New Restaurant Reservation Law Starts Immediately in New York State

The cost of going out to dinner already seems super expensive right now at a restaurant. But, the interesting part is that the restaurant industry is not taking a huge hit overall from consumer backlash over pricing.

People are still going out to eat.

After all, the restaurant business is not easy and filled with some of the hard working people (not to mention they work at some of the most inconvenient, crazy hours.)

There are some reservation websites that some restaurants use in New York State that will charge you to make a reservation at an establishment. Think of it as scalping concert tickets, but for restaurant reservations.

To clarify, they are not sanctioned websites from the restaurant. It is a website that people will fork up money to in order to make a reservation. Then the website will book a reservation with the restaurant for you.

It is called the Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act.

The bill prohibits third-party restaurant reservation services from arranging unauthorized reservations, putting an end to a predatory marketplace that placed a cost on consumers before they even entered a restaurant, and made dining inaccessible to those who refused to pay", according to New York State.

Assemblymember Alex Bores said, “Thank you Governor Hochul for signing the Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act, which outlaws the predatory practice of scooping up and selling restaurant reservations".