SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenTable, the world's leading provider of online restaurant reservations and part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), today announced the global rollout of Seating Options, a feature that allows diners to reserve a seat at the bar, counter, a table outside and more during the reservation process. Not only does the feature give diners the freedom to choose where they want to sit at the restaurant, even before they arrive, but it also increases restaurant availability during peak dining times.
Diners can now easily find restaurants around the globe offering various seating options and table types when searching for reservations across desktop and mobile web, as well as on the OpenTable iOS and Android apps. Alternative seating options are noted with a table icon on restaurant profile pages.
"With Seating Options, diners have the flexibility and freedom to make each dining experience exactly what they desire, whether it's an awesome scene by the bar or a quiet spot outdoors," said Joseph Essas, Chief Technology Officer at OpenTable. "It's also a powerful tool for restaurants, who can now offer diners even more choice, while maximizing every seat in the house."
Located within GuestCenter, OpenTable's flagship restaurant management product, Seating Options allows participating restaurants to categorize tables on their floor plan as either standard, bar, high top, outdoor or counter. These alternate seats are typically empty despite being highly coveted. Aside from attracting diners who may be looking for a seat at the bar or on the patio, Seating Options allows restaurants to open up more seats, increase the number of reservations available and ultimately boost profit.
"On busy nights, we're always getting requests to reserve bar seats," said Lien Ta, Managing Partner of Here's Looking At You restaurant in Los Angeles. "Seating Options make it possible for more diners to find seats at our restaurant during peak hours and allows us to bring in guests who may have sought an alternative restaurant to dine at otherwise."
Seating Options is now available globally with nearly a third of restaurants on OpenTable already using the feature. For diners interested in learning more, visit the OpenTable blog. Restaurants can find out more on the Open for Business blog.
About OpenTable:
OpenTable, part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), is the world's leading provider of online restaurant reservations, seating more than 25 million diners per month via online reservations across more than 46,000 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 1.6 billion diners via online reservations 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, the Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. Restaurants are available for reservations in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish languages.
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SOURCE OpenTable, Inc.
Lisa Singh, OpenTable, lsingh@opentable.com; Cristina Calzadilla, DKC, Cristina_Calzadilla@dkcnews.com
