And how do you feel about they service? Do you think it can be improved?
Maybe. I think that they do an extremely good job of the one thing they set out to do, and it would be very hard to challenge them right now, given the strong relationships they have built with their partners.
Personally, I suspect that finding a niche where the main player is far less competent than OpenTable would make for a more compelling business opportunity, unless you honestly believe that the fall-through recommendation strategy
1) hasn't occurred to them,
2) isn't already being developed internally to OpenTable,
3) isn't applicable to other services with more churn.
The final point is the one I would choose to concentrate upon -- find an industry where the players are less loyal and more open to increasing their marginal profits. Restaurants are exceptionally vulnerable to the whims of the public, yet the business is exceptionally prone to supplier and brand loyalty. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, but that's just me.
OpenTable executes well, and I would be very leery of trying to take them on. It could be done, I just think it would be a lot more challenging than it first appears.
Maybe. I think that they do an extremely good job of the one thing they set out to do, and it would be very hard to challenge them right now, given the strong relationships they have built with their partners.
Personally, I suspect that finding a niche where the main player is far less competent than OpenTable would make for a more compelling business opportunity, unless you honestly believe that the fall-through recommendation strategy
1) hasn't occurred to them, 2) isn't already being developed internally to OpenTable, 3) isn't applicable to other services with more churn.
The final point is the one I would choose to concentrate upon -- find an industry where the players are less loyal and more open to increasing their marginal profits. Restaurants are exceptionally vulnerable to the whims of the public, yet the business is exceptionally prone to supplier and brand loyalty. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, but that's just me.
OpenTable executes well, and I would be very leery of trying to take them on. It could be done, I just think it would be a lot more challenging than it first appears.