Yelp.com, the user-generated review Web site, and OpenTable.com, the restaurant reservations site, announced an integration that will allow Yelp users to make a restaurant reservation directly from a Yelp.com review page. Stephanie Ichinose, Yelp’s director of communications, said users had been asking for an integration with OpenTable for some time as they were previously forced to jump between sites to see reviews and then make a reservation.
Users will be able to see reviews, ratings, and price and ambiance information, then immediately execute their dining decision by checking availability at a given restaurant and securing a table for their party. Current OpenTable users will automatically receive OpenTable points when making a reservation via Yelp as long as the same email address is used for both accounts.
According to Stephanie Ichinose, Yelp’s director of communications, users have been requesting integration with OpenTable for some time. Currently, restaurants make up 29% of the reviewed businesses on Yelp. The company says it has over 11 million reviews currently on its site and was visited more than 32 million times in May alone.