Write an article about \u2018Black market\u2019 dining reservations sell for thousands. States want to stop that \u2013 Sun Sentinel .Organize the content with appropriate headings and subheadings (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6) and made content unique, Retain any existing tags from <\/p>\n
By Kevin Hardy, Stateline.org<\/strong><\/p>\n NEW ORLEANS \u2014 This isn\u2019t just any old list.<\/p>\n With tables spread across several distinct dining rooms at the storied Commander\u2019s Palace restaurant, managers must calculate precise labor needs and open up the reservation list for just the right number of rooms at the right time for each dinner service.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I spread the reservations out too much, it feels like you\u2019re sitting in church,\u201d said operations manager Steve Woodruff. \u201cWe have an old saying: Nothing dresses up a dining room like customers.\u201d<\/p>\n In recent years, emerging third-party online platforms selling hard-to-get dinner reservations have created headaches for popular restaurants like Commander\u2019s Palace. New platforms such as Appointment Trader auction off the most desirable tables for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n And unlike other platforms that contract with restaurants, such as OpenTable, the reservation trading apps work outside of a restaurant\u2019s control: Anyone can make a reservation (often for free) and sell it for a profit, with the platform taking a commission on the sale.<\/p>\n During this year\u2019s Super Bowl weekend in New Orleans, one table at a French Quarter restaurant went for more than $2,100.<\/p>\n When customers spend that kind of money before the meal, Woodruff said, it heightens expectations and alters a diner\u2019s perception of value without restaurants even knowing. He said the apps also can force restaurants to run a service with empty tables if those online platforms don\u2019t find buyers \u2014 putting the risk on the business, not the customer.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you resell a concert ticket, you had to risk something to buy the ticket. There\u2019s no risk here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The issue is increasingly gaining the attention of state lawmakers.<\/p>\n Employees work on a monthly inventory of the vast wine storage at Commander\u2019s Palace restaurant in New Orleans. (Kevin Hardy\/Stateline\/TNS)<\/p>\n Commander\u2019s Palace and the Louisiana Restaurant Association successfully lobbied for a new law banning the resale of reservations without the consent of restaurant operators. Recently, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill, which gained unanimous approval in every committee and floor vote.<\/p>\n The Louisiana law follows the signing of bills by New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. A similar measure passed by the Illinois legislature is awaiting action by the governor. California and New Jersey are also eyeing such protections.<\/p>\n \u201cI know what it takes for people to build a brand,\u201d Republican state Rep. Troy Hebert, who sponsored the Louisiana bill, said in an interview. \u201cI mean, think about it: You\u2019re making money off of my brand, and I didn\u2019t even know about it.\u201d<\/p>\n He said online reservation platforms can use automated technology to quickly secure reservations, holding them hostage from other customers. Hebert noted that restaurants can still choose to work with any of the online reservation trading systems.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not preventing people from running those types of models,\u201d he said. \u201cThey just need to get the permission of the establishment. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n The new law allows the attorney general to issue platforms a $1,000 daily fine for each restaurant they\u2019re selling reservations for without permission.<\/p>\n Appointment Trader founder Jonas Frey told Stateline that lawmakers are only hearing from powerful restaurant associations and the reservation platforms they contract with like OpenTable and Resy, which have pushed for these new laws.<\/p>\n Frey said restaurants often show no availability online even when they have free tables.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the reasons why Appointment Trader works so well, because people with the relationship to the restaurant generally get these tables,\u201d he said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t make this problem \u2014 the restaurants are doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the site can actually help restaurants avoid no shows because most trades occur on the day of the reservation. And many restaurants require a credit card for a reservation, meaning a consumer could be charged even if schedules change and they can\u2019t use their reservation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my mind, it\u2019s atrocious: You\u2019re liable for something, but then you\u2019re not allowed to sell it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Consumers completed 50,000 transactions on the platform last year, he said, with a no-show rate of only 1%. While restaurants have raised concerns about people making lots of reservations to flip a few online, Frey said his site blocks sellers who list too many openings without selling them.<\/p>\n So far, these\u201cblack market\u201d restaurant reservations have been most problematic in the nation\u2019s hottest dining destinations, including Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans and New York City, said Mike Whatley, vice president for state affairs and grassroots advocacy at the National Restaurant Association.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the places where there are those reservations that if you aren\u2019t logging on right at midnight a month out to get the reservation, you\u2019re not getting them, where these challenges have arisen, where you\u2019re seeing piracy take place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Whatley added that this wave of state legislation is reminiscent of one that followed the rise of third-party delivery services such as DoorDash. In some cases, delivery platforms posted restaurant menus and sent drivers to pick up orders without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd restaurants were going, \u2018Hey, why am I on this website? I didn\u2019t give authorization for that,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Whatley said some restaurants have responded to reservation traders by requiring deposits to make reservations, decreasing the likelihood of no-shows.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of interest in states where this isn\u2019t a problem yet, getting ahead of it and just passing something on a bipartisan basis so that it never becomes a problem down the road,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Commander\u2019s Palace first learned of these platforms early last year when a customer asked why he couldn\u2019t get a table on the restaurant\u2019s website but saw one for sale on Appointment Trader. Woodruff said the new law is important because the restaurant and its reservation vendor struggled to tell which reservations came directly from customers and which came from reservation traders.<\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t feel like we could fight it effectively on our own in house, because it\u2019s like a game of Whac-A-Mole,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Located among historic mansions and Victorian homes in the city\u2019s Garden District, Commander\u2019s Palace is more of a campus than a single restaurant. Nicknamed \u201cBig Blue\u201d among the staff for its striking teal paint job, the restaurant sprawls across nearly 12,000 square feet and is known for dishes like turtle soup and gumbo.<\/p>\n In business for more than 130 years, Commander\u2019s Palace is among the city\u2019s most famous spots. Reservations can be difficult or impossible to land, especially between October and May when tourists and conventions fill the Big Easy.<\/p>\n Proponents of reservation trading platforms argue they can provide customer flexibility. But Woodruff says it\u2019s only those websites that are winning \u2014 while consumers and restaurants lose out.<\/p>\n In the foyer of the restaurant, Woodruff pulls up a big screen at the podium displaying the tables for every meal service. The restaurant is a must-stop for many tourists, but it\u2019s the locals that keep the place running year-round.<\/p>\n Wearing a white shirt and black braided leather suspenders, Woodruff scrolls back to the recent Mother\u2019s Day brunch service. The screen shows the history of each customer. Some have dined here dozens of times, some more than 110.<\/p>\n \u201cThese people spend every family special occasion with us,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s an awful lot of local goodwill that I try and cultivate.\u201d<\/p>\n Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached at khardy@stateline.org.<\/p>\n \u00a92025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/p>\n Originally Published: July 7, 2025 at 5:08 PM EDT<\/p>\n and integrate them seamlessly into the new content without adding new Write an article about \u2018Black market\u2019 dining reservations sell for thousands. States want to stop that \u2013 Sun Sentinel .Organize the content with appropriate headings and subheadings (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6) and made content unique, Retain any existing tags from By Kevin Hardy, Stateline.org NEW ORLEANS \u2014 This isn\u2019t just any old list. 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