American Express is taking control of restaurant reservations – CNN

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Trying to secure a table at a hot new restaurant in New York or Los Angeles? If you’re an American Express cardholder and can afford the hundreds of dollars in fees required, you might have better luck.

American Express last week Buy TokIt acquired Booking.com, which operates a booking app for about 7,000 restaurants, bars and other venues, for $400 million.

American Express already owns a rival restaurant-reservation app, Resy, and offers its customers special table access not available to others. American Express Platinum Cardholders ($695 annual fee) and Delta SkyMiles Reserve customers ($650 annual fee) receive exclusive reservations at hard-to-find restaurants and priority reservation rights in case of cancellations.

Rajesh Bhardwaj, Junoon Owners of New York’s The Restaurant of the Year, one of the first Indian restaurants in the United States to receive a Michelin star, and other restaurants said AmEx has helped their restaurants connect with new customers and develop events and special menus targeted at specific AmEx customers.

“It’s good news for restaurants,” he said of AmEx’s involvement with Resy, and now Tock.

But experts say the AmEx acquisition gives the credit-card company more control over velvet-rope access to diners, and who is shut out. People without AmEx cards may find it harder to get reservations.

In recent years, the rise of social media and food influencers and websites has made it nearly impossible to get a reservation at popular restaurants in major cities. Bots, table resellers and “private booking agencies” Several laws have been enacted to ensure that wealthy customers can get a table. New York state recently control About the black market reservation system.

Companies have long segmented customers based on loyalty and spending, and higher-paying customers have always been given VIP or special perks, like orchestra seats at a theater, box seats at a stadium or first-class seats on an airline.

But in recent years, it has grown rapidly thanks to new technologies such as online booking software, targeted mobile advertising, and advanced data and analytics on customer behavior.

Credit card companies such as American Express are increasingly offering exclusive hospitality and leisure perks to their cardholders, such as early concert ticket sales and airport lounge access.

Credit card companies exerting influence over who can sit at a restaurant is the next step in segmenting customers based on what they can or are willing to spend, hospitality experts say.

Amex’s move marks a “continuation of consumer stratification” by companies, Joseph Nunez, a marketing professor at the University of Southern California, said in an email. “By locking in who gets which line (or access) at popular restaurants, Amex is capturing a new form of status and making its cards must-have.”

For restaurants, American Express’s move has been met with mixed reviews.

Alex Suskind, a professor of food and beverage management at Cornell University, said the program could help restaurants attract AmEx customers with deeper wallets.

But instead, AmEx will act as an intermediary between customers and restaurants — potentially opening the door to new fees for restaurant owners and merchants who are also frustrated by the fees that credit-card companies charge businesses.

“American Express is the broker and controls the relationship,” he said.