Third-party restaurant ‘booking’ services have cropped up in foodie destinations recently, including Chicago. These services scoop up restaurant reservations and resell them on an auction-style platform with the promise of exclusivity. In response, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz is working to protect Illinoisans from these price-gouging tactics.
“When third parties deceptively increase reservation prices to make a profit, it hurts small establishments and damages the restaurant’s brand and reputation,” said Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). “With so many challenges these last few years, we need to protect the culinary industry and write laws that protect their brand.”
House Bill 2456 would prevent third-party restaurant reservation services from promoting or selling reservations in Illinois without written permission. This strains restaurants’ resources, deceptively charges consumers, and ultimately erodes trust in the industry.
Under Feigenholtz’s legislation, restaurants could choose to collaborate with a third party to offer this service legitimately, while restaurants that want to protect their brand would be protected from being listed on these platforms.
“This bill is a win for customers, restaurants, and workers alike,” said Illinois Restaurant Association President and CEO Sam Toia. “It’s a win for customers because they shouldn’t have to compete with bots or predatory third-party resellers just to secure a reservation. It’s a win for restaurants because it cuts down on the number of double bookings or phantom reservations. And it’s a win for workers servers because they’ll no longer lose out on tips because of increased no-shows.”
House Bill 2456 passed the Senate on Thursday.
