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OpenTable

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OpenTable
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryHospitality
FoundedJuly 2, 1998 (1998-07-02)
FounderChuck Templeton
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Key people
Matthew Roberts - CEO
Duncan Robertson - CFO
Joseph Essas - CTO
ProductsOnline restaurant reservations
RevenueIncreaseUS$190.05 million (2013)[1]
IncreaseUS$46.429 million (2013)[1]
IncreaseUS$33.385 million (2013)[1]
Total assetsIncreaseUS$310.971 million (2013)[1]
Total equityIncreaseUS$230.262 million (2013)[1]
Number of employees
625 (Dec 2013)[1]
ParentPriceline.com
Websiteopentable.com

OpenTable is an subsidiary of Priceline.com that offers online real-time restaurant-reservation service. The firm provides online reservations at about 31,000 upscale restaurants around the world seating some 15 million diners a month. [2]

The company was founded by Chuck Templeton in San Francisco, California, in 1998. Reservations are free to end users; the company charges restaurants monthly and per-reservation fees for their use of the system.[3]

In 1999, the website began operations serving a limited selection of restaurants in San Francisco.[4] It has since expanded to cover more than 30,000[5] restaurants in most U.S. states as well as in several major international cities. Reservations can be made online through its website.

On June 13, 2014 the company announced it had agreed to terms with Priceline.com for that company to acquire OpenTable in a full cash deal worth $2.6 billion.[2]

Services

For users

The service allows users to search for restaurants and reservations based on parameters including times, dates, cuisine and price range. Users who have registered their email address with the system will then receive a confirmation email.[6] Users can also receive OpenTable rewards points after dining (100 or 1,000); these points can be redeemed for discounts at member restaurants.[7]

The company also has a mobile application available in Apple's App Store, Blackberry App World, Google Play, Windows Phone Marketplace and Palm App Catalog that allows users to find and book dinner reservations.[8][9]

For restaurants

The service provides restaurant owners with a comprehensive reservation management. Subscribing restaurants use an Electronic Reservation Book (ERB) to replace existing paper reservation systems. It provides the ERB as an integrated software and hardware solution that computerizes restaurant host-stand operations. The ERB handles reservation management, table management, guest recognition and email marketing.[10]

Features include:

  • Reservation management – manages making, changing, canceling and confirming reservations
  • Guest management – keeps track of VIPs, customer preferences and repeat customers; also allows targeted marketing to customers
  • Table management – assists restaurant staff in seating (and even preassigning to seats) customers and tracking table status
  • POS integration – connects ERB to point of sale systems (MICROS, Aloha, Positouch) to retain check spend data by reservation and guest
  • Reports – provides advanced analytics helps sustain and improve restaurant efficiency

Restaurants may also offer 1,000 OpenTable points to diners for reservations at non-peak hours. This acts as an incentive to web reservation users to fill out a restaurant during slow times, resulting in incremental revenue for the restaurant. Restaurants offering these incentives are displayed on the search results page when looking for a reservation.

Criticism

In 2010 San Francisco restaurateur Mark Pastore explained on his then restaurant Incanto's website why it was not listed with Open Table, citing high fees and the control it gave to Open Table of the customer information.[11] The explanation was cited in several publications, including the New York Times.[12]

Initial public offering

OpenTable held its initial public offering (IPO) on May 21, 2009, on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol Nasdaq: OPEN. The underwriters of the IPO were Merrill Lynch, Allen & Company, Stifel Nicolaus, and ThinkEquity.[13]

Markets

The company's home market consists of the United States, however, it has expanded in recent years to include markets including Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

Acquisitions

On October 1, 2010, the company acquired toptable.co.uk (toptable), a restaurant reservation site in the UK[14] On January 29, 2013, the company announced that it entered a definitive agreement to acquire Foodspotting.[15]

Takeover by Priceline.com

On June 13, 2014 the company agreed to a takeover offer by Priceline.com 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.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f OPENTABLE, INC. Form 10-K, Securities and Exchange Commission, February 21, 2014
  2. ^ a b c "Priceline books OpenTable for $2.6bn". New York Telegraph. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  3. ^ Leson, Nancy (August 17, 2005). "Risks and Rewards of Booking Your Table Online". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  4. ^ Davis, Robin (August 18, 1999), "What's New: Snag a Table From Cyberspace", San Francisco Chronicle
  5. ^ "OpenTable Web Site". Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  6. ^ Joseph, Scott (September 8, 2006). "Table for 2 Is a Click Away". Orlando Sentinel. p. E3.
  7. ^ Lubinger, Bill (February 21, 2007). "Need a Corner Table? Reservation at 7? Opentable Online Gets It for You Fast". The Plain Dealer.
  8. ^ "Open Table's Free iPhone App Finds Nearby Dining Reservations". Silicon Valley Business Journal. November 17, 2008.
  9. ^ Kumparak, Greg (September  ? 14, 2009). "OpenTable Launches on Android". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 20, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Open Table Company Profile". Businessweek. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  11. ^ http://incanto.biz/2010/10/22/is-opentable-worth-it/
  12. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/business/12digi.html?_r=0
  13. ^ "Investor FAQs". OpenTable. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  14. ^ [1].
  15. ^ [2]
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