"I'll have the Resy"... American Express ordered itself the largest privately-held reservation platform in the US, acquiring Resy (4K restaurants across 200 cities). Backed by Airbnb and Shake Shack co-founder Danny Meyer, Resy serves the dining industry two ways:
- What you see: Restaurant pays Resy a fee to show its open tables. You snag last-minute 9pm for 2 (by the bar). You're a hero, the table gets filled, Resy gets paid. Win-win-win.
- What you don't see: "Hospitality Software" — Its Resy Fly business intelligence tools educate restaurateurs on the average time a table's used or how weather affects the number of fish orders. Valuable intel.
Experiences > Points... That's Amex's strategy here. Instead of points for old school lounge access or TSA Pre✓, Amex wants to make its benefits more intimate, more personal, and (shocker) more Millennial. With Resy's network, it can now access special tables, restaurant openings, and fancy ticket-based reservations for its top swipers.
Follow the food that follows the money... Americans 22-37 years of age (Disclosure: Us) are spending a huge chunk of their paycheck on dining out. Amex's latest acquisition spree shows it's focused on being everywhere its customers want to be: food. Here's who else in the fintech/foodtech space it recently bought:
- March: Loungebuddy — Airport lounge access because, well, airports.
- January: Pocket Concierge — The Resy of Japan.
- 2018: Cake — Pay the restaurant bill without waiting for the bill.