The Twin Cities become the first major market where OpenTable handles the minority of online reservations. 9 of the top 10 busiest MN independents now choose Eveve.
Eveve announced today that it is now the majority supplier of online restaurant reservations in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area with 51.7% share. Minnesota’s principal conurbation becomes the first and only of America’s top 50 metropolitan areas, by population, where OpenTable is now the minority supplier in terms of total online reservations managed.
Eveve’s reservation share spiked sharply from December 2012, when Axels, one of Minnesota’s largest independently owned restaurant groups, switched all of its reservations to Eveve, bringing the share to 43% with 60,000 per month. “This provided a second surge of interest in our solution” notes Timothy Ryan, CEO, which he attributes to the latest swathe of new high profile restaurants switching.
In the past few weeks eight of Minnesota’s top restaurants have switched reservation suppliers to Eveve. The Burch and Smack Shack launched spectacularly, both going straight in to the Twin Cities’ top five by online diners. Meanwhile in the past fortnight, five more leading restaurants have left OpenTable in favour of Eveve solution, including Icehouse, Andiamo, Tiger Sushi, Aji and Happy Gnome. In recent news, 112 Eatery, considered one of Minnesota’s top dining locations, has also given the nod, moving from a non-electronic platform.
Ryan points out “In terms of reservation volume, the shift is even more pronounced, because of the scale of these restaurants. Burch is the third most booked independent restaurant in Minnesota, and Smack Shack is fourth—both manage over 3,500 online diners per month. All in all, just seven restaurants generate 12,000 diners per month, bringing our total to 72,000.”
When Eveve entered the market in July 2011, it estimated there to be 116,000 online diners per month in the Twin Cities, then a 100% monopoly (figures based on OpenTable 2011 metrics).
The market has grown since, with Ryan pointing out “with our experience across America and internationally, plus the metrics we have recorded with our own clients, we believe the Minneapolis-St Paul market to have grown by 18-20% since then, to as much as 139,200” he adds “in fact, given the severe weather in Minnesota this year, 139,200 is perhaps bullish for the Twin Cities”.
“At 72,000 per month, we believe we are now managing around 51.7% of online diners here in Minneapolis-St. Paul, which is really a landmark for the Upper Midwest, and for America generally. This is the first major metro which is free of monopoly control, and more importantly, monopoly dictated price gouging”.
Minnesota’s most booked independent restaurants:
- Hell’s Kitchen (Eveve)
- Bar La Grassa (Eveve)
- Burch (Eveve)
- Smack Shack (Eveve)
- Butcher and Boar (OpenTable)
- Zelo (Eveve)
- Meritage (Eveve)
- Bacio (Eveve)
- Cafe Maude (Eveve)
- Vincent A (Eveve)
Seven of the top ten are ex-OpenTable. Eveve remains equally focused on its existing clients, and Ryan concludes that “Meritage and Hell’s Kitchen are coming up for two years with Eveve now. As two of America’s most booked restaurants, the longevity illustrates that this is a serious solution for discerning restaurants. We are extremely grateful to our clients in MN, who have been especially supportive”.
Established in 2007, Eveve is a leading global supplier of live reservation systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide. For more information, please visit www.eveve.com.
Contact:
Timothy Ryan
917-725-3114
