Why (and how) DoorDash and Uber Eats are getting into the restaurant reservations game

A decade ago, the easiest way in the front door at a restaurant was often to call—or even just show up for a meal. Now, it’s far easier to book ahead, and the list of ways to get a coveted seat at the table is growing to include some surprising places. The country’s two largest delivery apps, DoorDash and Uber Eats, have both shared plans in recent weeks to add restaurant reservations to their apps. 

A crowded field

Over the past few years, restaurant reservations—especially the hot ones—have become a type of currency. Call it a post-COVID return to socializing or our increased excitement to plan ahead; prime-time tables at top restaurants have gotten harder to secure than some concert tickets. Now, online scalpers target and resell hot reservations for a profit. The right credit card, a prestige Amex or a status Visa, comes with special access to popular reservations. Or, you can buy your way in through a number of app-based services that work with restaurants to secure high-value tables. In short, just about any company with a vested interest in restaurants wants to help you get a leg up—and inside—the front door. 

Uber’s entry

That list now includes third-party delivery services, a once unlikely partner for restaurants hoping to coax diners off their couches. 

Last week, Uber Eats shared details of a deal with OpenTable, the country’s largest reservations provider, that lets Eats users book restaurant tables inside its app. Uber will add a new “dine out” tab inside its delivery app later this year for reservations, exclusive discounts and deals, and in-app ride booking. Uber’s subscription Uber One customers even get priority access to top tables set aside just for them. 

Or, as Uber’s senior director of delivery engineering, Rohan Mathew, said onstage as he detailed the program, “Your whole night is covered: deals, reservations, and rides.” 

Ease and convenience

Third-party delivery apps don’t have the most hospitable reputation with restaurants. Operators frequently lament the high cost of commissions and a frustrating lack of customer data from the services.  Still, diners want the convenience of takeout and delivery. According to just-released data from the National Restaurant Association, 37% of adults order delivery once a week. 

With so much business happening outside the four walls of a restaurant, it makes sense that full-service operators want their tables listed in as many places as possible. 

“At OpenTable, we’ve watched dining out evolve over the past 20 years—and this is the next chapter,” OpenTable CEO Debby Soo said over email. “Diners want ease and convenience when planning a night out, and we’re here to deliver that wherever it makes sense for them and our restaurant partners.” 

The DoorDash plan

Soo says the company has over 150 tech partners, now including Uber, that it considers “high-converting channels” where it helps connect diners to the restaurants on its platform. 

This includes Uber Eats’ top competitor, DoorDash, which announced the acquisition of reservations and customer relationship management company SevenRooms for $1.2 billion earlier this month. When the deal closes later this year, reservations will likely find their way into the DoorDash app—though the company hasn’t confirmed exactly how or when.  

“We are just at the start of this transaction, so there are a lot of answers we don’t have in detail,” said Parisa Sadrzadeh, DoorDash vice president of strategy and operations, noting that she “would anticipate” a way for people to book reservations inside the DoorDash app. 

---

https://www.fastcompany.com/91338071/doordash-uber-eats-restaurant-reservations-game?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss