OpenTable.com Launches Real-Time Restaurant Reservation Network
August 18, 2000
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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (August 18, 1999) - OpenTable.com today announced the launch of its revolutionary online restaurant reservation network. The San Francisco-based company currently links diners to open tables at more than twenty-five fine dining establishments around the Bay Area through their Internet address at www.opentable.com. The company will expand to offer online restaurant reservations in six U.S. cities by the end of 1999.
OpenTable.com's breakthrough service offers diners a new way to book restaurant reservations 24 hours a day, according to dining preferences. Diners can easily search the OpenTable.com website by cuisine, table availability or restaurant name, and book reservations in real-time. As reservations are booked online or over the phone, OpenTable.com's proprietary electronic reservation book (ERB) automatically manages the process while collecting an aggregate of information on dining trends and preferences, which can be easily mined for use in restaurant marketing campaigns.
"OpenTable.com is helping to bring the restaurant industry into the 21st Century," said Quinn McKenna, director of restaurant operations for the Bay Area-based One Market and Lark Creek Restaurant Group. "The key to success in this business is truly knowing the customer. The OpenTable.com system is a powerful tool for creating stronger customer relationships, personalizing our service, and ultimately increasing our door count," he said.
"The OpenTable.com network represents the next logical step for the restaurant industry," says Chuck Templeton, OpenTable.com founder and CEO. "For a long time we've been able to book airline tickets, hotel rooms, and purchase clothes and books online, but still had to make restaurant reservations over the phone. The OpenTable.com system not only eliminates the need for diners to phone around in search of an open table, it also is a powerful appliance that makes the Internet a valuable tool for a traditionally 'non-technology' business. Initial response from our online restaurants has been overwhelmingly positive, and we're looking forward to offering the service to diners and restaurants around the country," he said.
About OpenTable.com
OpenTable.com, Inc.is building a network of the world's finest restaurants and their patrons. The company's real-time dining reservation system gives diners online access to available restaurant reservations twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Based in San Francisco, California, OpenTable.com simplifies the reservation process for consumers, while integrating reservation and table management systems and providing powerful new marketing and operational tools to restaurants.
Founded in 1998 by Chuck Templeton, OpenTable.com has partnered with restaurants from the Lark Creek Group, Kimpton Group and Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. The company's board of directors is made up of leaders in technology and restaurant industries including Keith Cox of World Wrapps, Michael Dellar of the Lark Creek Restaurant Group, Thomas Layton of CitySearch and Tony Hseih and Alfred Lin of Link Exchange. Investors include Naveen Jain of Infospace, Angel Investors, Arba International, Pacific Asset Partners, Draper Richards International and Venture Frogs.
Restaurants currently online in the Bay Area include One Market, Fleur De Lys, Splendido, Moose's and Cypress Club. OpenTable.com will expand to six U.S. cities by the end of this year. For more information about OpenTable.com or its online restaurant reservation network visit www.opentable.com or call 877.327.9328.
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