OpenTable wants to be about more than open tables.
The restaurant reservations system has unveiled a website refresh, a rebrand and a new pitch to restaurants and diners alike: we have more than reservations.
The Priceline-owned company is hoping to stave off impending competition from companies like BookaTable and Yelp-owned SeatMe and hold on to its dominant position in the U.S. by pitching itself as a one-stop shop for reservations, reviews and on the restaurant side, data about diners.
The result is a rebrand that includes a new marque. What previously was a group of circles — three in the company’s old brand color, a washed-out green and one red — is now one large red circle with a smaller one next to it. The design “reflects brand values like openness, reliability and modern timelessness,” the company said in a statement. The brand also went from a decidedly pragmatic tagline, “Make restaurant reservations the easy way,” to one that indicates its new mission: “The table is just the start.”
OpenTable currently has about 23.4 percent market share, according to Datanyze, with Sabre Hospitality’s SynXis — a B2B solution for hotel reservations — in the No. 1 spot with 29.8 percent share.
The company has seen a spate of me-too startups begin recently, like Zurvu, an invite-only app that lets restaurants sell reservations, KillerRezzy, that does the same, and Resy, all of which make the act of reserving a restaurant easy. But OpenTable has scale — 32,000 restaurants and 16 million diners per month.
As part of the rebrand, OpenTable has a new campaign, called #100OpenTables, where it will host 100 dinners simultaneously worldwide on April 9. Those dinners will take place at well-known, top-rated restaurants like Eleven Madison Park in New York, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London and Bar Tartine in San Francisco. The #100OpenTables campaign will open for business Wednesday — customers can select a city and reservation and share the hashtag via social media.
A website redesign also makes the company pitch itself as more than just a reservation service — guests can now look at pictures of the place and look over notes from the chef. The OpenTable app will also let diners pay and leave — no “bill, please” necessary. The brand also wants to use the data it has on guests and get it to the restaurants: a new Guest Center will let the restaurant access info about the diners.
More in Marketing
WTF is the American Privacy Rights Act
Who knows if or when it’ll actually happen, but the proposed American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) is as close as the U.S. has ever come to a federal law that manages to straddle the line between politics and policy.
Here’s how some esports orgs are positioning themselves to withstand esports winter
Here’s a look into how four leading esports orgs are positioning themselves for long-term stability and sustainability, independent of the whims of brand marketers.
Marketing Briefing: Marketers eye women’s sports as a growth area amid WNBA draft, record March Madness
Marketers are considering the space more this year, according to agency execs, with some noting that the women’s athletes may get more attention from brands ahead of the Summer Olympics this July.