations at any restaurants that have not agreed to the service through a contract. Hebert could not be reached for comment, but the Louisiana Restaurant Association, a trade group that asked Hebert to file the legislation, said it is modeled after similar laws recently enacted in other states such as New York. They all describe the legislation as a measure to prevent 'restaurant reservation fraud.' Appointment Trader, founded in 2021, lets users buy and sell reservations and appointments of all kinds through auction-style bidding. Sellers can set their own asking prices, and bidders can make offers at any rate. Additionally, prospective buyers can use the platform as a concierge service, offering a fee to any user who can secure them a reservation at a particular establishment. In its early days, the platform was limited mostly to hotspots such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas. It has since gained popularity and expanded into smaller markets including New Orleans and virtually anywhere else one has a reservation they want to sell. As of Thursday, the platform had clocked over $6 million in trades within the last 12 months. In a phone interview, Louisiana Restaurant Association spokeswoman Wendy Waren said platforms like Appointment Trader are selling reservations without the restaurants' permission or knowledge. If no one buys the reservations, tables just sit empty, which can cause seating delays or prevent genuine customers from getting a reservation and actually bringing business to the restaurant, she said. 'It creates artificial scarcity,' Waren said. 'It's like somebody's hijacking the process.' 'Our backs are really against the wall': New Orleans restaurants brace for new tariffs New York hospitality trade groups have accused the platforms of using software bots to snap up reservations and sell them on what they call a 'black market.' Appointment Trader founder Jonas Frey said he is just trying to solve a problem with a legitimate service that can benefit all parties, particularly the restaurants. The 37-year-old software engineer is a German immigrant who came to the U.S. five years ago and came up with the idea for his platform while waiting in a long line at his local motor vehicles office in Las Vegas. He now lives in Miami with his wife and is serious about maintaining legitimacy on his platform, he said. 'I've basically lived in a computer all my life, and nothing gives me more joy — well almost nothing — than when thousands of people use the software I built to solve a problem in their life,' Frey said. In phone interviews this week, Frey explained how users on his platform must sell at least half of the reservations that they post or risk account suspension. This prevents people from trying to book all the available tables and hoard them to create artificial demand. Also, the free-market style platform means that unsold reservations put downward pressure on the prices in a given area, he said. The app is still quite new in the New Orleans market as there have only been a handful of transactions, so the current 90-day average bid prices have been skewed by reservations sold during special events such as the Super Bowl. Frey said those 'one-offs' are not the norm. In a market such as New Orleans, diners can typically get reservations without paying if it's a normal weekend, but it can be next-to-impossible at certain restaurants in other cities. Reservation trading lets people sell valuable bookings that they, for whatever reason, can't use or no longer want, When someone has a coveted reservation but a scheduling conflict prevents them from using it, they might not bother calling to cancel, leading to what restaurants call 'no-show reservations.' Just a few no-shows can disrupt a restaurant's operations and cost it thousands in lost sales. Approximately 28% of American diners have admitted to ghosting on their reservations, according to a 2021 OpenTable survey. 'Wouldn't it be better for everyone if you could just resell it?' Frey asked. Lisa Blount, director of marketing for Antoine's, said she's all in favor of entrepreneurs figuring out new ways to make money in the restaurant industry. She's less worried about no-shows because Antoine's requires credit cards to make reservations, but she does have a few other concerns. At Antoine's and other fine dining eateries, the staff take a lot of time to learn about their customers when they make a reservation, Blount said. They might be on a tight schedule, have diet restrictions or could be visiting for a special occasion. This kind of information allows the restaurant to make preparations with food ordering, shift scheduling and other arrangements. 'There's a lot more to coming to our restaurant than just buying a ticket,' Blount said. 'We try to know a lot about you before you even get in the door.' Blount said she worries that trading or selling reservations to unknown customers could stymie a restaurant's ability to offer its best level of service. She also said she hates the idea of an unwitting customer paying for a reservation and then showing up and seeing empty tables because it turned out to be a slow evening. The customer would feel scammed, and it could damage the restaurant's reputation, she said. Still, Blount said she's open to the concept of reservation trading if there are ways to control for those kinds of issues. Frey said he is actively trying to partner with restaurants to make the app better for all parties. His platform currently takes a 30% cut of each transaction, and he offers partner restaurants an equal share of the net proceeds. So far, Frey said he has not landed any partnership agreements as he tries to keep his company alive through an onslaught of state legislation. Seafood testers find Shreveport restaurants deceiving customers with foreign shrimp Bans on reservation trading apps are already in place in New York and Arizona, and a similar bill is currently pending in the Illinois legislature. Some large corporations could lose a chunk of their business if reservation trading catches on. Restaurant booking platforms such as OpenTable and Resy are free for customers to use. They make money by charging restaurants a fee for every reservation made through their app. Platforms like Appointment Trader threaten to disrupt the online booking sector by flipping that business model on its head. Under Frey's partnership model, restaurants would get paid just to let customers inside. But all that depends on genuine demand existing in a particular market area. 'There's so many restaurants here,' Blount said from her New Orleans office. 'We're not New York.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mardi Gras activities get into full swing starting Friday
Get ready to laissez bon temp rouler as Mardi Gras festivities get into full swing starting Friday. Here's a list of upcoming events that feature parades, A Taste of Mardi Gras and a Clergy Waiter Dinner. Classic Cars & Cheerleaders Parade Where: Downtown Alexandria Time: 5 p.m. The parade features classic cars and cheerleaders from local schools and cheer/dance teams. The route will be Murray Street, turn on left Fifth Street, turn right on Jackson Street and right on Third Street to St. James Street. Taste of Mardi Gras Where: Randolph Riverfront Center, 707 2nd St., Alexandria Time: 7-11:30 p.m. Cost: $50 adult general admission. $25 for children under 10. The Louisiana Restaurant Association is hosting the 31st annual Taste of Mardi Gras. Dishes and beverages supplied by regional restaurants. All funds go to Louisiana Restaurant Association Programs (Education Foundation & Louisiana ProStart), Children's Miracle Network, Manna House Ministries, Children's Mardi Gras Parade and the Food Bank of Central Louisiana. A Second Line will be led by New Natives Brass Band and Krewe Fleur de Lis and live music by The Chee Whiz. Children's Parade Where: Downtown Alexandria Time: 10 a.m. The parade will follow the same route as the Classic Cars & Cheerleaders Parade. It will start on Murray Street, turn on left Fifth Street, turn right on Jackson Street and right on Third Street to St. James Street. Mardi Gras Party Where: Alexandria Zoo, 3016 Masonic Dr. Time: 1-3 p.m. Cost: Regular zoo admission. FOTAZ members free with card and photo ID. King cake by Atwood's Bakery. Music by The LaCour Trio. Decorated strollers or wagons welcomed but no throws allowed. Town of Ball Mardi Gras Parade Where: Ball Time: 2 p.m. Route: Begins on Powell Drive, travels down U.S. Highway 165 and ends at Dairy Queen. Mardi Gras on the Red Where: 230 Riverfront St., Pineville Time: 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Live music, food trucks and local craft vendors. Golf Cart Parade Where: Indian Creek Recreation Area, 100 Campground Rd., Woodworth Park entry: $8 a vehicle Line up at 11:30 a.m., judging at noon and parade rolls at 1 p.m. Alexandria Mardi Gras Association's Krewes Parade Where: Alexandria Time: 2 p.m. The parade starts on Texas Avenue, turns right on Masonic Drive, left on Memorial Drive, right on North Boulevard and ends in the Sam's Club parking lot. Mardi Gras Clergy Waiter Dinner Where: Maryhill Renewal Center Time: Starts at 6 p.m. Cost: $50 a ticket. Majesty sponsor table of eight $1,200. Royal sponsor table of six $800. Get tickets at Catholic Charities of Central Louisiana fundraiser. Diocese of Alexandria Clergy serve as waiters. Silent auction. Funds raised support mental health services, disaster relief and emergency basic needs assistance. This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Mardi Gras activities get into full swing starting Friday
