We noticed a common pattern when we eat out. A cursory Yelp search, perhaps a cross reference dining guides, and finally making the reservation (via OpenTable/SeatMe/phone), only to find out that there aren't any tables left. We then wish we had done all this couple weeks back, but that's hardly practical.
The Loft Club removes all that hassle. Trust us to do the research, and we'll make the reservations for you every two weeks. We've started this small project to scratch our own itch for now, and we'd love to hear your feedback!
The first iteration of the product actually had that kind of flexible scheduling in place, but we decided to simplify it for launch. We do want to add it back once demand scales up!
If I'm planning to drop $250-300/mth on a couple of great dinners, then another $10 to add an element of surprise and save me from all the research and bookings is well worth it.
I wonder where Brisbane Australia is on their roll-out schedule... We have multiple nice restaurants now, and thankfully both are now open later than 8.30pm.
Much like the concierge services (ie Magic) out there, we want The Loft Club to provide simplify people's habits of dining out. The added element of a pleasant surprise - as you mentioned - is something we want to focus on too as we build out the service.
Happy to chat more in person, DM me @derrickko.
This isn't to say that they shouldn't take restaurant money, there's certainly precedent for it and people love Yelp. Being transparent (or simply keeping quality up) would be a good check.
The other 5%, on the other hand, is where most of the money and VC's happen to live.
Choosing a restaurant to eat at is such a small barrier, but it feels huge (kinda like picking an episode on NetFlix).
I definitely see the appeal in getting an e-mail saying: "Hobotron, a table for 2 is reserved at Lait de Tétine this Thursday at 7PM." and when you show up your preferred cocktail is already on the table.
Could partner up with Uber/Limo/Whatever to provide rides to/from in the event you wish to indulge to excess.
Our selection of restaurants include both well and lesser known joints - good food exists in all places, and we want to help people discover that.
My honest feedback is that this service doesn't solve a problem for me. Most of the time, the key to any reservation for me is timing. My schedule can be a little volatile (not a lot), but two weeks ahead of time doesn't solve an issue for me.
Here's what would be helpful to me: based on my preferences, shoot me a message today about an opening somewhere tomorrow. Make it a push notification, and let me reply -- if yes, book it.
TLC is going to have a nice database of very weird people who would use a service like this to make sure they get to go out to a fancy restaurant twice a month, by themselves...
It would also be an interesting social experiment. The potential benefits are pretty substantial for those who have recently moved into a particular city; instead of fumbling around aimlessly for a new social circle, one could instead sign up for this sort of service and be randomly introduced to all sorts of folks on a semi-weekly basis.
On top of the feel of bait and switch (although I know this was certainly just a bug), that price feels insane. This is a potentially fun idea to me, or at least certainly something I'd be willing to try for a month, but to be blunt, I think that price point is ludicrous.
I'll definitely give this a shot at the discounted price. I really do like the idea, I just don't think I'd be willing to pay the (current) full cost. Who knows though, maybe I'll sing a different tune after a few reservations.
To be honest, I might have booked like 3 times via Opentable in a year.
I am sure there will be a small section of people wanting to do this but I doubt you will be able to scale to make it a operational business. In addition, it is very expensive.
It's Monsieur.
And I don't like this idea. I want to choose the restaurant I'm going to, we have amazing tools now like Trip Advisor to get an idea of the quality, it's pretty easy to find something YOU want.
