The easy button for many restaurateurs is OpenTable.com, which allows diners to make reservations 24/7 online. “The average restaurant spends $1,500 to $2,000 a month on OpenTable,” said Mr. Brown, of Ed’s Chowder House, adding that restaurants like his pay a setup fee, monthly fees and a fee for every reservation.Sympathetic?
In addition, a serious fine-dining experience requires reservationists “12 hours a day, seven days a week,” Mr. Brown said, “a minimum of three people making $30,000 apiece per year plus benefits.”
“Add to that yearly payments of $20,000 in OpenTable fees,” he said. “So by having no reservations, that restaurant saves $125,000 a year.”
Furthermore, while no-reservations restaurants can reach as many as four table turns a night,two may be the maximum for restaurants that take reservations, Mr. Brown said. “So for them, often the only way to cope with increasing costs is to keep charging more money.” That, in turn, can price a restaurant out of its market.
Friday, June 18, 2010
SEINFELD, 4? I will confess to being OpenTable-dependent when it comes to making restaurant reservations -- I love the grid and the ready, efficient comparison of options. Why sit around and wait? Why bother with those bistros which seat on a first-come, first-served policy? Well, the NYT recently explained the economics of dinner reservations, and it's an eye-opener:
To some extent, though isn't the simplest way to deal with that just "we accept reservations only via OpenTable?" And as someone who dines alone regularly, my most common use of OpenTable is not to actually make a reservation, but to confirm that a place is likely to have space to accomodate me. And it makes a whole lot more sense than proprietary systems like the Monofuku things.
ReplyDeleteMan, I was so sad when I read this article! I temped for a company once that did these professional directory services, and I can tell you, once they get a foothold in an industry, they MILK it. I was happy to leave that place -- terrible what can happen when you're just trying to do business.
ReplyDeleteWhat if we just start recommending places to each other?
The Flea Market Cafe, on A btw 8th and 9th, is a must. Tuesdays, they have unlimited moules frites for $19 (with 1 complimentary glass of beer or Cab Sauv.)
Also, I was really surprised the article didn't reference "Date Night," in which the funniest running joke is that no matter how much of an asshole anyone is in that movie, they're all completely stunned that anyone would have the audacity to steal a reservation.
ReplyDeleteI'm sympathetic, yes. But I still won't hang around at a restaurant and wait for a table. They ought to net out additional bar sales, though to that calculation.
ReplyDeletePaul T., my husband and I used to eat at Flea Market all the time. Our strategy when going out to dinner is this: take the bus down Second Ave (we live in midtown), get out at around 9th St., walk around, check out menus, and eat. Sometimes it's hard because the popular places get crowded quickly, but other times we discover some fun places (and we kind of feel like we're on vacation). We like 7A (on 7th and A)--no atmosphere, but good food and dirt cheap. I also like Lucien--better food, French feel, probably best to make a reservation. I know there are others, but I don't always remember the names. Honestly...we don't go out to dinner alone too much (two kids!), but whenever we head downtown, we love to explore.
ReplyDeleteOh, our other strategy: my husband rides his bike all over the city. Sometimes he discovers interesting restaurants during his travels, and then we revisit the neighborhood on foot. We've lived here for 20 years, but his bike has led us to a few new places.
Cartwright!?!?
ReplyDeleteMy constraint on eating out is time, not money, and I hate waiting around a crowded bar. So if a restaurant can't be bothered to reserve a table for me, eff 'em unless I happen to be going during an off-hour. It's not like I've ever been to a restaurant where waiting around an extra half hour or more produced a good experience.
ReplyDelete