SAN FRANCISCO, March 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenTable,
the world's leading provider of online restaurant reservations and
part of The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN), today unveiled a "book
responsibly" campaign spotlighting the impact of no-shows and late
cancellations on the restaurant industry. OpenTable partnered
with celebrity chef and restaurateur Michael Voltaggio to release a public service
announcement to advocate for diners to book responsibly by
canceling or modifying their reservation when their plans
change.
"Many people simply don't realize the impact that no-shows and
late cancellations have on the restaurant industry," said
Scott Jampol, Senior Vice President
of Marketing at OpenTable. "At OpenTable, we believe we have a
responsibility to help build awareness of the issue and continue to
leverage our technology and diner network in ways that reduce
no-show rates and mitigate the impact of late cancellations."
"It might seem harmless to bail on a reservation but if you
can't make it, letting us know ahead of time makes a world of
difference," said Michael Voltaggio.
"If we're constantly working to address no-shows on a daily basis,
our business suffers. That's why we are asking diners to book
responsibly."
Voltaggio isn't alone. Kim Alter
from San Francisco-based Nightbird
notes that she wishes "diners knew how hard it is to run a
restaurant" and that canceling at the last minute or no-showing
"makes it even harder." And Michael Davis from Sprout LA
counsels diners to "not be afraid to cancel your reservation – we
appreciate a cancellation more than a no-show."
OpenTable's no-show rate in the U.S. is approximately 20 percent
lower than the no-show rate for diners who book via phone.
OpenTable believes that this lower rate is helped by making it easy
to modify or cancel a reservation with a couple taps of their phone
and by its email and mobile notification reservation
reminders. To help refill tables freed up due to late
cancellations on restaurants, OpenTable immediately surfaces the
newly available tables to its millions strong diner network.
To watch the PSA video and learn more about the importance of
booking responsibly and the impact of no-shows and late
cancellations on the restaurant industry, visit http://bookresponsibly.opentable.com/.
About OpenTable:
OpenTable, part of The Priceline
Group (NASDAQ: PCLN), is the world's leading provider of online
restaurant reservations, seating more than 21 million diners per
month via online bookings across more than 40,000 restaurants. The
OpenTable network connects restaurants and diners, helping diners
discover and book the perfect table and helping restaurants deliver
personalized hospitality to keep guests coming back. The OpenTable
service enables diners to see which restaurants have available
tables, select a restaurant based on verified diner reviews, menus,
and other helpful information, and easily book a reservation. In
addition to the company's website and mobile apps, OpenTable powers
online reservations for nearly 600 partners, including many of the
Internet's most popular global and local brands. For restaurants,
the OpenTable hospitality solutions enable them to manage their
reservation book, streamline their operations, and enhance their
service levels. Since its inception in 1998, OpenTable has seated
over 1 billion diners around the world. OpenTable is
headquartered in San Francisco and
has bookable restaurants in more than 20 countries, including
Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, United
Kingdom and the United
States.
OpenTable, OpenTable.com, OpenTable logos, and
other service names are the trademarks of OpenTable, Inc. and/or
its affiliates
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/opentable-spotlights-impact-of-no-shows-on-the-restaurant-industry-300426180.html
SOURCE OpenTable, Inc.