Reserve began in 2014 as a diner-facing “digital concierge” and has shifted toward providing restaurants with table and customer management software. Last year it launched Reserve for Restaurants so restaurants can manage tables, store customer data and accept reservations on their own sites. The company moved its revenue model from charging diners per reservation to charging restaurants a flat monthly fee. Reserve says its software has been used by more than 500 restaurants to seat nearly 9 million diners and has launched nationwide in the U.S. It plans to release a new “best in class” table management product in Q2 2017. Reserve was incubated at Expa and maintains that relationship as it expands its restaurant-focused product suite. Reserve is a restaurant reservation startup whose app handles reservations and payments, including splitting the bill. It has acquired mobile-payments startup Dash to integrate Dash’s payment technology with point-of-sale systems such as Micros and Aloha. Reserve said Dash also used data in innovative ways, exemplified by the Venue Vibe feature that helps users understand what to expect at different locations. The company expects the acquisition to enable better guidance on where and what to eat, simpler checkouts, and easier expense reports for diners. Financial terms of the Dash acquisition were not disclosed; Reserve also announced an undisclosed strategic investment from Diageo Technology Ventures. According to CrunchBase, Dash had previously raised about $7 million from investors including Caerus Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital and New York Angels. Reserve is a dining concierge app that searches for reservations in a user’s requested time window, recommends nearby restaurants, and completes bookings on the user’s behalf. The app also stores credit-card information to handle payments and aim to eliminate end-of-meal delays and awkward bill-splitting; a bill-splitting feature is a top priority for the team. At launch it was available in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, later added San Francisco, and the service lists more than 110 restaurants. Reserve launched its iOS app last fall and released an Android app the week of the article. The company charges diners a $5 fee per use and does not charge restaurants. Financially, Reserve has raised a Series A and additional capital (total funding now $17.3M). Reserve is a "digital concierge" mobile app that lets users specify a date and time window, returns recommended restaurants, and then attempts to secure reservations automatically. Listings include online menus and awards information, and Reserve says it has built relationships with listed restaurants so staff will treat users "like a regular." The app stores users' credit card information and a preset tip percentage and handles payment at the end of the meal. Reserve charges diners $5 per reservation and says it does not charge restaurants a fee. The service launched in beta in New York, Los Angeles, and Boston and plans additional market expansion; Reserve acquired the team behind SpoonSpoon to help with the Boston launch. Reserve is the first launch out of startup studio Expa, is described as pre-Series A, and has about 30 employees; co-founder and CEO Greg Hong leads the company, with Joe Marchese as executive chairman.

Total raised

$25M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Feb 2017