What do diners actually want from technology?

OpenTable has released the results of its ‘‘Technology and Dining Out’’ survey, providing payment technology firms extra insight into what consumers actually want from their dining experience.

The report includes responses from over 6000 American eaters. All participants were aged 18 or over and had made at least one reservation on OpenTable in the past 12 months.

Partakers in the research were quizzed on a variety of topics regarding the restaurant industry, including their opinion on reservation and payment technology.

The report broke down the results into three categories: before, during and after the meal. An overwhelming 85 per cent of respondents said that they wanted to use technology to add their names to a waitlist before arriving at an eatery.

During the meal, 25 per cent of diners ‘‘always’’ or ‘‘frequently’’ use their phones during meals to research and decide what to order, and 23 per cent take photos to purely remember the experience.

Nearly half (46 per cent) of all respondents say they haven’t used a phone to pay at a restaurant but are open to the idea of doing so.

Restaurants have a long way to go before customers start to download their mobile applications, with just 6 per cent of diners likely to download an individual dining app.

‘‘At OpenTable we sit right at the intersection of food and tech, which makes us infinitely curious about what people want from technology when they dine out,’’ commented Leela Srinivasan, OpenTable’s VP of restaurant and product marketing.

Open table are committed to providing restaurant customers with contactless payment solutions. In May, Payment Eye reported that the online reservation company had teamed up with consumer transaction firm NCR Corporation, making it easier for customers to pay for their meals with their smartphone.

‘‘Dining out, like virtually every area of life, has been transformed by technology, but in an industry in which hospitality is paramount it’s important to strike the right balance for your restaurant concept,’’ continued Srinivasan.

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