Now buy and sell reservations at high end restaurants with Appointment Traders

Arushi Sakhuja  

Getting reservations at an exclusive restaurant can feel like a tiresome task. And if you’re lucky, you may get a spot a couple of months or weeks later. Some people want to get into the country’s hottest restaurants so eagerly they’re willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a reservation that would otherwise be free. But if you dreamed of finding easy access to the world’s best restaurants we have some great news for you, Appointment Trader lets you buy your way into the world’s hottest restaurants. 

So how does it work? Instead of paying a set fee to the restaurant, Appointment Trader links up individuals who want to buy and sell reservations. The site posts reservations that are up for grabs—the restaurant, day and time—along with a sale price. You can then purchase that reservation from the original holder and arrive at the appointed time. If your desired table isn’t available, you can proactively place a bid, letting diners know how much you’re willing to pay to score their table. If they like the offer, they can sell you, their reservation. The site looks like a stock exchange and even has buy and sell buttons, with a stock ticker that scrolls across the page announcing the latest deals. 

Currently, restaurants in New York are in focus with some of the top ones being Carbone, Polo Bar, and 4 Charles Prime, where a table for two at 6 pm on a Thursday might cost $75, while a table for four on a Saturday night might run $200. The platform is operational across Miami, Dallas, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Paris, how currently is limited to the states.  

Appointment Trader was founded by Jonas Frey in 2021, first as a way for people to get DMV appointments. But the site quickly started listing restaurant reservations, along with spots at bars, clubs, and hotels. Available in hundreds of cities, half of its traffic comes from N.Y.C. alone. So far, Appointment Trader has sold $2.4 million worth of reservations. 

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