Epinions.com and OpenTable.com in Agreement to Develop Restaurant Review and Reservation Site
May 9, 2000
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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (May 9, 2000) - Consumers will now be able to snag the last table at a hot new restaurant and get suggestions from other diners on what to order before they get there, all via the Internet. Epinions.com, an online buying guide offering brutally honest consumer reviews, and OpenTable.com, the online restaurant reservation network, today announced a strategic alliance and joint marketing agreement that will create a highly interactive restaurant review and reservation site.
The companies are building a co-branded web site that will have integrated functionality to enable consumers to search through unbiased consumer restaurant reviews and make free, real-time reservations at restaurants across the country. Consumers will be able to access the co-branded web site at http://opentable.epinions.com or from www.opentable.com. Additionally, when people use www.epinions.com to find the restaurant of their choice, will be able to click on the "Where to Buy" section to link to OpenTable.com to make a free online reservation.
The relationship between Epinions.com and OpenTable.com will enable consumers to get all of the details they need to make the most educated dining decisions possible - and once they have made their decisions, to instantly make and confirm their reservations. Some of these details might include what to order, where to sit, where to park, when to go, pricing, maps to the restaurant, and information about customer service.
"Epinions has developed a truly unique way to collect and distribute valuable consumer-derived content," said Chuck Templeton, OpenTable.com president and CEO. "This alliance will enable diners to use the opinions of consumers like them to make decisions about where to dine, and then use that information, along with OpenTable.com's proprietary restaurant search and reservation engine, to communicate directly with restaurants via the Internet. We're excited about working with Epinions to bring this valuable service to consumers."
Nirav Tolia, Co-Founder & CEO of Epinions.com said, "Other review companies may give you basic information such as price range and type of cuisine, but on Epinions, real people write at least 100 words about their experience at a restaurant - providing details on what they liked and what they didn't like. In the short time since we've added restaurant reviews to the Epinions.com site, they have become one of the most popular areas on our network. We're excited about joining forces with the leader in online reservations to offer our users an even more valuable online dining resource."
Epinions.com introduced online restaurant reviews early this year, and has already collected approximately 5,000 restaurant reviews covering a large percentage of the company's database of 7000 restaurants in eleven cities. OpenTable.com is currently working with hundreds of restaurants in fifteen cities across the country, enabling them to accept online reservations and helping them better manage, understand, and market to their customers. The company is in the midst of a nationwide expansion. Epinions.com and OpenTable.com will work together to promote the new review and reserve functionality to dining consumers.
About Epinions.com
Epinions.com (http://www.epinions.com) helps people make better buying decisions. It is an online buying guide that offers brutally honest consumer reviews on over 100,000 products and services. Epinions.com also offers links to the Web's best professional reviews and shopping resources. Founded in May 1999 by Internet veterans from Yahoo!, Netscape and @Home, Epinions.com has received financing from Benchmark Capital, August Capital, Goldman Sachs, Dell Computer Corporation and Bowman Capital. The company has more than 90 employees and is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif.
About OpenTable.com
OpenTable.com, the online restaurant reservation network, is based in San Francisco, California, and has offices in fifteen cities including New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington DC. OpenTable.com is an Internet company dedicated to harnessing the power of the Internet for restaurants and providing dining consumers with the best possible reservation experience. The company's proprietary electronic reservation book (ERB) introduces revolutionary customer database-building, marketing, and yield management tools, as well as real-time online reservations, to the restaurant industry. OpenTable.com has strategically partnered with leading Internet and media companies including America Online (AOL) Digital City, OracleMobile.com, The Chicago Tribune's Metromix.com, The New York Times' NYToday.com and The Boston Globe's Boston.com. OpenTable.com's customers include more than 500 of the nation's top restaurants. The company is backed by leading venture capital firms Impact Venture Partners and Benchmark Capital, as well as American Express. For more information about OpenTable.com or its online restaurant reservation network visit www.opentable.com or call 1.800.OPENTABLE.
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