Have you tried making reservations at a restaurant in New York City recently? If so, you’ve probably realized that the struggle is real. This is what the next two weeks look like for 4 Charles Prime Rib, one of NYC’s prime (no pun) steakhouses: Bleak.
Seems like Clear or some other verified identity service has an opportunity here. Scalpers only work because they can functionally reserve a spot for ANYONE. Make sign-ups contingent on verifying identity (via say Clear - great lead gen for them so they'll probably cut a good deal!) and non-transferable. Add in a "reservation fee" ($100?) that is applied towards the bill but isn't refunded if a no-show. Still allow users to cancel up up until a point and recover their fee.
In an attempt to help in solving this pressing first world problem:
Agree with Matt's point. It seems trivial for a restaurant manager to throw scalpers off their back (even with simply asking for ID, which they do anyway since you'll probably be drinking).
I wonder though: why aren't restaurant managers getting rid of scalpers?? Like, five years ago?
Do they not know about it? Doubtful.
Do they not have budget and tech knowhow to implement simple solutions? Maybe.
Or does the restaurant actually see benefits in having free-roaming scalpers? The more scultping, the better off the restaurant is! Could that be?
Seems like Clear or some other verified identity service has an opportunity here. Scalpers only work because they can functionally reserve a spot for ANYONE. Make sign-ups contingent on verifying identity (via say Clear - great lead gen for them so they'll probably cut a good deal!) and non-transferable. Add in a "reservation fee" ($100?) that is applied towards the bill but isn't refunded if a no-show. Still allow users to cancel up up until a point and recover their fee.
Or just use Tock. Tock is great!
I love the idea of collaboration with Clear!
Dorsia is solving this exact problem.
Dorsia.com
I took a look. I don't think they solve the problem at scale. It's a nice idea, but there is little evidence that it actually works.
In an attempt to help in solving this pressing first world problem:
Agree with Matt's point. It seems trivial for a restaurant manager to throw scalpers off their back (even with simply asking for ID, which they do anyway since you'll probably be drinking).
I wonder though: why aren't restaurant managers getting rid of scalpers?? Like, five years ago?
Do they not know about it? Doubtful.
Do they not have budget and tech knowhow to implement simple solutions? Maybe.
Or does the restaurant actually see benefits in having free-roaming scalpers? The more scultping, the better off the restaurant is! Could that be?