Getting a seat at the most sought-after restaurants, especially in major cities, has become hellish, Saahil Desai writes: “It has never been easier to book a table, and it’s never been harder to actually find one.” https://lnkd.in/ehXygQ6C Apps such as Resy, Tock, and OpenTable make finding restaurants easy. But table openings at in-demand spots are also disappearing before you even have time to click and confirm a reservation. Now credit cards are complicating matters even more: “A card isn’t just for paying the bill,” Desai writes. “It’s something like an entry ticket in its own right.” Having the right credit card can give people a better shot at a reservation. Resy, which is owned by American Express, holds certain tables open for people with Platinum cards, and leapfrogs cardholders to the front of waiting lists. “Reservations, once free, have been financialized,” Desai continues. And Amex isn’t alone: JPMorgan Chase and Capital One both have their own exclusive restaurant offerings for certain cardholders. “When it works, parlaying a card into a reservation can feel great, like a cheat code,” Desai writes. “But eventually, the reservation wars will make losers of us all.” Demand for reservations is starting to outpace the exclusive offerings that certain cardholders are granted: Even the owners of an Amex Black card, with its $10,000 initial charge and $5,000 annual fee, don’t always have a shot at a table. “The same process plays out again and again,” Desai continues. “Reservations to the cool spots quickly disappear on the apps, which makes them more desirable, which makes the next batch of slots disappear even quicker.” “Trying and failing to nab a reservation is literally a champagne problem,” Desai writes—but “must every aspect of life be subject to some form of digital arbitrage?” Dating apps are now full of schemes to make users pay. Airbnb has become just as expensive and corporatized as hotels. Amazon searches prompt reams of sponsored listings. “Even restaurant reservations are a commodity—vacuumed up by bots and scalpers looking to sell,” Desai continues. 🎨: Matteo Giuseppe Pani. Source: Getty.
Hans J.
1w
Try getting a reservation at Dorsia now, you…
Retired
1wWho cares? You get better food rurally anyway.