New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed the Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act into law on December 19, 2024, prohibiting third-party restaurant reservation services from arranging reservations unauthorized by restaurants. Hochul celebrated the passage of the Act as "giving everyone a chance to get a seat at the dinner table." But banning certain third-party reservation services from selling to consumers doesn't create more seats at fine dining establishments, it just changes how you get one—or don't.
New York Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (D–Bronx), the sponsor of the Act, blames unauthorized resellers like Appointment Trader for causing "chaos for restaurants with last-minute cancellations and no-shows." Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, echoes Fernandez's concerns, saying that restaurant reservation scalping "creates a barrier" between restaurants and customers "when unknown guests show up."
