Ban the bots
Bring on a federal bot ban. Two east coast Congressmen, New York’s Anthony D’Esposito and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, introduced a bill this week that would prohibit so-called “unauthorized” third-party reservations, often pulled from free reservations sites and sold like commodities to the highest bidder. The Supporting Equal Access to Tables Act of 2024 (or, the SEAT Act, clever) would treat violations as unfair or deceptive acts, enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission.
In early June, reservations bots had their moment in the sun. After enjoying some significant media coverage that seemed to outrage the right people, the New York State legislature passed its own ban on these types of bookings, requiring any service offering reservations to do so only with the explicit permission of the restaurants they work with. The move inspired others, and as mentioned on Expedite last week, the Independent Restaurant Coalition, an advocacy group working on behalf of America’s independent restaurants, took its efforts to Washington.
“IRC members in California were delighted to see New York take action and that prompted us to poll our members. We quickly discovered that where there are reservations, there are bots scooping them up,” Erika Polmar, the IRC’s executive director, told me over email.
The bot problem is most pronounced in New York, where a handful of super-hot restaurants indirectly command hundreds of dollars for a primetime table. Third-party services scoop up the reservations and relist them, charging eager patrons a premium just to sit down. The problem, of course, is that the restaurants don’t see the cash that’s generated on their popularity, and can even be harmed if the booking isn’t sold and no one shows up to claim the table.
New York’s obviously taken steps to remedy the problem, so why the national approach?
“The IRC thinks it is most appropriate to address the issue at a national level rather than a piecemeal approach, and before it becomes a problem in all markets,” Polmar said.
I’m on my way home from the Welcome Conference in New York (more on that in a minute) and haven’t yet asked the major reservations players for their input on the proposed legislation. But both OpenTable CEO Debby Soo and Resy CEO Pablo Rivero applauded the New York bill after its passing.
Conversely, at least one former reservations app founder, Tock’s former leader Nick Kokonas, doesn’t feel it’s a legislative matter, per a recent Instagram comment:
A rep for the IRC told me that its members, including many lauded chefs and restaurateurs, will remain in Washington, D.C. this week to advocate for more causes including issues around service charges, childcare tax credits, third-party delivery regulation, credit card fees, immigration reform, and more.
Hi, hello, welcome!
Remember the reservations service spat I managed to facilitate via my podcast, The Simmer? Of course you do, who could forget? Readers mention this to me daily.
During Monday’s Welcome Conference, an annual event hosted by Will Guidara, a restaurateur and former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park in New York, I got the live version. Spoiler alert: it’s not *actually* a spat or a war or even a fight.
In fact… it was a handshake (and maybe a hug?) as I introduced OpenTable CEO Debby Soo to Tock’s CEO Matt Tucker in a moment of sublime journalistic serendipity just before the start of the conference’s afternoon session. And smehow, my podcast co-host Brandon Barton showed up at the perfect moment… and we all took a selfie.
(I promise this is exactly how it happened; I’m aware it sounds almost unbelievable.)
Tock is, of course, waiting for its own acquisition to close; Resy parent American Express announced it would acquire the business for $400 million a few months ago. And OpenTable is fresh off news of a huge partnership with Visa and not-so-secret initiatives to land the country’s top restaurants as customers. I can confirm it’s a friendly fight… but everyone involved knows the stakes are high.
More soon… I’m sure.
upcoming:
Speaking of Tock CEO Matt Tucker: He’s joining my panel at this year’s HNGRY Summit in Los Angeles on Oct. 25
Also joining: Sara Kramer, co-chef & co-owner of LA restaurants Kismet & Kismet Rotisserie, and Ming-Tai Huh, Square’s head of food & beverage. Our panel is called “Painkillers vs. Vitamins in Restaurant Tech” and I’m excited to host a thoughtful conversation that addresses real issues and identifies opportunities for change.