Resort-founded First Table’s just launched what’s believed to be the world’s first restaurant booking platform — dubbed ‘Regular Table’ — which uses real-time availability, enabling diners to find vacant tables at resort restaurants, no matter the time, number of people, or reservation system in play.
Founder and CEO Mat Weir says the idea came to him about a year ago when he had friends visiting.
"It was a Friday night and we were walking around town trying to find a restaurant to just get a normal table at.
"We were going from restaurant to restaurant - because everywhere was full at that time - and it was just getting a little bit crazy.
"We’ve got all these restaurants on [the First Table] platform, and we’ve got all this connectivity, I just thought, ‘why doesn’t table availability search exist?’"
Once he had the "a-ha" moment, they started working on building a system to solve the problem, and quickly realised why it hadn’t been done before.
"It’s bloody hard."
That’s because restaurants are on multiple systems, which creates a technical challenge.
However, they’ve cracked the code, so users can now book either a First Table or a Regular Table on their website or app, at the click of a button.
They’re using Queenstown for the technical pilot, to iron out any kinks, with plans to launch it in Christchurch next month.
"I’m really excited, because we are solving this real-world problem that exists in the restaurant space and it is surprising that most people realise they don’t even have search at the moment," Weir says.
"It’s cool to be able to solve that problem, and it’s going to make it more efficient - it means people can find tables anywhere, anytime."
It’ll also help drive traffic to off-the-beaten-path spots, he believes, and help fill them up.
