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Big news on the dining scene: Airbnb and Resy announced this morning that they’ve teamed up to allow tourists (and hungry locals) easy access to our country’s best restaurants. Based on an Airbnb report that shows the enormous economic impact that its users make on the cities they visit—restaurant spending in Denver alone by Airbnb guests increased from $40 million to $67 million in the past year—the partnership underscores Airbnb’s mission to help tourists live like locals. Denver is one of the cities included in today’s launch, as are New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Seattle, and others.
“Airbnb teamed up with Resy because we know that finding a great meal is often the most important (and most difficult) part of any trip,” emailed a spokesperson for the company. “The seamless integration into the Airbnb app will help travelers and locals alike book sought-after tables at ‘bucket list’ restaurants in top dining cities across America.”
If you already have the Airbnb app, you’ll now see a dedicated restaurant tab under “Explore” where you can search by cuisine, meal (breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner), time of day, or use a map view to find a place to eat in the neighborhood where you’re staying (or heading out to on a Saturday night).
What does this mean for local eateries, Airbnb hosts, and Denverites? Restaurants that use Resy, such as Annette, the Populist, Block & Larder, and Cho77, among others, will hopefully see more booked tables from out-of-towners. Denver Airbnb hosts can more easily help drive traffic to our local eateries. “We know our hosts are passionate about sharing their favorite local restaurants with guests,” says Marisa Moret, Airbnb’s Policy Manager, “and this is just another way Airbnb is working to support the Denver business community.” And Denverites planning a night out can use the Airbnb website or app to make reservations, too.
Given the stiff competition that OG restaurant reservation system OpenTable is facing from brands like Resy and Reserve, one has to wonder if partnerships like this one will give the newer systems an advantage. Time—and restaurant earnings—will tell.
