Airbnb Invests $13M In Restaurant Booking Service In Quest To Be One-Stop Travel Shop
Not content to exist simply as an accommodations booking site, Airbnb is continuing its efforts to provide any service a traveler may need with a $13 million investment in a restaurant booking app called Resy.
Airbnb, once a startup itself, plunked a bunch of cash into the table-booking platform during a round of funding that included a few other companies as well, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Resy focuses on higher-end restaurants, with about 1,000 U.S. restaurants in 50 markets listed on its platform, compared to the 40,000 locations around the world OpenTable offers for bookings. The service also strives to wield the data it gleans from customers’ to tailor each users’ experience.
“We can curate the restaurants list for each customer so that you’ll see only choices that are really good for you,” said Resy Chief Executive Ben Leventhal. He says the influx of cash will be used to expand into new markets and test software functions.
Airbnb will get a slice of Resy’s action starting in April, when travelers will be able to book restaurants through the service through the AIrbnb app.
It’s all part of Airbnb’s overall plan to gather up all kinds of travel services and add-ons and offer them under the company’s umbrella, from bike rentals and tours by locals, to help booking plane tickets and finding things to do wherever you’re traveling.
Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.