OpenTable Redesign Means A Bigger Push Into the Dining Room

Like airlines that want their businesses to be seen as more than just selling a seat, OpenTable rebranded itself to push the notion that its foundation goes way beyond just being about making a restaurant reservation.

Not only is there a new OpenTable logo and website redesign, but the previous tagline, “Make restaurant reservations the easy way,” has been replaced with “The table is just the start.”

Here’s the new logo:

And here’s the previous logo:

If the new logo looks to you merely like a couple of red circles suggesting tables, then guess again.

“With just a few shapes, our new logo says a lot,” the OpenTable website states. “It symbolizes the connection we forge between restaurants and diners, the way we help diners find the perfect fit, and the fact that our customers are always our focus.”

Who knew?

OpenTable sees its future as going beyond being a transaction company in merely connecting restaurants and their customers through a reservations platform, and becoming a dining experiences company.

The website redesign emphasizes user-generated content, social sharing, and local content.

OpenTable wants diners to be able to view photos of the cuisine, share information with friends, and peruse notes from the chef.

When it comes time to leave the restaurant, there’s no need to be dealing with the hassle of a check. Just pay with the OpenTable app and proceed onward to the next location and activity.

On the restaurants’ sign of the ledger, OpenTable’s new, cloud-based Guest Center enables the dining establishment to access information about the guest in a central location so the host or owner can greet diners in a personal way when they amble through the door.

OpenTable says the technology side of the Guest Center enables it to roll out new features faster.

It’s all designed to build better relationships between customer and restaurant — and forge a deeper and more far-reaching business relationship between OpenTable and the restaurant.

For more background, Skift interviewed OpenTable CEO Matthew Roberts in September about the evolution of the company, which the Priceline Group acquired in the summer.