"Want a table? Pay extra." The trade in bookings at sought-after restaurants has become a well-organised business across several social platforms. Posing as a customer, our reporter contacted seven resellers; five could name a guaranteed slot the same day, with prices moving by time of booking.
One operator said he runs more than thirty accounts simultaneously, submitting automatically the moment places are released. "The system opens on the hour. We are queued up two minutes early. It runs on speed, not luck."
Four seconds, two hundred bookings
On the 12th of this month we tested a restaurant where the average wait exceeds four hours. At 10:00 exactly, 216 places were released. Refreshing at 10:00:04, our reporter found every slot marked full. Half an hour later, the same slots began appearing on resale platforms.
Blocking it is not technically hard. What is hard is admitting you cannot block it.— A technical lead at a restaurant booking provider, speaking anonymously
Industry figures say restaurants are not united on the issue. Some are actively banning the accounts; others tolerate the practice, or quietly benefit from the buzz that comes with being impossible to book.
Platforms promise device fingerprinting
We wrote to two major booking platforms. One said it had begun a dedicated clean-up, removing 12,000 offending accounts this month, and plans to introduce device fingerprinting and behavioural checks next quarter. The other said it was investigating.
- Prices: 80–150 yuan on weekdays, 200–300 yuan for prime weekend slots
- Field test: 216 places shown as full within four seconds
- Enforcement: 12,000 accounts removed this month by one platform
- Redress: transactions are settled privately, leaving buyers with little proof
Lawyers point out that these deals are settled by private transfer. If a booking cannot be honoured, the buyer is usually left without documentation, making any complaint expensive to pursue.
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