The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yelp takes larger bite out of restaurant reservation market
Its 22 million bookings for diners is a threefold increase year-over-year.
Yelp is continuing its evolution from a user-generated review platform to meeting the needs of diners who want to plan ahead, walk in for seating, or get food delivered.
The review and business-listing company managed 22 million diners booking directly through the Yelp app, a threefold increase year-over-year, according to internal data released last week. During the 2019 Valentine’s Day week, Yelp Inc. reported its reservation and wait-list software handled 5.6 million diners.
“Acquisition and integration of leading restaurant technologies has also benefited Yelp’s restaurant partners thanks to new offerings such as Yelp Waitlist and Yelp Kiosk,” says Devon Wright, general manager of Yelp Restaurant Marketplaces and co-founder of Turnstyle Analytics, a Wi-Fi marketing company purchased by Yelp in 2017.
The idea behind the kiosk, for example, is to allow diners to add their names directly to the wait list via a standalone iPad in an effort to free up the host for hospitality. Guests can also check a restaurant’s real-time wait-list information and sign up and adjust their arrival time accordingly from within the Yelp app. Both functionalities were made possible by NoWait, the Pittsburgh-based startup also acquired in 2017.
Wright characterizes a food delivery programwith Grubhub as a type of “thoughtful partnership” to fast-tracknew features rather than build out systems in-house or through acquisition. StephenLoffffffffffffredo, partnerat SeasonedHospitality Strategy andManagement, says Yelp’s one-stop platform on which prospective customers don’t have to leave to transact with a restaurant, and restaurants can interact directly with diners — a so-called “complete loop” for consumers — is a particular strength. Though Yelp declined to provide the average number ofdiners booking through the app in any given month, the December figure of 22 million is a shot across the bow ofOpenTable, whichhasdominated the virtual reservation landscape since 1998. OpenTable seats 27 million diners via online reservations each month at more than 48,000 restaurants globally, according to company statistics. And although OpenTable andfellowcompetitorResyare releasing specialized search tools to connect diners with restaurants, in an industry with notoriously slim margins, pricing continues to be themainfactor over bells and whistles. Take the example of Claudio’s, a three-kitchen chainlet in Greenport, N.Y., that Seasoned Hospitality took over following its sale in early 2018. “Thewholetechnologyside was a rush to beat the clock before reopening last year,” says Loffffffffffffredo of choosing a reservation platform. At the time, restaurantsontheNorth Fork of Long Island appeared split relatively evenlybetween OpenTable and Resy. “Since themain(Claudio’s) restaurant had never been on any type of platform, we felt Resywas theone togowith,” especially with a lower price point for Claudio’sClamBar, which just neededwait-list functionality. But thatwas lastyear’s solution, and Loffredo says he and the teamare again reassessing Claudio’s techoptions before the summer season gets under way — including, now, Yelp. OpenTable, themostexpensiveoptionforrestaurantsthat take reservations, charges a $ 249monthlyfeeplusaseated cover charge of from25¢ to $1 dependingonhowthe table is booked. The company previously charged aninitial $ 1,295 for equipment installationbut eliminated that fee. Yelp also charges $249 amonth buthas noadditionalchargesforhardware, covers, initial setup, or web access. Monthly plans at Resy start at $189 and top out at $899 depending on fea- tures used. Yelp and OpenTable partnered in 2010 in a move that saw reservations accepted through OpenTable on the Yelp platform. The alliance ended in 2015 after Yelp acquired SeatMe, the softwarebehindwhat is nowYelp Reservations. OpenTablewas acquiredbyBookingHoldings Inc.(formerlyPricelineGroup) for $2.6 billion in 2014. The two platforms occupy space in an increasingly crowded arena of other online reservation sites suchas Resy, I Know the Chef, Spotluck, and Allset, with most offffffffffffering comparable features.