

Restaurants dissatisfied with OpenTable: a startup opportunity?  - zweiterlinde
http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/incanto/2010/10/18/is-opentable-worth-it/

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bobf
UrbanSpoon announced a competing restaurant reservation service earlier this
year:
[http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/urbanspoon_challenges_o...](http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/urbanspoon_challenges_opentable_with_rezbook.php)

Their pricing model is described as $99/mo + $1/reservation, which seems more
reasonable than OpenTable's reportedly high fees. Also, UrbanSpoon seems
uniquely positioned to replace OpenTable, since they already have users and
restaurant data.

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phil
Thanks! We've been working for a while now on this at Urbanspoon.

There's more press on our reservation efforts here:

[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870369180457525...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703691804575254680739522068.html)

[http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/urbanspoon-
squares-...](http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/urbanspoon-squares-off-
against-opentable/)

[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/technology/personaltech/01...](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/technology/personaltech/01smart.html?_r=1)

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petervandijck
It sounds like it's definitely an opportunity. A though one to crack though,
like all marketplaces.

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DanielStraight
I had no idea OpenTable charged restaurants so much. I didn't use it often,
but I see no reason to use it at all now. It's convenient, but I would much
rather the money go to the restaurant.

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jorangreef
I've developed a web-based alternative to OpenTable:
<http://www.sexbyfood.com>

~~~
jorangreef
Video: <http://vimeo.com/9152251>

PDF: <http://bit.ly/cXpF25>

Screenshots: <http://bit.ly/bIZBrv>

