SevenRooms’ latest release helps restaurants consolidate reservations

Now we know why they were so mad about competitor OpenTable’s terms of service update.

The morning after SevenRooms co-founder and chief product officer Allison Page posted an aggressive diatribe on LinkedIn against competitor OpenTable, I had a friendly coffee with a DoorDash insider. The delivery giant had closed on its acquisition of SevenRooms over six months earlier, but my coffee date was surprised by Page’s tone in the post as she criticized a change to OpenTable’s terms of service that could make it harder for restaurants on OpenTable to also work with her company.

“It’s not very DoorDash-y,” the insider said.

Indeed, the post struck me as different from DoorDash’s typical buttoned-up communications style, though it was in line with SevenRooms’ direct style of messaging. I always appreciate the candor (one could also call it “the drama”). SevenRooms has a history of beefing with OpenTable; I’m ever-so-slightly delighted that the practice has continued under its new owner.

Now, it’s a lot clearer why Page flagged the changes.