No Reservations About Putting Restaurants First

It's not exactly as sexy as a superhero origin story, but the founding of Tock does involve problem solving.  Nick Kokonas was trying to solve Alinea's costly no-show problem and the resistance they faced when introducing prepaid reservations. In the decade that has passed since, reservation technology has become a vital part of the restaurant industry. 

"We've also seen a significant shift in how restaurants handle guest commitments," Tock CEO Matt Tucker told Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine. "Pre-pandemic, only fine dining establishments typically used tools like prepayments or deposits. Now, restaurants across all categories recognize how these features protect their bottom line, especially with ongoing staffing challenges and inventory planning concerns."

Read on learn more from Tucker about Tock's evolution, reservation challenges such as scalping, and what to expect in the decade ahead.

Tock's origin story is all about problem solving. In what ways has that theme been a  thread throughout the past 10 years?

Our story began in 2014 when Tock’s founder, Nick Kokonas, grew frustrated with the limitations of traditional reservation systems while running The Alinea Group. He saw an opportunity to create a platform that better served restaurants. With that vision, he built Tock to put restaurants first by addressing critical issues like costly no-shows and optimizing revenue.

This problem-solving approach has remained our North Star throughout the decade since we were founded. At Tock, we create solutions to address the industry's toughest problems. What started as a way to help high-end restaurants reduce no-shows has evolved into a comprehensive platform serving diverse hospitality businesses, from boutique wineries to large hospitality enterprises.

This problem-solving approach has remained our North Star throughout the decade since we were founded.

Today, we offer an innovative, all-in-one solution that helps our partners with everything from giving them a deeper understanding of who their guests are to maximizing revenue. We're proud that our platform gives hospitality businesses more control over their operations while creating better experiences for diners.

Our recent "Tock 10" campaign celebrates this journey by honoring ten of our original partners who took a chance on our vision. These pioneering restaurants, including Smyth (Chicago, IL), Lazy Bear (San Francisco, CA), and Staplehouse (Atlanta, GA), remain at the heart of our community that now includes over 7,000 locations worldwide across 200+ cities in 33 countries.

As advocates for our customers, and in conjunction with our customer-led Product Advisory Council, we consistently develop solutions that address their specific needs, whether they're operating a Michelin-starred restaurant, a winery, or a luxury hotel.

What newer problems such as reservation scalping are you seeing and how is Tock  trying to address them?

Reservation scalping continues to be a challenge for the industry, particularly for premium, or high-demand, restaurants where tables are highly coveted. We're seeing third-party platforms selling reservations at popular restaurants for substantial markups. This creates serious problems for both our partners and their guests. When scalpers or bots grab reservations, genuine customers can't book tables. Restaurants appear fully booked, which discourages potential walk-ins. And when scalpers can't sell the reservations they've hoarded, restaurants face costly no-shows despite appearing fully booked.

Back in 2020 before bots and reselling reservations were as prevalent as they are today, Tock launched a sophisticated prevention system. Our dedicated Fraud Prevention team employs real-time transaction analysis algorithms to flag suspicious activity. They work closely with our Hospitality team to block cards and profiles associated with bad actors, and in turn, this helps reduce no-shows. When issues are identified, we take additional steps to trace and identify other reservations connected to these known problematic users. Our sister brand, Resy, has also taken similar measures to diligently combat bots and brokers, as reservation scalping practices go against the very spirit of the hospitality industry and the ethos of what we both stand for.

Additionally, in partnership with Resy, we support policies and legislation to protect restaurants and diners against reservation scalping by creating a more transparent and equitable dining landscape. As trusted partners to the hospitality industry, Tock and Resy applaud measures, like the recent New York Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act, that opposes these exploitative practices that undermine restaurants' ability to serve their communities and safeguard the integrity of restaurant reservations for all parties. We’re continuing to support pending legislation like this in other states like California, Illinois, Nevada, and Florida.

What are key ways the restaurant industry has changed over the past 10 years and how  has Tock's business evolved along with it?

The hospitality industry has expanded well beyond traditional dining models over the past decade. We've seen a significant shift toward unique experiences. Restaurants, wineries, and hotels now need to offer more than just standard reservations – they need to sell premium experiences like chef's counters, wine tastings, cocktail classes, and special events alongside traditional bookings.

Our platform's capabilities have expanded significantly as we've addressed our partners' evolving needs. We now provide a comprehensive suite of tools including standard reservations, multi-experience tables, events, waitlist management, table management, and guest data reporting. This allows our partners to bring their space to life in whatever way makes sense for their business model.

A major milestone in our evolution came in October 2024 when Tock was acquired by American Express and began the process of working toward a unified future in hospitality with our sister brand Resy. This represents a significant expansion of our capabilities and reach, allowing us to provide even more value to our partners and their guests.

The pandemic forced the restaurant industry to seek out digital solutions for operations.  How did it affect Tock and the industry's acceptance of technology as a needed  resource? Is there as much resistance to newer ways of doing things now? 

The pandemic fundamentally changed the hospitality landscape. Suddenly, restaurants, wineries, and hotels were dealing with outdoor-only experiences, limited capacity, social distancing requirements, and mask mandates. Operations that had been stable for years needed to transform overnight.

While the industry has largely rebounded, the pandemic forced hospitality businesses to innovate rapidly just to survive, and many of those innovations have become permanent advantages.

At Tock, we responded rapidly to these challenges. As an immediate response to the lock down, we built and deployed Tock To Go to help thousands of restaurants, wineries, and even farms pivot their operations, rebuild sales, lower costs, and eliminate third party delivery apps. Tock’s quick response allowed our partners to quickly adapt to a takeout and delivery model when indoor dining wasn't possible.

While the industry has largely rebounded, the pandemic forced hospitality businesses to innovate rapidly just to survive, and many of those innovations have become permanent advantages. Today, our platform empowers restaurants to offer both standard reservations and these newer revenue streams that emerged during challenging times. Many have introduced chef's counters and specialized tasting menus that activate previously quiet hours, while others have embraced hybrid models combining dining, retail, and interactive experiences like cocktail classes and wine tastings.

We've also seen a significant shift in how restaurants handle guest commitments. Pre-pandemic, only fine dining establishments typically used tools like prepayments or deposits. Now, restaurants across all categories recognize how these features protect their bottom line, especially with ongoing staffing challenges and inventory planning concerns. Through Tock's reservation and revenue management tools, our partners ensure greater guest commitment while optimizing their operations for maximum efficiency.

Where do you hope to see Tock evolve in the next 10 years?

In the next decade, we hope to see Tock become a cornerstone of American Express's Global Dining ecosystem. Building on our foundation serving 7,000 hospitality businesses across over 33 countries, we'll fully integrate with Resy to create a unified platform reaching over 50 million registered users.

Our track record demonstrates our value—partners generate 30 percent higher check averages from  experiences than ordinary reservations¹ and increase revenue by 15 percent using our Multi Experience Table feature². This innovation remains central to our identity. Since our founding in 2014, we've challenged industry norms by pioneering prepayment options, variable pricing, and customizable experiences that drive revenue and prevent no-shows. 

With American Express' backing, we'll expand beyond reservations to provide comprehensive  hospitality solutions. The data speaks volumes—American Express® Card Members book 4X  more reservations³ and demonstrate 92 percent higher dining spend⁴. By combining our expertise with Resy's strengths and American Express' global reach, we'll build tools that address hospitality's ever-changing needs through greater creativity and control, ultimately empowering  businesses to deliver exceptional guest experiences in an increasingly digital world.

¹ Tock proprietary data from January 1, 2023 to July 26, 2024 which includes customers who have a POS integration configured  with Tock and have at least 50 booked covers in each Booking Type category in the time period above; Ordinary reservation  means free reservation or other types of non-experience reservations.

² Tock proprietary data reviewed from MXT Beta launch in November 2023 to end of June 2024 to capture full 30 days pre- and  post- MXT inventory schedule; Data is filtered to only customers who have had MXT tables included in their available business  inventory in the time period above.

³ According to a guest’s lifetime reservations in Resy proprietary data, as of September 2024.

⁴ Based on American Express proprietary data from January 2023 to December 2023. Data refers to both Resy and Non-Resy  Users with an American Express Consumer Card in the US. Refers to Card Members with dining spend in the last 12 months.