The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: December fourteenth, making restaurant reservations online.

In the last 5 years, the Internet has revolutionized how many travelers plan their trips, from finding out about their destinations to booking airline tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars. Several Web sites are trying to put the process of making restaurant reservations online.

Both foodline.com and opentable.com offer the option of searching a selection of dining establishments in major cities around the country and reserving a table. Restaurants can be sorted by price, cuisine and location; independent reviews by Zagat and local dining critics are available. For users, both systems are quick, free and simple to negotiate. Reservations are held with a credit card number, but no charges accrue. In addition to more patrons, the systems give restaurants an efficient electronic repository for data about their clientele. Unfortunately, both systems also have similar limitations.

Selection's the main shortcoming. Both sites are busy signing up restaurants, but even primary destinations like San Francisco and New York have fewer than 50 participating places to choose from. And few are exclusive establishments where reservations are hard to come by or worth making weeks in advance. Nor is either system any help in many major cities. In these cases, phone calls still work best.

As more restaurants and cities are added, both in the U.S. and abroad, sites like these will attract more diners, especially as they establish links with major travel portal sites. Dining experts predict someday soon, most reservations will be made with the click of a mouse. Maybe, maybe not.

Back to December 2002 Main

Look through the list of fascinating places and off-beat features we’ve covered. Search text versions of past episodes and articles in our archives.