Opentable. How many points do you have?
 

I have 3800 points, most of whch were received 100 points at a time. I did make a res just once, at a 1000 pointer.


How many www.opentable.com points do you have?

dh

Only 300. Not enough places around here that use it, and sometimes I have to book for parties of 12+, which I can't do on OT. :(

only 2600, earned 100 at a time. Guess I'll have to try a 1,000 pointer or two.

In its infancy, I was accumulating 10,000 pts/week (^) on OpenTable - but soon my "scheme" was discovered and I was banned! When it first started, lots of the staff at restaurants weren't totally accustomed to using the in-house software, so about 99% of reservations would be credited as a "show" versues a "no show". Found this out by mistake actually, but soon was making reservations at 5 1k restaurants a night all across the world....Great part about the certificates you receive from Opentable is that they are like cash in the participating properties, so I'd march down to my local bar with $600 in certs and buy 6 beers for my buddies - and with all the cash I'd get from my change, would be able to pay for my rent each month. Oversight on their part I suppose, but they soon figured me out and I stopped doing this about 2.5 years ago now.

Luckily, my new email address works and I'm playing fair now, so only 5,200 points currently.

I cash in my points each time I hit 10K-- currently I have around 8500. It's easy to accumulate points in NYC. The requirement for 2 diners on 1000-point reservations really sucks, as I rarely have anyone to go out with. Otherwise every day for lunch I would be scoring 1000 points.

I'm at 3700 after having joined OT about a year ago, with all of those being 100pts. I used to be mildly embarrassed about using it to make resos at my favourite weekend brunch spot, as when we go, my husband and I tend to be within the first two or three parties to arrive when they open. The allure of points helped me get over that pretty fast :)

500. What can I actually do with these points?

Only about a 1,000. I only use them about once a quarter. Though at least now you can make reservations for others on your account.

900. All earned last month at M&S.

I have 1100 points, all 100 at a time.

23,100 as of right now. Last fall redeemed 45,000. Fall before that 50,000.

8500 right now
 

8,500 right now, all earned the hard way (100 at a time).

What I wish is that instead of redeeming them for money, I could redeem them for access to better reservation times / hard to get tables. I.e. if you're a United 1K you can essentially bump someone else off a flight if you want to buy a ticket. I wish I could use OpenTable points to "buy" otherwise unavailable tables, either because I didn't plan ahead or I want to eat at the French Laundry or somewhere else that's normally unbookable.

bob

actually 8700 - just checked
 

I'm also curious - I value OpenTable enough that I'm just glad I don't have to pay to use it, I certainly don't use it to "get" the rewards. The convenience of being able to easily check a bunch of different restaurants all at once, and choose which one has a time that works for me, is a huge win vs. calling each one separately on the phone. Of course, that mostly matters when you eat at places/times when walk-ins have serious waits ahead of them.

How many of you out there are in the same boat vs. how many of you use OpenTable mainly because it offers rewards?

Bob

14,700. I keep telling myself I'll cash in an award, but then forget to do it. I just like the convenience of being able to make reservations all across the country and in Canada. I wish they had Italy, though, going there next month.

All of your points are also excellent ones that I would cite in my use of the OT system. Of course, me being a concierge, it changes my answer somewhat because:

-I can look at the list of restaurants and give my guests multiple options, all while keeping them in the conversation. All of the area OT clients have given my desk presentation copies of their menus, so I can have them in front of the guest's face.

-The rewards are nice, but they are secondary to having a tool that makes the job easier and making for more satisfied guests. Plus, the Concierge version of OT searches faster and has certain roadblocks removed that are in the consumer version.

cool so you get points for sending other people, that could be good job perk :D

It's certainly a perk, but it's not what gets thought about during the day. It's about pairing the client to the place, and if what works for them isn't on OT, you have to deal with it.

And to bounce another poster's idea around a little bit regarding using the points to "buy" an inaccessible table or something to that effect: those 100 points that go to your account are the $1 fee the restaurant pays to have the reservation processed by OT. If you look, the reward structure will reflect that math. Having said that, the idea of having reward tables a la airline seats is likely something that GM's and managment teams would reject because it adds a layer of complexity to yielding the restaurant for the night. Restaurants pay that $1 per booked table to fund the points system, but they also pay a pretty hefty monthly access. One nameless fine-dining GM I know (whom I send tons of tables to) summed up the OT fees for me: "It's an uncomfortably high number that I wouldn't even release to you, Mike."

Yeah, that makes sense. I can see how adding any other types of rewards would make it hard to manage your tables/turns, but strictly from a consumer point of view it would be nice :-)

I'll have to stick to my other approach, which is to eat often enough at a couple of places that they know me and will make room for me on short notice.

Bob

Agreed. Would be a nice idea in theory, but awful in practice.

Any good restaurant that uses OT knows how to use the notes feature that the black touchscreen provides them. The management would be foolish to not keep notes on a good client.

i agree with bob and mike. OT is a great tool for me as an eater, and i can imagine it makes mike's job a very positive experience for the guest.

points are secondary, so it's hard to complain that i am only getting $1.

if you haven't already done so, there is a BlackBerry thing you can download. it looks like the OT logo and sits on the desktop with the other icons. it is not nearly as good as using my computer, but it helps in a pinch - especially when you are hungry and underprepared. (it got my phone stuck one time, but i don't remember how. i had to reload from the e-mail that OT sent which was still in my phone).

sam

19,400 mostly 100 at a time - the 1000 pt ones are either normally at restaurant that aren't that good or either too early or too late

Can't comment on the quality part, but that's precisely what 1,000 point tables are designed to do: drive traffic at slow times. Welcome to FlyerTalk.

very similar to what i have experienced with iDine or whatever it's called now. the restaurants on the iDine list are for the most part bad restaurants.

i hate to give this advice, but... when traveling and you don't know the restaurants, maybe stay away from any restaurant that is offering the 1000 OT points ($10). imo it probably wouldn't be worth it.

that might be a huge generalization, but i rarely seem to find good food when the restaurant is begging me to come in.

It's not huge. Restaurants will alter the service and the portions for the 1,000 point, if they're dumb to the point that making those changes will not create repeat business.

i have 6610, but after cashing out 10k already for a 100 cert.

I haven't been able to use it as much since I moved to Nashville, but I was excited when I cashed out 2K points. The only 1K restaurant I've been to turned out to be disappointing for us, although there are 1K slots at restaurants I would go to but they are offered at times and days the bf would refuse to dine.

I have 3800 points here, waiting to get to 10,000 before redeeming.

I've eaten at two 1,000-point restaurants, one in San Francisco and one in Chicago. Both restaurants were fairly good. I'll admit that I speculate on the quality of restaurants that are offering 1,000-point reservations; if I see a restaurant that is always offering them, I steer clear.

In DC, chef Jose Andres' joints are on OT, so it's a natural. Andres is DC's celebrity chef who spanked Bobby Flay on Iron Chef.

iDine migrated me to AA's resturant rewards. For a while, Oyamel resturant was in both programs so I could triple-dip: OT points, AA miles, and of course my rewards credit-card. Pays for the wine, anyway.

It does make me reach for the check at an expense-account meal!

I have 9000. Haven't redeemed yet!

I have redeemed for $25 and $50. I have 3,900 now. Goal is to get to 5,000 by end of month so I can use in Vegas in July. (any suggestions for Vegas restaurants on opentable.com for a nice romantic dinner would be appreciated).

I love it.

I use it at least once a week for lunch and almost every weekend for dinner. I love at my favorite steakhouse on a Saturday night that I can walk in and be seated right away while others are waiting 45 minutes or more.

I'm a VIP. Has anyone noticed it gets you recognition you wouldn't otherwise? It has for me at some restaurants and not for others.

What I love is the comments. I then can ask for tables in certain areas and a preferred server. Very seldom have I not gotten a request honored.

Knowing personally some of the restaurants in a sample of three or four cities where I use Open Table regularly, I'd disagree with this - I know in Dallas, I've seen some excellent places pop up with 1,000 point specials from time to time.

One restaurant owner I know said he uses it to pad times in the dining room when he KNOWS he will be slow based on historic trend. In the case of my friend, he said he can regularly count on a dinner crowd from 7 pm to 9 pm and a post theatre crowd from 10 pm and onward. Since the dining room opens at 5:30 pm, he'll run 1,000 points from 5:30 to 6:30 to keep the staff occupied and to have the place not look dead when the 7 pm crowd shows up - and again he'll run a 9 pm to 10 pm one on nights he plans to stay open late for the theatre crowd so that the party appears to still be in "full swing" when that group arrives at 10 pm.

I think of the "timed" specials (i.e. not running them all the time) to be the restaurant version of "seat fillers" at the Oscars - its a small price to pay to make your regulars feel like the place is always "hot".

Only 1500 points so far. Got 1000 points once. I forget to use Open Table and call for reservations. I'll try to accumulate more because I'll Open Table for an upcoming trip to Las Vegas. Some of the restaurants that I want to reserve do not allow me to reserve on Open Table for those dates yet. First time I've come across that limitation.

Most restaurants are on a rolling 90-day calendar.

ETA: I read in another thread that French Laundry and Per Se use a 60 or 61 day basis.

I've been using OT for many years (I'm in Atlanta), and have never actually signed up to earn points. Had I done so at the outset I'd have earned many thousands of points by now, but as was mentioned upthread the points weren't nearly so much of a lure as the convenience of the service.

Does OT keep track of you even if you don't sign up for the service? Using your email(s) or name?

I agree totally.The points are nice-but having a printout ressie to hand my boss with the restaurant address and phone,showing her name and number in the party is a great asset.
I only have 3,800 points so far.If I could use it when going out by myself it would be great=but it is a two diner min.
ConciergeMike does the pro version have a single diner option?

Agreed. Unfortunately, customer service in this country has degraded to the point that having something on paper is more of a demand than a perk. :(

Yes it does, but I'm hesitant to use it. Single diners are more often than not comfortable at the bar, and I will usually guide in that direction. Also, I as the concierge have to think of the restaurant as well: while it's nice that I'm referring them a single diner, as one is always better than zero, do they really want to devote a table to a single?

I've used the single option before, but pretty much only when asked to by said guest. I don't even use it for myself should the need arise for it - I go to the bar.

I've been told the restaurant can, within the Open Table settings, determine whether or not to make tables available to solo diners. Indeed, I've many times plugged in "1" then "2" and seen the options change.

I frequently travel alone and don't always enjoy the bar so I appreciate a restaurant willing to accomodate me solo and give me the same level of service I'd receive as a +1 - and since I like fine dining on occasion, its nice to know I can enjoy it properly.

I am in a similar boat since I am on Miami on business travel and pretty much hate the area, I like to enjoy fine dining sometimes but not a fan of bars. I end up going to lesser places because of the snobbish attitude a single diner gets around here. On the other hand some of the lesser places have some great food and a lot cheaper, even found some places with seafood fresh off the boat that it better than the smith and wollensky ;)

I am more of a foodie than an environment person, the food at these places may be better but if I were having a huge business meeting in formal arrangement I would not take someone there, if it were casual and relaxed certainly would.

We're at 9800 points. Just two more stays and we get that $100 off cert. Good stuff. ^

I've seen the same thing when trying to reserve for 3. When I change the number to "4" tables suddenly appear, and this seems widespread, not limited to a few restaurants. Makes it really tempting to reserve for 4 and then show up with 3 instead.