OpenTable is an American online restaurant reservation system founded by Chuck Templeton. During the late 90s, it provided one of the first automated, real-time reservation systems. The company was acquired by Booking Holding back in 2014, for $2.6 billion. Today OpenTable makes money via subscription plans, referral fees, and in-dining with its first restaurant, as an experiment in Miami, Florida.
OpenTable is an American online reservation service for restaurants. The company was founded in 1998 by Chuck Templeton, with initial operations focused exclusively on restaurants in San Francisco.
Key numbersChecked 6 October 2026
$299According to Eat App (April 2026), OpenTable's Core plan costs $299/month plus $1 per network cover, with…restaurant.eatapp.co
$2.6 billionThe company was acquired by Booking Holding back in 2014, for $2.6 billion.This article
30,000The service quickly expanded to approximately 30,000 restaurants across the United States and limited…This article
76%Over 76% of the company revenues in 2017 came primarily via travel reservations commisions and travel…This article
In one lineOpenTable is an American online restaurant reservation system founded by Chuck Templeton.
Using the original system, restaurants who signed up for the service used OpenTable software to manage dinner reservations.
In the late 1990s, the ability for restaurants to take reservations using a real-time system was somewhat revolutionary.
The service quickly expanded to approximately 30,000 restaurants across the United States and limited international cities.
The platform now seats over 1 billion diners per year in countries such as Mexico, the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, and Germany. It serves restaurants and eating establishments found in bars, wineries, hotels, casinos, and grocery stores.
Booking Holdings is the company the controls six main brands that comprise Booking.com, priceline.com, KAYAK, agoda.com, Rentalcars.com, and OpenTable. Over 76% of the company revenues in 2017 came primarily via travel reservations commisions and travel insurance fees. Almost 17% came from merchant fees, and the remaining revenues came from advertising earned via KAYAK. As distributionstrategy, the company spent over $4.5 billion in performance-based and brand advertising.
Basic — $149/month, plus $1.50 per OpenTable network cover, plus $0.25 per website cover, according to Eat App – allowing restaurant owners to reach diners and build a reputation. OpenTable charges Basic plan users 25 cents per reservation plus a flat $49 fee. There is also a charge of $1.50 per network cover. In restaurant parlance, a cover refers to a single meal or customer for whom the meal is served.
Core — $299/month plus $1 per network cover, with website reservations included, according to Eat App – for restaurant owners who want a more efficient front-of-house or to maximize patronage. Website reservations are free and there is a $1 charge per network cover.
Pro ($499/month plus $1 per network cover, according to Eat App)– the Pro plan allows loyal customers to be recognized and rewarded through relationshipmanagement. Pricing for reservations and network covers is the same as the Core plan.
Regardless of the plan chosen, OpenTable also charges a 2% service fee for restaurant experiences and takeout.
Referral fees
OpenTable users can also order from restaurants that offer delivery. Depending on geographic location, supporting delivery partners include Olo, Toast Delivery, Uber Eats, Postmates, Deliveroo, and ChowNow.
OpenTable makes an undisclosed amount by partnering with these services, most likely in the form of an agreed-upon referral fee.
In-dining
OpenTable recently opened its first restaurant in Miami, Florida.
Serving eastern Mediterranean fare, the restaurant is an innovative pilot project for the company. While the quality of food is important, OpenTable hopes to use technology to develop a highly personalized hospitality service. The wait staff at the restaurant use historical customer food and drink preferences to give diners what they want without them having to ask for it.
If the concept proves profitable, there is scope to suggest that OpenTable will open similar restaurants elsewhere.
How AI Is Changing This
OpenTable is leveraging AI to revolutionize its core revenue model by enhancing reservation optimization and dynamic pricing strategies. The platform uses machine learning algorithms to analyze historical booking patterns, seasonal trends, and real-time demand to help restaurants maximize table turnover and revenue per seat. For example, OpenTable’s AI now suggests optimal time slots to restaurants based on predicted demand, automatically adjusting availability windows during peak hours to reduce no-shows and increase covers per night. This directly impacts OpenTable’s revenue since the company charges restaurants per seated diner through their pay-per-reservation model. Additionally, AI-powered demand forecasting enables restaurants to implement surge pricing during high-demand periods, with OpenTable taking a percentage of the increased revenue. By helping restaurants generate 15-20% more revenue per table through smarter scheduling, OpenTable can justify higher service fees while providing measurable ROI to restaurant partners, strengthening their subscription-based revenue streams.
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Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
