Are You a Red Wine Lover or a Cautious Eater? OpenTable Knows
If you enjoy the rich complexity of red wine, tend to indulge in high-end meals, or find yourself lingering at the dinner table longer than most, you might be surprised to learn that OpenTable is keeping a close eye on your dining habits.
This popular reservation platform has begun providing restaurant staff with insights into diners’ preferences, based on their past orders and spending patterns. This means that when you book a table, the restaurant may already have a glimpse into your culinary inclinations—even if you’re not aware of it.
Kat Menter, a host at a Michelin-starred establishment and an avid food blogger under the name Eating Out Austin, recently highlighted these “AI-assisted” tags in a TikTok post. During her shift, she spotted new notes indicating whether customers regularly order certain beverages, spend above average, or even if they’re notorious for last-minute cancellations. “Mine just says ‘juice,’” she laughed, reflecting on her fondness for brunch—a detail that indeed fits her personality.
For many, this revelation may come as a shock. After all, most of us use OpenTable simply to reserve a table, seemingly unaware of how much the platform knows about our dining preferences.
Beyond reservation management, OpenTable is designed to be a comprehensive solution for restaurants, offering tools for handling everything from waitlists to marketing. Its capabilities extend to integration with popular point-of-sale (POS) systems like Toast and Epos, which effectively automate many restaurant operations, including order processing and inventory management.
This integration is key to how OpenTable understands your dining habits. Even if you don’t book directly through OpenTable, as long as you have an account and provide your phone number or email, your previous dining history may still be attached to your profile. This data enables the platform to track what you order, how much you spend, and more.
Yet, despite this wealth of information, what OpenTable knows about you might be less invasive than you assume. After requesting my data through their privacy rights form, I was relieved to find that it included only basic contact details, my reservation history, and minimal credit card information—a far cry from the detailed profile one might expect.
For those who wonder what restaurants might do with this information, it appears to mirror the research efforts some establishments already engage in. High-end restaurants—especially those with Michelin stars—often invest substantial time in scrutinizing guests’ social media activity to better tailor their service. Some, like Lazy Bear in San Francisco, even maintain detailed databases of past patrons. Menter’s own restaurant takes note of punctuality and dining preferences, creating a more personalized experience with reminders like, “This diner brings first dates—act like it’s their first visit.”
“We keep track of details like your child’s name, dining frequency, and favorite dishes,” says Menter. “Everything is geared toward creating a delightful dining experience.”
However, she expresses caution about the accuracy of OpenTable’s automated tags. “We’ve been taking them with a grain of salt,” she remarks, suggesting that they sometimes appear random. These AI-generated insights are rudimentary and often amalgamate data from multiple dining experiences, leading to potential inaccuracies. For instance, someone might be categorized as a “high spender” due to a business meal billed to a company card.
OpenTable remains tight-lipped about how long it has been collecting data from POS systems or when it started sharing this information with restaurants. According to Mary-Kate Smitherman, the company’s senior director of communications, these AI tags are currently a beta feature available only to restaurants on OpenTable Pro. The AI technology utilized does not process individual guest data; instead, it analyzes menu item descriptions to aggregate orders into classifications—like defining a “glass of cabernet” as “red wine.”
Smitherman adds that the intent is twofold: to benefit the business while enhancing the diner’s experience. By recognizing preferences, the AI can help servers recommend dishes or adjust the pace of service.
However, the privacy policy regarding this information sharing raises questions. While it informs users that their dining history will be available to restaurants upon booking, the specifics of what information is shared remain vague. It outlines that customer details—like name, contact information, and party size—are provided, but it only hints at summarizing previous dining activities.
A separate section does acknowledge that OpenTable collects POS data, like items ordered and total bills, but assures users this will be used only to deliver aggregate insights. Smitherman clarifies that this includes aggregated insights about individual customers, meaning past dining experiences could influence how a restaurant perceives your habits, suggesting you might indeed be seen as a red wine enthusiast.
For users concerned about privacy, there is an option to opt out. Just log into your OpenTable account, navigate to your profile, and in the “Preferences” section, uncheck the option to allow OpenTable to utilize POS information. This simple action reinstates a layer of anonymity.
Currently, this practice is more pronounced with OpenTable compared to its chief rival, Resy. While Resy does collect transaction data, it ensures that such information is not shared with unaffiliated restaurants, maintaining a modicum of privacy across different establishments.
In essence, OpenTable was never just about making reservations; it’s part of a larger ecosystem where your dining experiences become data points. While the knowledge of your wine preferences or dining pace may not lead to dramatic service changes right now, it does offer a sneak peek into how technology is reshaping the restaurant experience.
As Menter puts it, “These tags are akin to unreliable tips from an anonymous narrator. You were probably going to receive decent service anyway.” For now, the fusion of AI and hospitality feels experimental, leaving room for both excitement and skepticism about the future of dining.
