Here’s the elevator pitch for the new Seated app:
Download the app to your smartphone. Use the app to book at a participating restaurant. Dine. Earn a $15 gift card from Amazon, Starbucks, or Uber.
That’s pretty compelling. Naturally, when you dig into the details, things turn out to be a bit more complicated.
Among the Seated terms and conditions:
- To qualify for the gift card, there must be two or more people dining. Both parties must order meals, not just drinks.
- The same restaurant may only be booked once during any 30-day period.
- Participating restaurants are currently located in only 15 cities: New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, D.C, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Austin, Denver, and Seattle.
- Participating restaurants are high-end. Don’t expect to get a $15 gift card for a $12 meal.
- Booking times are limited. Rewards may only be offered for early or late seatings.
- As loyalty currencies go, gift cards are among the least desirable. Too often they go unused.
From a business standpoint, the requirements and limitations make perfect sense. The service is designed to help restaurants increase business during off-peak times, and to do so cost-effectively. That means that users must be prepared to make some compromises in exchange for the rewards.
Related:
Whether a $15 gift card makes those compromises worthwhile is the question.
Reader Reality Check
Well, is a $15 gift card worth the required compromises?
After 20 years working in the travel industry, and almost that long writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
This article first appeared on SmarterTravel.com, where Tim is Editor-at-Large.
