Reservations App Resy Gets a Big Investment From Airbnb

Is reservations app Resy poised to take on OpenTable in a big way? Today the company announced the completion of a fresh round of funding led by online travel service Airbnb, raising a total of $13 million.

The restaurant reservation and recommendations app recently entered into a partnership with Airbnb that will allow Airbnb users to book tables while planning their vacations. That capability is expect to go live in February.

Founded in 2014, Resy is relatively small compared to its hulking competitor OpenTable which boasts 40,000 restaurants in its network; in comparison, the Resy app works with around 1,000 restaurants in 50 markets, with a focus on gathering consumer data to help restaurants serve customers better. However, the infusion of cash will help Resy expand its services and test new software, Resy’s CEO (and Eater co-founder) Ben Leventhal tells the Wall Street Journal.

Resy reports that its services have grown extensively in the past year, booking close to 1.5 million seats per month. The company is also tapping into other avenues of tech, working with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group to integrate Apple Watch technology into front-of-house restaurant service. For its part, Airbnb has shown ambition in growing into the food tourism sector: The company recently launched a service called Experiences that enables users to book activities such as truffle hunting trips with local guides.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the number of seats booked by Resy.

• Airbnb Invests in Restaurant-Booking App Resy [WSJ]
• You Can Book a Truffle Hunting Trip Through Airbnb Now [E]
• Danny Meyer Just Single-Handedly Made the Apple Watch Relevant to the Hospitality Industry [E]
• All Food Tech Coverage [E]