Data from OpenTable revealed seated diners in the U.S. are still down between 30 and 50 percent year over year with the company predicting 1 in 4 restaurants will permanently close as a result of COVID-19. Recognizing the struggle for the restaurant industry is far from over, OpenTable is rolling out a suite of features and extended price cuts through March 2021 to support restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Extended Open Door Pricing into 2021
As the restaurant industry continues to struggle with the impact of COVID-19, OpenTable is extending its Open Door pricing which waives subscription and cover fees in the US, Canada and other select markets through March 2021. Restaurants interested in participating can request additional information here .
“We are now six months into a global pandemic and the restaurant industry continues to be in crisis,” says Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable. “We are committed to doing our part to ease the burden, so we’re offering our restaurant technology for free through March 2021 and will continue to focus on building products that our partners need right now.”
OpenTable’s new benchmarking tool helps restaurants make informed decisions
Is a slow Tuesday night typical in the neighborhood or unique to that restaurant? Is a $60 cover above or below average compared to nearby restaurants? Using anonymized and aggregated data from thousands of OpenTable restaurants, restaurateurs now can benchmark performance metrics like diner activity, spend and reviews against other OpenTable restaurants in their area. OpenTable will recommend which actions restaurants can take like running a marketing campaign or managing guest reviews to help them grow their business.
Safety Precautions Feature
Today, when diners choose a restaurant they also may want to know what safety measures they can expect. OpenTable’s new ‘Safety Precautions’ tool allows restaurants to update their profile with a complete list of the health & safety protocols they have in place. These may include additional cleaning measures like sanitizing between seatings, contactless payment, social distancing via spacing tables, and employees wearing masks.
Restaurateurs are diversifying their culinary offerings to drive revenue
Restaurants are pivoting their business model for a post COVID-19 world, expanding beyond the traditional dine-in service to offer more unique experiences. Think set menus for a special night out, wine tasting flights with a group of friends or an outdoor movie night for the whole family – all offered by the
restaurant and paid for through the OpenTable app. By encouraging diners to book and pay in advance, restaurants can better manage food waste, curb no shows and drive much needed revenue. Now, restaurateurs can easily manage and promote these experiences via OpenTable.
These are the latest examples of how OpenTable has quickly pivoted to support the restaurant industry during an unprecedented time. In addition to new product features, the company expanded its reservation tech to help venues like grocery stores, bars, wineries and even college dining halls safely reopen, launched a webinar series with restaurant leaders sharing helpful tips and best practices and released a State of the Industry data dashboard to show industry conditions on a daily basis.
