Restaurants and Variable Pricing

WABC-TV New York recently had a story about restaurants charging more for premium dining times. They indicated that people pay extra to board a plane early or for a hotel room over a holiday weekend, and they will soon pay more for prime time reservations.

That’s just not the whole story. Their report was based on a NY Times article about a new approach to filling tables at non-peak dining times.

A table in a restaurant, like an airline seat, hotel room, even a theatre seat is a perishable commodity. If it’s not taken, it’s gone forever at that date and time. What many restaurants have been doing is using variable pricing tools like Groupon or Gilt City for deals to consumers for anticipated slow times.

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