| | | GRPN extends its offerings:
Groupon Takes on OpenTable With Restaurant Booking Service
By Billy Crosby
Wall Street Journal
July 1, 2013, 10:29 AM
Groupon Inc. unveiled a new channel, Groupon Reserve, geared towards premium offerings, which, among other things, lets costumers book tables at restaurants with a discount of up to 40%.
The new channel puts Groupon in competition with OpenTable, an online restaurant reservation service that has more than 28,000 restaurants in its network.
Reserve will also feature premium deals from beauty, product, travel and entertainment brands, as well as similar reservations capabilities for spas, salons and hotels.
Reserve will use Savored.com’s reservations engine, allowing customers to book tables at a discount on the total check without requiring pre-payment or vouchers. The upside for local businesses is that they can increase business on a slow night.
Groupon acquired Savored.com in September to help create a new reservations experience for costumers.
Reserve is currently set up in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., with plans to expand to more cities by the end of the year. OpenTable is available in cities in all 50 states.
Groupon reported in May that the first-quarter loss narrowed as the company posted stronger revenue and cut back on marketing costs.
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