

Groupon targets Opentable with the Savored acquisition - mhendrick
http://copilotlabs.com/groupon-savored-vs-opentable/

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twoodfin
I'm not sure I agree with the analysis here. I'd be surprised if OpenTable is
driving more than a small percentage of their reservations via "deals". They
have a loyalty program and occasional promotions, but the value to the
consumer is that if a restaurant has online reservations anywhere, it's most
likely via OpenTable. Anecdotally, I'm aware of a few local restaurants that
have tried to go with another provider, presumably to save money, but went
back to OpenTable because of customer demand.

It's hard to see how a "deals" site can overcome the brand penetration (it's
on the iPhone now!) and ubiquity of OpenTable.

And as the article points out, there's a definite down side to perpetually
"driving traffic" with discounts, particularly for fine dining establishments.
The places that are the most profitable for OpenTable are, I'd think, the
least likely to want widely advertised discounts.

