OpenTable is an

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

restaurant-reservation service company founded by Sid Gorham, Eric Moe and

Chuck Templeton Chuck Templeton is an American Internet entrepreneur, best known as the founder and former CEO of OpenTable, which went public in May 2009 and was acquired by The Priceline Group in June 2014. He is currently a Managing Director of S2G Ven ...

on 2 July 1998 and is based in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. In 1998, operations began with a limited selection of restaurants in San Francisco. Restaurants used the company's back-end software to process the reservations made on the website, resulting in a real-time reservation system for both diners and restaurants. The service has since expanded to cover more than 50,000 restaurants in more than 80 countries. Reservations are free to end users; the company charges restaurants flat monthly and per-reservation fees for their use of the system. According to the company, it provides online reservations for more than 50,000 restaurants around the world and seats over 1 billion diners per year. On June 13, 2014, the company announced it had agreed to terms with the Priceline Group (now Booking Holdings, Inc.) to be acquired in an all-cash deal for $2.6 billion.

History

OpenTable was founded by

on 2 July 1998, and initially incorporated in California as easyeats.com, Inc. On 21 May 2009, the company held its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

(IPO), on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

stock exchange under the ticker symbol . The underwriters of the IPO were

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

Allen & Company Allen & Company LLC is an American privately held boutique investment bank based at 711 Fifth Avenue, New York. The firm specializes in real estate, technology, media and entertainment. History Founded in 1922 by Charles Robert Allen, Jr., he w ...

, Stifel Nicolaus, and

ThinkEquity ThinkEquity LLC is a U.S. investment banking firm focusing on performing IPO's, Secondaries, At-the-Market (ATM) programs, selected private placements, PIPEs, Debt Placements and M&A Advisory services. Previously, ThinkEquity was owned by ...

. On 1 October 2010, the company acquired

Toptable Toptable (styled toptable) was an online restaurant booker covering the UK as well as major cities in Europe and New York City established in 2000 and bought by OpenTable in 2010. History Toptable was founded in 2000 by entrepreneur Karen Hant ...

, a restaurant reservation site in the UK. On 29 January 2013, the company announced that it had entered a definitive agreement to acquire Foodspotting. On 13 June 2014 the company agreed to a takeover offer by

the Priceline Group Booking Holdings Inc. is an American travel technology company incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law and based in Norwalk, Connecticut, that owns and operates several Travel website#Fare aggregators and metasearch engines, travel fa ...

of $103 a share, a 46% premium on the previous day's closing stock price. The offer valued the company at $2.6 billion. Both companies said OpenTable would continue to operate as a separate business under the same management. In August 2020, OpenTable named Debby Soo as its new CEO. OpenTable And CLEAR Partner to Help Restaurants Streamline Proof Of Vaccination Requirements Across The US。

Information

For users

Users search for restaurants and reservations based on such parameters as dates, times, cuisine, and price range. Users who have registered their email address with the system will then receive a confirmation email. Users can also receive 100 or 1,000 points after dining that can be redeemed for discounts at member restaurants. The company also has a

mobile application A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on de ...

that allows users to find and book dinner reservations.

For restaurants

Restaurant owners use an Electronic Reservation Book which computerizes restaurant host-stand operations and replaces existing paper reservation systems. The system handles reservation management, table management, guest recognition, and

email marketing Email marketing is the act of sending a commercial message, typically to a group of people, using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It involves using email to ...

References

{{portal bar, Companies, Internet 1998 establishments in California Companies based in San Francisco Internet properties established in 1998 Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Online retailers of the United States Restaurant guides WatchOS software Android (operating system) software Booking Holdings 2009 initial public offerings 2014 mergers and acquisitions American corporate subsidiaries

History

Information

For users

For restaurants

See also

References