The time-honored tradition of making a restaurant reservation nearly became extinct early in the pandemic, with people hunkering down at home to prepare meals as restaurant dining rooms essentially shut and many eateries turned to carry-out and deliveries. Now the industry appears to have recovered by one measure.
More than two years later, dining out as reflected in demand for seated reservations has essentially returned to pre-pandemic levels in the United States, according to the latest data from OpenTable, which provides reservation and other support services to the restaurant industry.
As of Oct. 10, demand for reservations by seated diners at full-service restaurants in 2022 — including those made online, by phone or through walk-in reservations — was running slightly above the 2019 pre-pandemic figure for the same point of that year, according to Open Table.
OpenTable also said reservations it tracks ran slightly ahead of pre-pandemic levels during August and September. The company discloses demand patterns but doesn't provide the number of reservations booked through its platforms.
Industry analysts are watching the reaction of consumers to rising interest rates and lingering inflation to see if they switch from full-service dining to lower-cost, limited-service options.
In a June report, retail analytics firm Placer.ai noted that year-over-year foot traffic gains at full-service restaurants outpaced those of fast food and fast casual chains in November and December of 2021. But since mid-March of this year, quick-service restaurant visits have been outpacing full-service foot traffic gains. As of June 6, fast food visitor traffic was up 7.3% year over year, while full-service restaurants were down 4%, Placer.ai reported.
Historically, business at higher-end, fine-dining restaurants has been less sensitive to economic shifts than other types of restaurants because their regular customers generally have higher levels of disposable income. According to the National Restaurant Association trade group, full-service restaurants are on track to climb 10.9% this year to $289 billion from 2021. Limited-service eatery sales are projected to rise 7.9% to $355 billion.