Each time IT engineer Vaibhav Gupta heads to the Bengaluru airport, he carries out a customary check: During the cab ride, he browses the deals-on-meals at the airport's restaurants through mobile dining apps.“Last time I booked a meal, I got a glass of free almond milk with a plate of idli. A little extra always works,“ says the 27 years old. He is now using apps for all his eating-out excursions.
The tables are turning. Food delivery apps like Swiggy and FreshMenu brought gourmet to the doorstep. Now, dining reservation apps like Dineout* and EazyDiner, want to take people back to restaurants. To woo clientele, they are offering reservations, slashed bills, cashbacks and loyalty points.
Rajat Bhatia, head of Dineout Plus, says, “We seat about 50,000 diners per month in Bengaluru. Diners save about 30% on their bills and even pay via our e-wallet.“
These apps have apparently figured that Bengalureans prefer average and premium standalone restaurants to five-star hotels. Rohit Dasgupta, co-founder of EazyDiner, says: “Bengaluru is the third largest market in India for us.In the past year and half, we got 75% of our business from stand-alone restaurants. We find even corporate honchos using our app regularly .“
The next app knocking on city's doors is Delhi-based Gourmet Passport. “Bengaluru has a huge expat community , which has brought in global cuisines. Aspirational dining, food photography and being a foodie are all back. All this make this city a great market,“ says founder Rocky Mohan.
At a time when eateries are becoming “open-and-shut cases“ largely due to lack of recall restaurant reservation apps seem to be doing the industry a favour and justifying the nominal fee they charge restaurants.
Dhiren Pawar, brand head for Shiro, says: “These apps help us maximise our lean periods. So, we curate five-course meals at a special price or extend happy hours for the app guest. We get 120 new footfalls per month in Bengaluru through app collaboration.“
What's more, Bengaluru recently got its exclusive alcohol app Hip Bar which moves the bar to the cloud. Providing discounts and deals on alcoholic beverages, the lifestyle app is active at 80 bars in the city.
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