American Express has agreed to acquire Resy, a five-year-old reservation management company, in a move that marks further consolidation in the hospitality tech space.
“American Express is a brand that we have admired and sought to partner with from our inception,” Resy’s co-founder and CEO, Ben Leventhal, said in a release. Leventhal will continue to lead the company after the acquisition, which is expected to be completed in summer 2019. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Resy offers table management and a booking technology suite for restaurants as well as a consumer-facing restaurant reservation app and website. In November 2018, Resy acquired Reserve, a competitor in the space. Earlier that year the company bought ClubKviar, the luxury reservation service based in Spain.
Resy currently works with approximately 4,000 restaurants in 154 U.S. cities and 10 countries. It’s closest competitor, OpenTable, purchased by Booking Holdings Inc. in 2014, works with more than 50,000 restaurants globally. Earlier this month, Booking Holdings agreed to acquire Venga, a guest management platform for restaurants and other businesses.
American Express is increasingly interested in the dining and travel space. The aim of acquisitions like Resy, is “to develop a suite of new digital capabilities that will provide unique digital services, experiences and access for American Express customers,” it said in a statement.
American Express has recently acquired, Mezi, a personal travel assistant app; Cake Technologies, a U.K. dining reservation platform; LoungeBuddy, an airport lounge discovery and booking platform; and Pocket Concierge, a Japanese restaurant reservation platform.
“Resy was created to both connect people who love dining out with new, notable and hard to get into restaurants across the globe, as well as help restaurants’ businesses grow and thrive,” said Chris Cracchiolo, senior vice president of global loyalty and benefits for American Express, in a release announcing the deal.
“Similarly, American Express has strong relationships with premium dining partners and restaurants across the globe and provides our card members with access to incredible dining experiences through our exclusive benefits and programs.”
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