Carbone in New York City. Alinea in Chicago. San Ho Wan in San Francisco. Every major metropolitan city in America has a list of restaurants that are seemingly impossible to get into.
As a result of this high demand, black market restaurant reservation services have popped up online, which auction off (or even give out for free on a first-come, first-serve basis) restaurant reservations to some of the hottest restaurants in town. But there have been crackdowns on these services, which usually happen without the restaurants’ knowledge or consent, and can be overrun with bots.
In 2022, Resy successfully got the free service #FreeRezy — which offered hard to get reservations via the encrypted platform, Telegram — shut down. Then, in December 2024, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul passed the Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act, which banned these unauthorized, third-party restaurant reservation platforms.
Even though these unofficial services have gone dark (at least in New York State), there is still high demand for solutions to snagging some of the best reservations. On the heels of this new local legislation, Tock expanded its partnership with Google so customers can directly book reservations through Google. Also, a new app called Diibs just launched. It auctions last-minute access to reservations (with operators’ consent).
In other news this month, Par Technology made an acquisition in the analytics space, Soundhound debuted an in-car voice assistant that can order from restaurants, and more.
Tech Tracker rounds up what’s happening in the technology sector of the restaurant industry, including news from restaurants, vendors, digital platforms, and third-party delivery companies. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know and why:
Tock expands partnership with Google
American Express-owned restaurant reservations company Tock announced earlier this month an expansion of its partnership with Google. The Reserve with Google capabilities have now been expanded to all restaurant reservation experiences (including those that require a deposit or a credit card on file). Previously, this feature was only available for free reservations, and now the booking process for paid reservations can be completed without leaving the Google search results page.
Although paying for hard-to-get restaurant reservations has become common practice, companies like Tock applaud New York’s crackdown on unofficial avenues for reserving hot dining spots.
“Tock has long advocated against these predatory practices that damage restaurants' ability to serve their communities,” Tock CEO Matthew Tucker said in a statement. “As a partner to the hospitality industry, Tock encourages other states to follow New York's lead in creating a more equitable and transparent dining ecosystem.”
Diibs launches to auction off hot dining reservations
Could Diibs fill the void left behind by these black-market restaurant reservation apps? This new app, which launched at the end of 2024, lets New York diners bid on last-minute restaurant reservations (up to 72 hours in advance). The platform does not charge restaurants fees to join, unlike competitors like Resy and Tock.
“Diibs' auction model creates more fairness and visibility on where consumers stand on being able to land a last-minute reservation,” Emma Swartz, chief marketing officer of Diibs, told Nation’s Restaurant News. “A consumers' bid price is what they are willing to spend on their meal at the reservation.”
Swartz added that the winning consumer’s bid price is then subtracted from the bill at the restaurant, which differentiates it from the black-market apps, which often create costs on top of the restaurant bill.
Soundhound unveils in-car voice AI
Voice AI company Soundhound debuted its first-ever in-vehicle voice AI with food-ordering capabilities at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month. The platform allows users to order food directly through their car’s infotainment system.
Examples of voice commands include, “Show me the closest MOD Pizza restaurants” and “I’d like to place an order from the first one to pick up,” as well as “I’d like to order a pepperoni pizza from a spot no more than five minutes off my route.”
This new tool will be launched in collaboration with unnamed automakers later this year, and allows customers to bypass drive-thru lanesand research places to eat without taking their eyes off the road.
Although this technology is not new (Domino’s began offering in-car voice-ordering capabilities in partnership with Ford 10 years ago), Soundhound’s tool stands to be a much more widespread and sophisticated tool with its use of AI.
Par Technology acquires Delaget
Global foodservice technology company Par Technology announced its acquisition of restaurant analytics and business intelligence solution, Delaget. The acquisition closed on Dec. 31, and adds Delaget’s comprehensive platform of data analytics, loss prevention, and operational insights to Par’s suite of operator tools.
"The acquisition of Delaget marks another strategic milestone in Par’s mission to build the industry’s most comprehensive food service platform,” Savneet Singh, CEO of Par Technology, said in a statement. “Delaget’s analytics capabilities perfectly complement our Operator Cloud solution, while offering immediate value to our customers through enhanced back-office capabilities, delivery operations, and data-driven insights. Our combination will help restaurant operators make better decisions, reduce costs, and drive operational excellence all in real-time.”
Square launches digital bar tabs, instant payouts for third-party delivery
Square recently launched two restaurant operations solutions aimed at simplifying payments. The first is a feature that pre-authorizes bar tabs, allowing customers to pay with a credit card or mobile wallet, which speeds up and digitizes the guest checkout experience. Operators can also now set up house accounts for regular guests, further digitizing a common practice for small businesses.
Another new Square feature, called Instant Payouts, gives operators immediate access to the cash earned by sales via third-party delivery apps. This solution helps to speed up the process by which operators are paid by third-party vendors, which can sometimes take up to 11 days to complete. This tool is available for operators that use DoorDash and Uber Eats for Square.
Chowly debuts platform for independent restaurants
Restaurant technology company Chowly launched a new platform this month aimed at empowering independent restaurants. The Chowly Platform integrates 10 different tools all in one place, including a website builder, email marketing, Google business profile integration, first- and third-party online ordering, as well as social media and mobile app building tools.
"Independent restaurants have recently faced the worst market conditions in decades," Sterling Douglass, cofounder and CEO of Chowly said in a statement. "The Chowly Platform comes at the perfect time for operators who need to level up their digital storefronts for more sales while also getting some relief on costs. As someone who has seen thousands of restaurants go out of business the past few years, I've seen what sets apart those who are thriving from those just surviving. The platform is based on those learnings.”
