In a significant step to combat the growing underground market of restaurant reservation scalping, Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a new legislation into law. As reported by Eater, the Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act takes aim at third-party services that have been capitalizing on New York’s dining scene by securing and reselling reservations at marked-up prices.
Effective today, this law directly addresses the high-stakes booking process driven by platforms like Resy and Opentable. At upscale restaurants, diners struggled with bots and resellers turning simple reservations into expensive commodities. As a result, restaurants and legitimate patrons often faced empty seats and lost revenue.
The crackdown on unauthorized reservation sales, according to a statement from the Governor's office obtained by the official Governor's website, “We’re putting an end to the predatory black market for restaurant reservations — protecting consumers and businesses, and giving everyone a chance to get a seat at the dinner table.” This legislative action has garnered support from both the New York State Restaurant Association and the NYC Hospitality Alliance, signaling a united front among industry leaders against this predatory practice.
With Governor Hochul's signature, gone are the days when getting into highly sought-after restaurants meant engaging with shady middlemen. As Assemblymember Alex Bores articulated, “With this legislation, we are ensuring that families can celebrate a graduation, anniversary, or birthday without a $250, $500, or even $1,000 cover charge. We also protect restaurants from increased cancellations and protect workers from lost tips. A true win-win-win,” as mentioned in Eater. Adding weight to the bill are the real consequences it holds for unauthorized services – not only disrupting industry operations but directly hitting restaurant staff who count on filled seats for their livelihoods.
