SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In this next
chapter of the pandemic, restaurants and diners are facing new
hurdles as they look to navigate changing restrictions, masking and
vaccination requirements and more. While in NYC the rules are clear
- as of August 16 you must show proof
of vaccination to dine indoors - in other cities the rules vary. To
help, OpenTable, the world's leading provider of online
restaurant reservations and part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:
BKNG), rolled out updated safety precautions, which now
include details on COVID-19 vaccine requirements, and
Direct Messaging to streamline communication between
restaurants and diners.
COVID-19 vaccine requirements can now be easily found when making a
reservation on OpenTable
"Dining demand in the U.S. is down 13% compared to just
one month earlier with cities like Minneapolis, Seattle and New
York showing significant declines. Just as restaurants were
starting to rebound from a devastating 2020 - the Delta variant and
ever-changing mandates come as another hurdle," said Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable. "Our hope is that
these new tools make it easier for restaurants to continue to
welcome people in and help diners feel safe and informed about
dining out."
OpenTable Direct Messaging: Text the Restaurant for the
Latest Guidelines
As safety restrictions quickly evolve for
both diners and restaurateurs, OpenTable is streamlining
communication with Direct Messaging, a new feature that lets
diners and restaurants communicate directly once a reservation is
made - without ever having to make a phone call. Whether it's
diners asking questions about "proof of vaccination" requirements
or the safety measures a restaurant is taking or restaurants
informing diners of a new policy, Direct Messaging ensures both
parties are ready once it's time for the reservation. Over 1,500
restaurants on OpenTable are currently using the feature.
Easily Discover Which Restaurants Require
Vaccinations
Proof of vaccination is becoming a new safety
standard that people will need to navigate. To simplify that
process, OpenTable now allows restaurants to display COVID-19
vaccine requirements to diners, allowing up-front communication
about what people can expect before dining in. As a part of
OpenTable's existing "Safety Precautions" feature, this new vaccine
requirement option continues to allow restaurants to clearly
communicate what health and safety steps they are taking in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Soon, OpenTable will also launch a national list, updated in
real-time, of restaurants that are currently requiring proof of
vaccination - for more information visit the OpenTable
blog here.
These new features join OpenTable's existing resources and tools
to help support restaurants and ensure people can dine out safely,
including its reopening heat map, Open Near Me tool, virtual
waitlists and more. Since the beginning of the pandemic, OpenTable
has been at the forefront of supporting the industry through a
number of initiatives, such as the State of the Industry dashboard
showing global dining demand, expanded reservation capabilities to
grocery stores, bars, wineries and college dining halls, new tools
like virtual waitlists and safety precautions, enhanced takeout and
delivery offerings and more.
For more information on these new features and how to continue
supporting restaurants amid the pandemic, visit the OpenTable
blog.
About OpenTable
OpenTable, part of Booking Holdings
Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), powers reservations for the hospitality
industry. OpenTable's software seats more than 1 billion people per
year and helps more than 60,000 restaurants, bars, wineries and
other venues attract guests, manage capacity, improve operations
and maximize revenue.
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SOURCE OpenTable, Inc.