OpenTable is pleased to announce that we have launched a completely redesigned version of our mobile website, in response to increased demand from diners using mobile devices to book reservations. OpenTable has seated more than 15 million diners through our mobile website and apps since 2008, representing more than $600 million in revenue for the company’s restaurant customers, and OpenTable mobile solutions now account for more than 1 million diners seated per month.
Savor the flavor of discounted dining, courtesy of Savored deals, now on OpenTable.
We’re pleased to announce that discount dining deals through Savored, formerly known as Village Vines, have come to OpenTable. Launching in San Francisco, the offers, which provide diners with 30 percent off the price of their entire meal at premier restaurants on select dates and times in exchange for a $10 reservation fee, will soon roll out in other cities across the U.S.
If you’re not familiar with Savored, it’s a members-only service providing insider pricing at top restaurants in major cities, including Atlanta, Boston,Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Our friends at Savored estimate that a party of four would save $40 on a their bill after accounting for the initial fee. Another way to add value to the dining experience for both diners and restaurateurs, the partnership between OpenTable and Savored is truly a win-win for everyone.
If you’re in the Bay Area, learn how you can save with Savored at restaurants, including Chez TJ, Epic Roasthouse, Fish & Farm, Saison, and many more, here!
Enrich your OpenTable experience with Facebook Connect.
You’ve probably noticed that, like OpenTable, your Facebook interface has a new look. To celebrate these mini-makeovers, OpenTable now allows you to bring the fun of Facebook with you when you’re making restaurant reservations. With Facebook Connect, you can sign in to Facebook and OpenTable with just a single click. You can also create an OpenTable account by clicking” Connect” and creating a password for your OpenTable account.
A natural fit because dining is such a social activity, Facebook Connect allows you and your friends to share what you’re doing on OpenTable. You can see who’s connected and which friends like which restaurants via the “Like” button.
And, stay tuned for the ability to read your Facebook friends’ reviews, comments, and, with permission, their reservations! For example, when you go to a restaurant’s profile page, such as Marc Forgione, you’ll be able to see which of your friends have shared reviews of that restaurant.
Facebook Connect works with OpenTable in the same way it does with other connected accounts. You control your privacy settings and can amend them at any time. You can also remove the OpenTable Connect application from your Facebook account with a click.
You can read more about Facebook Connect here.
In the meantime, we invite you to try out Facebook Connect on OpenTable for a more communal dining experience.
So, it’s the ‘new’ Friday (otherwise known as Thursday) and you have dinner plans with a friend — but no idea where to dine. Naturally, we do — and now you will, too, thanks to OpenTable’s new metro home page, which launches in all metro areas tomorrow morning. Front and center, you’ll find available tables for two at some of your city’s most popular and highest-rated restaurants. Just click on a time, and you’re on your way! Known as ‘Tables for Two Tonight,’ it is one of several new concepts that we’ve introduced as part of a facelift to our metro homepage.
OpenTable just got even more fun, thanks to our addition of the Facebook “Like” widget to restaurant profile pages. Now you can easily find out which restaurants your Facebook friends favor — and vice versa. If you’re logged into your Facebook account, you can give a thumbs up to any restaurant on OpenTable with just one click.
We’re excited about this new way to share restaurant preferences quickly because it helps make dining decisions even easier. If you’re trying to book lunch with a colleague, for instance, you can find out if he likes a particular place by looking at the restaurant’s profile page or his Facebook wall. Your likes are also a terrific way to ignite conversations with your Facebook friends about food, dining out, and mutual favorites.
So, click away and start spreading the like on OpenTable today!
Many people have been asking when OpenTable will bring its mobile app to Apple’s iPad. We are excited to tell you that the answer is — today! You can now download the latest OpenTable app here.
Many people have been asking when OpenTable will bring its mobile app to Apple’s iPad. We are excited to tell you that the answer is — today! You can now download the latest OpenTable app here.
As a mobile product manager, I wanted to share our view of this exciting platform. While it’s not yet entirely clear, we believe people will use the iPad in different ways than they do the iPhone. Until there are a greater number of 3G-capable devices in diners’ hands, we won’t know whether the primary use will be at home, at work, or on-the-go, but when the iPad is used in the home, it tends to be a communal device. Like the TV remote, it’s something that is likely shared among friends and family while sitting on the couch. Because most dining decisions are communal, the iPad, then, is a terrific platform for planning where to eat tonight (and every night). The iPad’s generous screen means that you can browse more information at once, making it easier and faster than ever to find the perfect open table any time.
Developed in close collaboration with Sequence, the OpenTable iPad app incorporates all the unique features iPhone users have come to know and love while putting even more information at diners’ fingertips. Where we go from here – and where you dine — is up to you, dear iPad user.
Don’t delay; download the free OpenTable for iPad today. And, please be sure to share your feedback with us at iphonefeedback@OpenTable.com.
Still not convinced? Watch a demo of the OpenTable for iPad app in action below!
We are pleased to announce that OpenTable for Nokia is now available on Ovi Store by Nokia, allowing diners to reserve tables instantly and for free at thousands of restaurants in the UK, US, Canada, and Mexico. Key features include the ability to:
* Find restaurants around your current location with availability and book on the spot
* Refine search results by cuisine, price and points
* Read fresh and relevant reviews by recent OpenTable diners
* Manage upcoming reservations
* Send SMS messages with reservation details to the rest of your dinner party
OpenTable for Nokia is available for Symbian S60 5.0 touch device users residing in the UK, US, Canada and Mexico. Users of non-touch Nokia devices such as the Nokia E72 will be able to download the app in the coming weeks.
OpenTable for Nokia is the company’s latest smartphone application, following the releases of applications for the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Palm.
OpenTable is pleased to announce the latest and greatest version of OpenTable for iPhone. That’s right, diners. We’ve hit the big 3.0! The new features in the OpenTable for iPhone 3.0 update were created specifically for diners like you — mobile enthusiasts who often know exactly where they want to go “without reservation” (pun intended). Of course, the application still remains essential for diners in search of suggestions and reservations on the fly.
With OpenTable for iPhone 3.0, you can now:
* Search for and book OpenTable restaurants by name — around your current location or in another city.
* Save and manage favorite restaurants right from your iPhone.
* Reserve further in advance (more than 30 days).
* Scan recently viewed restaurants plus detailed restaurant profiles, including photos, parking options, etc.
* Find 1,000-point restaurants in the search results easily, so you can earn free meals faster.
Download OpenTable for iPhone 3.0 today to enjoy all these features and others, including enhanced maps, in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. To visit iTunes, click here.
Mobile makes a great proving ground for testing new usability concepts. Two years ago we pondered our own: showing you OpenTable restaurants with availability around your current location, beating the traditional phone at its own game. Since we started on OpenTable Mobile in 2008, we’ve seated more than 2 million diners via our mobile applications. Concept proven.
Over a year ago, we were approached by Siri, who wanted to take a fresh approach to voice recognition. Their goal was to make voice search contextually relevant (more so than the “Call home.” cliché) and actionable with third-party services. Siri wanted to tap into the vast network of OpenTable restaurants and prove their model through a use case everyone can understand – making a reservation. I have to admit some of us here were a little skeptical and thought we’d have to speak like a robot to make it work. However, we were pleasantly surprised when we spoke a natural but complicated phrase — “Find a table for two at Bambino’s this Saturday at 7PM,” — and Siri came back with a relevant response. From there, the reservation was confirmed in no time.
Siri took this usability concept one step further by responding to your queries on screen, rather than reading it back to you in monotone, which we all know would be an embarrassing experience in public. (By the way, if Siri makes an Auto-Tune version, I’ll go from being embarrassed to insisting it speak back to me.)
You may be wondering if Siri can do more than just search for a specific restaurant (incidentally, our forthcoming iPhone update will let you type in the name of a restaurant and reserve it right then and there). Try saying, “Show me Italian restaurants around here with tables tonight,” and feel a smile cross your face when Siri does just that. Siri is leading the field in voice recognition, and OpenTable is proud to be part of proving this incredible concept.
Have you tried Siri yet? Let us know what you think here or over on Facebook.
Josh Garnier is an OpenTable Product Manager.
OpenTable’s Private Dining pages have proven so successful that we have added eight additional metropolitan areas. You can now use Private Dining pages to help you plan your next event in Baltimore, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento, and San Diego.
It’s not too late to find a venue that’s right for your holiday party. Use these tips from Michael Fazio, “Concierge to the Stars,” and learn more about how Private Dining pages work here.
Caroline Potter is the Chief Dining Officer for OpenTable, Inc. She’s a dining trend-spotter and an OpenTable VIP, who dines out more than she eats in and has accrued more than 10,000 Dining Rewards points. Caroline started working in restaurants as a teen and she's since tackled every front-of-the-house job, from bartender and hostess to runner and server. She trained as a chef at Manhattan’s prestigious French Culinary Institute, cooking at L’Ecole. In addition to her role at OpenTable, she has written about food from farm to table for New York City’s famed Greenmarket and Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End magazines.
