Amex acquires Tock for restaurant reservation perks

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The Future. American Express announced that it’s acquiring restaurant reservation platform Tock for $400 million from Squarespace. With hot restaurant reservations facing a Ticketmaster-like bot problem that puts tables in the hands of opportunist scalpers, having an Amex card may soon be the quickest and easiest way to score an open spot at exclusive eateries.

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Amex believes that scoring a table at a cool new restaurant may now be the trendiest perk for young customers.

  • Tock handles reservations, table management, and event ticketing for 7,000 restaurants and entertainment destinations, with a focus on high-end establishments.
  • It’ll “complement” Amex’s Resy business, according to Bloomberg.
  • Additionally, Amex separately acquired mobile payments company Rooam.

Howard Grosfield, Amex’s president of US consumer services, said that restaurant spending accounted for a massive $100 billion in transactions last year, so finding a way to reward customers will only fuel spending in the category… especially among wealthier users.

And now that Gen Zers and millennials view Amex cards as status symbols, restaurants may soon see a bump in reservations from younger diners.

David Vendrell

Born and raised a stone’s-throw away from the Everglades, David left the Florida swamp for the California desert. Over-caffeinated, he stares at his computer too long either writing the TFP newsletter or screenplays. He is repped by Anonymous Content.

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