Dining at hotel restaurants is on the rise, reports OpenTable
Travelers are increasingly choosing hotels based on the dining options, but the restaurants are becoming destinations for locals, too.
July 14, 2026
More travelers are choosing hotels based on the dining options, according to new data from OpenTable. But it’s not only hotel guests who are patronizing those restaurants — 92% of consumers have dined at a hotel restaurant when they weren’t even staying at the hotel.
Reservation platform OpenTable released the consumer research to coincide with the launch of its 2026 Top 100 Hotel Restaurants in America. The data show that hotel restaurants are playing a larger role in how people plan where to go, where to stay, and what to book before they arrive.
• 50% of travelers this summer have booked a hotel specifically because of its restaurant
• 61% of Americans have chosen a destination because of its food or restaurant scene
• 88% of Gen Zers plan restaurant reservations ahead of time, with 46% thinking about reservations at the same time as booking their hotel
• Hotel restaurant dining by travelers is up 13% year-over-year and up 7% across all diners, accordng to OpenTable's reservation data
OpenTable also unveiled an AI-powered dining assistant called Concierge to expedite restaurant discovery and bookings.
“Restaurants aren't just an itinerary line item anymore, they're the anchor. Our research backs this up, as half of Americans have booked a hotel specifically because of its restaurant,” Matt Davis, head of North America Hotels at OpenTable, said in a statement. “This year's Top 100 list spotlights the hotel hotspots worth traveling for, and with our AI Concierge helping diners get instant answers to their culinary questions, OpenTable is making it even easier to turn inspiration into a seat at the table.”
Nearly half of Americans (48%) say they spend more time researching where to eat and drink than any other part of a trip. Against that backdrop, OpenTable's updated Concierge tool can now help diners compare options and move from inspiration to booking more quickly, drawing from a network of more than 65,000 restaurants.
The consumer research was conducted in late spring through Ripple Research, surveying 1,500 U.S. residents who have dined at a hotel restaurant within the past five years. OpenTable also looked at online reservations for all active hotel restaurants on its platform. The list of the Top 100 Hotel Restaurants in America was generated from reviews on OpenTable.
About the Author
Patricia Cobe
Senior Editor, Restaurant Business
Pat came to Informa Connect from Hearst, where she was an executive editor. She is the co-author of the Mompreneurs series of books as well as two cookbooks. She graduated from Cornell University and earned a Masters in Journalism from Boston University. She is active in several professional organizations, including Les Dames d’Escoffier and the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC), and serves as a judge for the James Beard Media Awards.
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