SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would prohibit “black market” restaurant reservations in Illinois has passed through the House.
HB2456, known as the Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act, would prohibit third-party services from listing, advertising, promoting, or selling restaurant reservations without a written agreement.
“At a time when local restaurants are operating with extremely tight margins and working to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, they shouldn’t have to deal with third-party services snatching up their reservations and selling them at a premium, which leads to no-shows and confusion that only hurts their bottom lines,” said State Representative Margaret Croke, who introduced the bill.
OpenTable and Resy have reservation agreements with restaurants, whereas Appointment Trader operates without the consent of local businesses, relying on bots to make reservations that are then sold to consumers at a premium.
In 2024, New York passed legislation regulating the platforms; California, Florida, and Nevada are considering similar measures.
