Leventhal: Consumers resist surge pricing because restaurants feel democratic
Ben Leventhal · Resy and Eater: Ben Leventhal · Jan 20, 2025 · at 32:23
Ben Leventhal reflects on why Resy's original thesis of surge-pricing restaurant tables faced severe consumer and cultural backlash.
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“There's something about hospitality that forces consumers into a different mental model than they are using for other Entertainment categories. And I think it's the intimacy of it. I think it's the legacy and the history of hospitality. Restaurants in people's minds are first come first serve democratic places. When you start pricing them, everyone gets a little uncomfortable. When you say to a customer, you can have this table, but you have to pay a hundred dollars more for it than the person sitting next to you. That really, really bothers people.”
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