Tock belongs to Amex now

Here’s how that might play out for new sibling Resy, and for you.

Stock image via Unsplash

Tock’s $400 million sale to American Express closed today, four months after the credit card company announced it would buy the bookings service from former parent, Squarespace. 

“Effective today, Tock will operate within American Express, alongside Resy,” Tock’s leader Matt Tucker wrote on LinkedIn. “I will continue to lead Tock, working closely with Pablo Rivero, Vice President of American Express Global Dining and CEO of Resy. Both of our teams’ passion for the hospitality industry is part of our DNA – this partnership will only amplify that shared mindset.”

“We’re delighted to welcome the Tock team to American Express. This acquisition will enhance our dining platform by making more restaurants and dining experiences available through American Express, providing restaurants and other hospitality businesses with more tools, and over time, connecting them to our network of premium diners,” Pablo Rivero, American Express Global Dining VP and Resy’s CEO said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Matt Tucker and the Tock team to build a world class digital dining platform.”

Restaurants are a huge deal for Amex. Its cardholders spent $100 billion on dining in 2023. It’s used its 2019 Resy acquisition to build out dining programs and offers for its cardmembers.

The Resy acquisition also changed the playbook for reservations companies. 

Once Amex took over a booking site, it won more customers on both sides of the restaurant transaction: the cardholders dropping serious cash on restaurant dining, and the restaurants now paying SaaS fees for Resy’s software in addition to the processing fees it already paid American Express. Then it turns into a flywheel: Amex can offer the best or most desirable restaurants to its cardholders, encouraging spending and promising to fill seats. Add to the mix Tock’s restaurant roster, which features many of America’s highest tier restaurants (it was started by a former co-owner of Alinea, one of Chicago’s top fine dining spots, after all), and Tock’s value to Amex becomes especially obvious.

(I’ve gotten some… mixed feedback the latest purchase price of $400 million, which is the same price Squarespace paid for Tock in 2021). 

Both Rivero and Tucker have told me (separately) that they are excited for the future of their businesses once the deal closes. But neither could offer any specifics about how it would actually work. Until they can (Matt and Pablo, hi, are you reading?), let’s speculate a bit. 

Little is likely to change immediately.